As I went to visit family a few weeks ago I had a long drive home, God showed me something that makes me so excited everytime I experience it again. He said just this:
Sometimes life is like driving on the interstate because people get on and off around us and we hardly ever notice. Sometimes we feel so alone. Sometimes people are speeding past us and sometimes we are going slower. Sometimes we are just cruising along and sometimes we are pushing hard on the brakes or heavy on the gas pedal. But no matter what part of the road we are on God always knows exactly where we are and is sitting in our passanger seat. Sometimes He's just there to listen, sometimes to convict, sometimes to instruct, sometimes to let us do our own thing and take his hands off, sometimes to help us over the potholes, and sometimes to pull us out of the ditch...
Don't doubt him...He loves you THIS much! :)
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Don't Ever Forget..
As I was leaving Fargo this summer I got a card from one of my amazing friends and supporters. Inside is a verse I would like to share with you, it says:
"Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live." -Deuteronomy 4:9
The things I saw and experienced this summer in Africa have broken my heart in two. The things I have experienced in my own family and personal life have also broken me to my very core. It makes me realize more than ever that without God I truly am nothing. Everyday He renews my soul and makes me whole again. If I do not cling to Him for even a minute my whole day falls apart before my eyes. He is my everything and I am CONFIDENT in my walk with Him. I have never experienced this kind of freedom before in my life and I cannot even explain it to you with words.
In my time I have been home I have had to cope with things very quickly as I was thrown back into the reality that I live here in the States. I had to deal with family issues as I stepped off of the plane, coordinating an event, going back to work, going back to school with the heaviest load I have ever taken, and going back to my same apartment with my same roommates and my same friends and my same material things. I wouldnt change it for the world, dont get me wrong, but I LONG for ALL of my friends and family to love their Jesus with total abandon. To surrender their everything to Him. Because He gave them life, He gave YOU life.
I do not know what I will be doing in my future. I do not know where God will lead me to. I do not understand the depth of His love and His promises. I have so much uncertainty in my life but I have the most joy I have ever had before. As Mari was reading to me a passage today about how God calms the storm waves and guides us to shore I came to a realization... If we are in the middle of a storm, He can calm the waves, make the water smooth as glass and easy sailing and guide us on our way, but just because He calms the waves doesnt mean that the trouble is over, we are still out there on the water. It just means He is guiding us in the way He wants us to walk through our trials and keeping our souls joyful, peaceful, and loving as long as we are reaching out to Him. I have not one complaint of the life I am stuck with here on this earth, because to me, this life is only a mere reflection of the beauty and peace of being surrounded by my Dad's presense constantly. I Can Only Imagine (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3LUc78vbDk&feature=fvst)...
I will not ever forget....not ever in my life. Not the tears that filled my throat as I saw the children worshipping who had nothing, not the tears that filled me as I helped pick the pus and bacteria off of a 6 year old who looked as though he was only 3, not as the tears that filled me up when my faith began to fail and feel impossible when I was getting bad news from home, not the sorrow that I felt from being away from my family during a difficult time, not the nervousness of coming across my worst fear in the whole world..snakes..at any given moment, not the demon possession, not the spiritual warfare that scared me more than anything has in my life, not the very real destruction of a little girls life after a landslide, not the darkness of black magic, poverty, and hurt. Not the love I saw in the people around me, not the freedom I felt in my heart, not the feeling of holding a hurting little child, not the feeling of hugging my friends, not the feeling of finding life in the pain, not the compassion I felt, not the presense of my holy and almighty God, not the beauty and so much more.
God is doing amazing things all around the world. I cannot even begin to fathom it. More than anything I long to go back to Africa and hold those hurting little babies and show them what love is by God working in me. But for now, I will be serving my Dad here on my college campus and at my job! Please join me in surrendering your life all for his glory, having those hard discussions you want to pretend dont need to happen, giving up the things in your life that hold you back from His love, and loving the people around you where they are at! I love you all so much! I am praying for your salvation and entrance into His kingdom with me on the day of glory!
"Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live." -Deuteronomy 4:9
The things I saw and experienced this summer in Africa have broken my heart in two. The things I have experienced in my own family and personal life have also broken me to my very core. It makes me realize more than ever that without God I truly am nothing. Everyday He renews my soul and makes me whole again. If I do not cling to Him for even a minute my whole day falls apart before my eyes. He is my everything and I am CONFIDENT in my walk with Him. I have never experienced this kind of freedom before in my life and I cannot even explain it to you with words.
