Many of you are familiar with my surprise visit back to Spokane for my brother's wedding. Let me just tell you how reenergizing that week was for me. I have been on the field for almost a year now, and I didn't realize how good the trip would be for me until I got there. Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz was right when she said, "there's no place like home." Nothing like a good meal, strong cup of coffee, and endless conversation. I love the mission field, I don't want to lead you on otherwise, and I am a motivated person. But when I was home I realized how sleeping on the ground, mats, eating the same diet, really wears on my physical body. Not one night did my back hurt. It felt awesome.
The night before the wedding, I really felt the Holy Spirit telling me to go and pray over my brother (the groom). At that time, he was sleeping, and I knew any waking him up, and he might not get back to sleep. So despite the persistence in my spirit, I let him sleep. As soon as I woke up the following morning, Cole asked me to go with him to Prayer Rock, which is overlooks our house on some cliffs. He constructed this monument, using 23 rocks from the local river, each one representing one of the children in my family, and at the top of the monument is one representing my parents. It is awesome in its symbolic simplicity. Just like Joshua took the 12 stones out of the Jordan to remember God's faithfulness, so I am reminded that He is faithful to my family as well. Cole and I talked and shared and prayed for each other that morning. I cannot tell you how blessed and full my heart was to be apart of blessing and celebrating what God had put together.
Also, this last week was my grandpa's 80th birthday. He is in excellent health, and also what a blessing to see how the Lord has been faithful to him in his life. From WWII in Holland, to 6 children, 40 some odd grandkids, and numerous great grand kids. He has had a life full of pastoring churches, chaplain the military, and ministering to professionals. He and his beautiful wife (whom he has called ‘Her Majesty') celebrated 58 years of marriage this weekend as well.
Not only that, but I was able to connect with really good friends and see the house I will be living in when I come back. It is so awesome how the Lord is teaching all of us the same lessons at opposite ends of the globe. How He is uniting our hearts and visions, so that He may be more magnified and His name echoed louder.
Enough said. I think you get my drift. It was an anointed week. And the dove definitely came down. Thank you to all for your prayers and support. I still have $1,400 left to raise until I am fully supported!
I am so excited to finish out my last few days in India, and then head off to Thailand for debrief and ministry to the women trapped in the sex-slave mess.
Yeah! Rejoice! Keep your eyes focused on the Man walking on the water, and not on the waves!
Here I am in India. First impressions? Very much like South America with a Hindi twist. Hot and humid, and I am amazed that a cold shower can make me sweat. Yes, the food is spicy (I thought I had died on the flight here when I ate a "green bean." ), the culture different, and I am amazed that after being on the mission field 11 months now, some things I see still suprise me. Through all these differences, I must say, I love India! I think I get really excited when I see the visions of what God is doing where ever I go, and I get to be apart of it!! We are back in our squad again (minus Terri, Teagan, and Kim-- love you all ladies). The ministry we are doing is leper colony relationship building, Bhurmise refugee work, and orphanage work. For some strange reason, I am heading up the team that works at the orphanage, and really love it! We are pouring into the 105 kids and teaching them about the fruits of the spirit and will later teach them about their identity in Christ- something all of us on the squad have learned this past year.
Going back to the title of this blog... what choice do I have?? Well, in India, I get the option of choosing JOY. I think that is going to be the theme for this month. You see, it is so easy for me to throw in the towel, do only partial-work, or let myself complain, or think about what's next after the race. Really none of that can be an effective tool for advancing the Kingdom. Every day, every moment, I can choose JOY. I can choose obedience, I can choose perserverance. I can choose JOY. So in an country where temptation to look at the bleaker things looms outside my door, I make the concious choice of JOY.
The other day, our water as well as electricity went out, and our neighbor lady opened her door to me and let me use water to flush the toilets (having several people with stomach issues using the bathrooms, plus heat and humidity and no fans= discusting!), and invited me in her home and we were able to chat for about 45 minutes. There must have been some other AIM team from the past who left her with pics of their time there, because she knew who we were and welcomed the Christian joy into her home! What a blessing to be a blessing!
A few days ago I phoned a friend who has just set her Bible down after
seeking the Lord on how to give of her tithes and offerings. The timing
was Jesus alright. Currently I need $1,450 by August 1st to meet the
deadline. I need a total of $3,520 to be fully supported to the end of
the Race (end of November, 2008). I cannot begin to tell you how much
your financial support helps. If it has been a while since you have
last given (or even recently), please pray about donating more. Thank
you all for being faithful workers in a world where the harvest
continues to grow.
Paul was never in need. He was taken care of by fellow believers, and because of their faithful giving, God promised to supply all of their needs (Philippians 4:19). I pray blessings over you as you give financially and continue to pray faithfully. May He provide abundantly for you!
“Sow for yourselves
righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the LORD that He may come and rain righteousness upon you.”
Hosea 10:12
A few
days before we came to Africa, our squad was worshipping one night in Bolivia,
and we started to sing the hymn “Oh the Wonderful Cross.” God really showed me
that night a picture of His Son on the cross crying out in agony over the lost.
The vision was so real, I felt like He was right there, above me hanging. And
there was nothing I could do. Even writing this now gives me the goose bumps.
At the same time that I truly felt the wonderful cross, I involuntarily broke
down and cried a deep belly sobbing cry. So many many things ran through my
mind in one second, it was overwhelmingly thick. The realization of the Truth
of the sacrifice, the distressed cry of those who like me, put Him there only
to want so desperately for Him to come down, the love displayed, all wrapped
into one. I think that heart realization was a building block for me as I
headed into Africa. Here, it seems my new song is “I cannot hide my love” by
Enter the Worship Circle (second circle), I wish I could play it for you now.