In my time I have been home I have had to cope with things very quickly as I was thrown back into the reality that I live here in the States. I had to deal with family issues as I stepped off of the plane, coordinating an event, going back to work, going back to school with the heaviest load I have ever taken, and going back to my same apartment with my same roommates and my same friends and my same material things. I wouldnt change it for the world, dont get me wrong, but I LONG for ALL of my friends and family to love their Jesus with total abandon. To surrender their everything to Him. Because He gave them life, He gave YOU life.
I do not know what I will be doing in my future. I do not know where God will lead me to. I do not understand the depth of His love and His promises. I have so much uncertainty in my life but I have the most joy I have ever had before. As Mari was reading to me a passage today about how God calms the storm waves and guides us to shore I came to a realization... If we are in the middle of a storm, He can calm the waves, make the water smooth as glass and easy sailing and guide us on our way, but just because He calms the waves doesnt mean that the trouble is over, we are still out there on the water. It just means He is guiding us in the way He wants us to walk through our trials and keeping our souls joyful, peaceful, and loving as long as we are reaching out to Him. I have not one complaint of the life I am stuck with here on this earth, because to me, this life is only a mere reflection of the beauty and peace of being surrounded by my Dad's presense constantly. I Can Only Imagine (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3LUc78vbDk&feature=fvst)...
I will not ever forget....not ever in my life. Not the tears that filled my throat as I saw the children worshipping who had nothing, not the tears that filled me as I helped pick the pus and bacteria off of a 6 year old who looked as though he was only 3, not as the tears that filled me up when my faith began to fail and feel impossible when I was getting bad news from home, not the sorrow that I felt from being away from my family during a difficult time, not the nervousness of coming across my worst fear in the whole world..snakes..at any given moment, not the demon possession, not the spiritual warfare that scared me more than anything has in my life, not the very real destruction of a little girls life after a landslide, not the darkness of black magic, poverty, and hurt. Not the love I saw in the people around me, not the freedom I felt in my heart, not the feeling of holding a hurting little child, not the feeling of hugging my friends, not the feeling of finding life in the pain, not the compassion I felt, not the presense of my holy and almighty God, not the beauty and so much more.
God is doing amazing things all around the world. I cannot even begin to fathom it. More than anything I long to go back to Africa and hold those hurting little babies and show them what love is by God working in me. But for now, I will be serving my Dad here on my college campus and at my job! Please join me in surrendering your life all for his glory, having those hard discussions you want to pretend dont need to happen, giving up the things in your life that hold you back from His love, and loving the people around you where they are at! I love you all so much! I am praying for your salvation and entrance into His kingdom with me on the day of glory!
Thursday, August 9, 2012
All I Really Need
Looking around me I see so much poverty, brokenness, and desperation. I see children without clothes, not just because its hot or they dont feel like it and their parents allow it, but because they cannot afford clothing. I see children with huge tummies and bellybuttons walking around the streets on a daily basis. I see children without parents and ones suffering from malaria and other treatable illnesses and yet many die without treatment. I see newly married couples happy and excited about life but cant help but think something is wrong with them because they cannot have a child. They are looked down upon by others since they cannot bare one. I see the use of spirits and black magic all around me. Its everywhere within the Dagara (the people group here) culture. Its not a joke to me anymore. This is real and its flooding the lives of these people. Some have even said before, "I know you are telling me the truth, but the spirits will kill me if I follow your Jesus, they've told me".
These people live their lives in fear. A fear that something will overtake them, a fear they wont have enough, a fear that someone will come in and make them change their ways and their people. But in reality, dont I have the same fears? Dont we all have the same fears?
But guess what we dont have to...and neither do they. It says in Psalm 46:1-3 God is our refuge and strength, and ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. If only we would give him our everything. If only we would stop being so selfish and prideful; thinking we can do it all on our own and we dont need any help, He would help us.
The craziest part of this whole thing is that if we would just stop and think for just a few minutes, we would realize that we werent even created to do this on our own, no wonder we struggle so much! We were created to be in partnership with our great and awesome God. A partnership in which we can lean on Him in all that we do, and He will give us strength and no reason to fear since He has a plan for our lives if we would just take up our crosses and follow Him.
But following Him isnt a cake-walk, its uncomfortable, disappointing at times, and hard...just plain hard. But the unending joy, love, hope, and perseverance that comes with knowing our Jesus as our personal Savior is so worth being uncomfortable and difficult. Its so worth it, the reward far outweighs the consequences. If we just accept it, His is all that we need. I see these children in so much need. Money may get them through the day, possibly a week, but more than money or clothes, they need Jesus. They need to know the love that H has for them and in turn the love that has filled our hearts for them. And most of the time I have too much selfish pride to give them the shirt off my back or the clean water in my water bottle or touch them if they have just wet themselves in front of me. All because I want to be comfortable. He asks us to give up our everything, quite literally. Give up your hopes, dreams, plans, money, clothes, food, homes, and rules, give it to me; so I can make it more beautiful and full of life. Well guess what, we dont want to do that. Not on a regular basis because its uncomfortable, because its not "instant gratification" and what does our culture thrive on if that isnt it. Even if we KNOW that God has something better planned for us and we need to give to those in need, we still struggle with giving Him our everything, but He tells us, do not fear I am with you. I pray you realize what it is He is asking you to give up to Him today, because I promise you He will make it even more beautiful than you can ever even begin to imagine.
These people live their lives in fear. A fear that something will overtake them, a fear they wont have enough, a fear that someone will come in and make them change their ways and their people. But in reality, dont I have the same fears? Dont we all have the same fears?
But guess what we dont have to...and neither do they. It says in Psalm 46:1-3 God is our refuge and strength, and ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. If only we would give him our everything. If only we would stop being so selfish and prideful; thinking we can do it all on our own and we dont need any help, He would help us.
The craziest part of this whole thing is that if we would just stop and think for just a few minutes, we would realize that we werent even created to do this on our own, no wonder we struggle so much! We were created to be in partnership with our great and awesome God. A partnership in which we can lean on Him in all that we do, and He will give us strength and no reason to fear since He has a plan for our lives if we would just take up our crosses and follow Him.
But following Him isnt a cake-walk, its uncomfortable, disappointing at times, and hard...just plain hard. But the unending joy, love, hope, and perseverance that comes with knowing our Jesus as our personal Savior is so worth being uncomfortable and difficult. Its so worth it, the reward far outweighs the consequences. If we just accept it, His is all that we need. I see these children in so much need. Money may get them through the day, possibly a week, but more than money or clothes, they need Jesus. They need to know the love that H has for them and in turn the love that has filled our hearts for them. And most of the time I have too much selfish pride to give them the shirt off my back or the clean water in my water bottle or touch them if they have just wet themselves in front of me. All because I want to be comfortable. He asks us to give up our everything, quite literally. Give up your hopes, dreams, plans, money, clothes, food, homes, and rules, give it to me; so I can make it more beautiful and full of life. Well guess what, we dont want to do that. Not on a regular basis because its uncomfortable, because its not "instant gratification" and what does our culture thrive on if that isnt it. Even if we KNOW that God has something better planned for us and we need to give to those in need, we still struggle with giving Him our everything, but He tells us, do not fear I am with you. I pray you realize what it is He is asking you to give up to Him today, because I promise you He will make it even more beautiful than you can ever even begin to imagine.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
More Pictures!!
Brittany, I think those ducks we saw in Florida originated in Africa...I decided :)
The Tree of Life..
The view of Diebougou
MASHED POTATOES!!
Sunrise...right outside our gate...majestic.
Two kids just hanging out early in the morning
The view right outside our gate
Our follow-up clinic patients
This is a bridge... :) no cars here!
Tree of Life
Every day Mari and I go on a walk. This is a time when we can get out beyond our "comfort-zone" of hanging out with Jesus in our personal time and perfecting our personal walk with Him. This is a time when we can share our love for our Jesus with the community that we live in. A time when we can talk about all the things that we are dealing with and a time away from the compound that confines us on a regular basis.
On our walk we pass by what we call the "Tree of Life". At this tree there is a large portion of dirt because the kids use it to play futbol and gather and the adults gather with them as well at different times of the day. We call it the tree of life because no matter when you pass by it there is always life going on below its beautiful branches: young, old, and people in the middle.
Today was a special day. We got to go beyond our gate and our compound that has unfortunately confined us for much too long of a time, partially because of circumstances beyond our control. But non-the-less today we got out for a long period of time! Every day we also stop to buy mangos and occasionally a loaf of bread. The people who run the store always know when we are coming that that is what we need! So we went to buy a loaf of bread. We have new Muslim neighbors that live behind us so we thought we should welcome them to our community (even if technically it isnt our community) so we gave them a loaf of bread to welcome them to their new home! After "conversing" for a bit (Mari did the talking as I know very VERY minimal French) we continued on our journey.
It didnt take long and we were finally at the Tree of Life again. While there we ended up with a group of about 20 kids just hanging out with us. It was so so so much fun! We painted the little girls nails and then we played games. We also handed out little pieces of paper that said "Dieu et nous t'aime" which very simply says "God and we love you". We taught them ring around the rosie and "bef, bef, matonge" or cow, cow, goat. It was probably the best day and experience I have had since arriving here in Burkina. I love love LOVE kids and just hanging out with other people and making conversation. God truly blessed us with this experience.