But the whole song is about being so in love with God, consumed with dancing,
enthralled in just the essence of who He is. And proclaiming this love with acts
of service, still soaking, deep cries, and unspeakable joy. Isn’t it ironic how
dancing follows mourning and healing comes after brokenness?
Africa
has showed me the Lord in new ways, how infinite simplicity is far better then
finite complications, the necessity of walking in the authority He has given
us, leaning into hope, the importance of unity, more of His astounding physical
beauty in the soft eyes that recognized the Jesus in me too, soaking in His
presence, amazing nature, intercession, and how He creatively provides for His
children. I have realized that the more I pursue this Christian walk- the more
my heart becomes alive; the more my heart becomes alive- the more the rest of
me follows suit. Recently, a person made a comment to me about how hard it must
be traveling the world seeing so much heart ache and pain, and hopeless
destruction. Honestly, that is probably the assumption of most. However, after
visiting the cross, and finding myself involuntarily dancing out of complete
love, His strong and prevailing essence breaks any sense of hopelessness and
poverty. Being a Christian, I cannot help but be so thrilled to see Him at work
in these days. To embrace Him is to shout from the ashes and the tops of the
mountains that He is Glorious, Awesome, Mighty, Incredible, Peace, King,
Obedient One, Papa, Love, Precious One, Healer, Answer, Caller, Faithfulness,
Creator, Ruler, Judge, Righteousness, Breath of Life.
May it
be our unified cry to dance out of the ashes into declarations of hope
restored. Thank you for your support in sending me to Africa. May the Lord
bless you this day with deeper intimacy in your walk with Him. May He water
your soul and bring you beside His loving peaceful pastures.
Please
pray for me and the squad as we head into India for the next 6 weeks. Hinduism
and idol worship is everywhere, and I can guarantee that there is thick
spiritual warfare. Pray for protection and discernment as we minister and travel.
Our emails will be monitored by the government, so contact will be very
restricted.
I just came back from my last month of ministry in Africa.
Our team was sent to Durban to work with Missions Ablazehttp://www.missionsablaze.org.za/
We helped build beds
for the new orphanage they are constructing (saving a cost of $6250 for the
work to be sent out).
I learned how to tile, and tiled in the orphanage.
We also helped with their
feeding program that feeds over 500 homeless people a day.
We also managed to dine at a nice restaurant in the largest mall in the southern hemisphere. Mark bartered with the flower seller for 20 minutes, till he was able to get us all a rose paying about 1/3 the cost he was asking. We all got a good laugh.
Really it was a great way to end this chapter in the race. I
had a lot of thinking time while working, and finished my in depth study of
Acts, as well as read two books, and started two others.
The breeze is a welcome relief to anyone sitting under the hot African sun. I sit behind a makeshift cinderblock hut where the GoGo's make food everyday for the children. This is called a Care Point and is one of G42's growing vision. In the last 14 months, this new organization has put up 19 Care Points in Swaziland. They desire not just to feed the children (a cost of just 3 cents a meal, and for just $7,600 they can have 228,000 meals/month), but give them school and Bible education.
There are three GoGo's (grandma in SiSwati) sitting next to me chatting up a storm, dogs catching some afternoon z's, and chickens roosting underneath the nearby cactus. A boy is sleeping at our feet, no more then two years old. Because of the dump nearby, scores of flies trounce around on his body as if he was the talk of the town. I notice he is missing a shoe and discover it is being used as his make shift pillow. I look up to my left at the brush covered ridge and discover not even a half mile away is South Africa. Most of the children fed at these Care Points have no parents and a little girl orphans about 4 and 5 years old live in the nearby ditches and under the trees. With a nation literally dying faster than it's growing, where the average life span is 28 years, staticians project that Swaziland won't exist in 2050. That's just 42 years. The children travel miles a day for one simple meal of pap (pronounced pop, or grits) and beans. If they fail to make it, they don't eat.
I look around me; Tammy is playing catch with a boy who's blind, encouraging him and making him smile. Mark is playing futbol with the boys. I decide to make use of the small wheelbarrow, load it full of kids and cart them around the bush. I crouch down to talk with a little boy and put my hand on his swollen belly. It's hard and tight. I remember from my schooling it's marasmus a form of protein malnutrition. It is a rare exception if a child doesn't have upper respiratory infection, a runny nose, and eyes full of gunk. A little boy climbs into my lap and with in 2 minutes is fast asleep. I'm probably the most comfortable thing he's slept on in a while. I look into the girl's eyes sitting next to me and notice how amazingly beautiful she is. They all are. The verse in Genesis 1:27 says we are all created in the image of God. I see Jesus in all of them.
I want to wrap up my trip to Mozambique by referring back to the video I posted of the orphanage. It is hard to express the magnitude of need that is there. My team and I had the opportunity to stay and sleep with the 23 orphans on a reed mat. The fact that they are living in some of the most fertile land in Africa, but because of lack of water access, their gardens struggle, leaving them with less free nutrients, really causes one to dream of a better way of life if water access is possible. And it is. There are 78 other orphans living in the bush, warding off wild lions and other animals, eating insects and other foods, waiting for Jaco (the missionary) to gather enough money to come and bring them to the tent orphanage. They have been waiting since February 2007. The chief gave them plenty of land, and the vision is to house 100 kids in cottage style houses, equipped with schools. But for now, it is just three meager tents, and lots of dirt. And it will remain like that if we don't help. So, even if you've watched the video once or twice, perhaps even three times, watch it again, and ask the Lord how you can help.