The best part of this experience though, isnt the "satisfaction" of going out beyond the gate and getting out of the compound or playing and hanging out with the kids. The satisfaction of this experience is getting to spread the love of our Jesus with those in our community. Even if we dont verbally tell everyone that Jesus loves them or that somebody died so that they could live, we can show it through our actions. Even if we cannot speak the Dagara or French language that our friends in Burkina do, we can communicate with them through His love and His grace. He lets us be in community with these beautiful children for just a little while so that He can reveal to them His love for their lives, talents, abilities, strengths, and weaknesses alike; just as He will reveal those things to you if only you ask Him to! How great is our God?! :) I hope and pray that He reveals his marvelous love and grace to you today!
On our walk we pass by what we call the "Tree of Life". At this tree there is a large portion of dirt because the kids use it to play futbol and gather and the adults gather with them as well at different times of the day. We call it the tree of life because no matter when you pass by it there is always life going on below its beautiful branches: young, old, and people in the middle.
Today was a special day. We got to go beyond our gate and our compound that has unfortunately confined us for much too long of a time, partially because of circumstances beyond our control. But non-the-less today we got out for a long period of time! Every day we also stop to buy mangos and occasionally a loaf of bread. The people who run the store always know when we are coming that that is what we need! So we went to buy a loaf of bread. We have new Muslim neighbors that live behind us so we thought we should welcome them to our community (even if technically it isnt our community) so we gave them a loaf of bread to welcome them to their new home! After "conversing" for a bit (Mari did the talking as I know very VERY minimal French) we continued on our journey.
It didnt take long and we were finally at the Tree of Life again. While there we ended up with a group of about 20 kids just hanging out with us. It was so so so much fun! We painted the little girls nails and then we played games. We also handed out little pieces of paper that said "Dieu et nous t'aime" which very simply says "God and we love you". We taught them ring around the rosie and "bef, bef, matonge" or cow, cow, goat. It was probably the best day and experience I have had since arriving here in Burkina. I love love LOVE kids and just hanging out with other people and making conversation. God truly blessed us with this experience.
The best part of this experience though, isnt the "satisfaction" of going out beyond the gate and getting out of the compound or playing and hanging out with the kids. The satisfaction of this experience is getting to spread the love of our Jesus with those in our community. Even if we dont verbally tell everyone that Jesus loves them or that somebody died so that they could live, we can show it through our actions. Even if we cannot speak the Dagara or French language that our friends in Burkina do, we can communicate with them through His love and His grace. He lets us be in community with these beautiful children for just a little while so that He can reveal to them His love for their lives, talents, abilities, strengths, and weaknesses alike; just as He will reveal those things to you if only you ask Him to! How great is our God?! :) I hope and pray that He reveals his marvelous love and grace to you today!
Monday, July 23, 2012
Accidents of Birth
Its an accident of birth. An accident of birth that I have white skin, a nice home, food to eat, an education, and a high life expectancy. An accident that I am literate, have access to clean water, and dont have to pick through piles of trash along the road in order to survive.
Its an accident of birth that my friends struggle with education, dont have clean water, healthcare, or food to eat. An accident that they have physical back breaking labor, and have to struggle to survive every day.
We woke up to watch the sunrise at 5:30am. As the colors just began to dance across the horizon, bikes began to pass as we sat on our chairs relaxing. We can take the time out of our day to wake up "early" and relax as they have to get up and work all day at the market to earn less than $1.00.
We went to church to find it filled with small children. The small American child was kept quiet by raisins and cashew nuts. The other children had protruding and malnourished bellies as they filled the wooden benches. An accident of birth.
The most beautiful part is that these children filling the benches with their protruding bellies and little bodies danced and sang their little hearts out for their Jesus. The sight was so beautiful to see somebody with what we would consider as "nothing" have everything they will actually ever NEED.
Its an accident of birth that my friends struggle with education, dont have clean water, healthcare, or food to eat. An accident that they have physical back breaking labor, and have to struggle to survive every day.
We woke up to watch the sunrise at 5:30am. As the colors just began to dance across the horizon, bikes began to pass as we sat on our chairs relaxing. We can take the time out of our day to wake up "early" and relax as they have to get up and work all day at the market to earn less than $1.00.
We went to church to find it filled with small children. The small American child was kept quiet by raisins and cashew nuts. The other children had protruding and malnourished bellies as they filled the wooden benches. An accident of birth.
The most beautiful part is that these children filling the benches with their protruding bellies and little bodies danced and sang their little hearts out for their Jesus. The sight was so beautiful to see somebody with what we would consider as "nothing" have everything they will actually ever NEED.
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