Thursday, July 30, 2009

I made a little video of some of my adventures in Burkina Faso and Ghana this summer! Enjoy!

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Forever I am changed by Your love

Sorry it's taken me so long to get this update to you! I have arrived safely back in the States, and am now experiencing some extreme culture shock! I'm spending this week working at Cross Camp and Louisiana College... just hanging out and loving on some youth kiddos! I love it!

But as far as my 5 weeks in Africa...

How about starting out with a little comedy!? Here's a picture of the sign for the women's public restroom:

I guess you could say that my personal cry the entire trip comes from a song by Meredith Andrews
“Take me through the desert places for a chance to see Your face..”
.. And I can honestly say that I’ve seen His face.
...I no longer see Christ’s love through a 21 year old Protestant girl from Louisiana.

I’ve seen so many different characteristics of God during these 5 weeks. I’ve seen Healer, Power, Light, Freedom, Understanding, Provider, Comforter, Completer, Joy… FAITHFUL.

“YOUR LOVE, oh Lord, reaches to the heavens. Your faithfulness stretches to the skies. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep... How priceless is your UNFAILING LOVE!”

I wish I could express to you through words the way that I feel, but maybe these faces below can help convey my feelings:

All I know is that I am blessed.

I don’t know exactly where I am headed. I don’t know exactly when my heart will feel whole again. But God is teaching me to rejoice – if in nothing else, to rejoice in the fact that He is Lord. He knows the answers to all of my hardest questions, that He can heal my hurt. My identity does not come from where I live or what I am doing there, but from Him alone. Even when my heart is heavy, I will dance with the joy of the Lord, my Savior. “I heard and my heart pounded, my lips quivered at the thought; decay crept into my bones and my legs trembled… but though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, still I will REJOICE in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength. He makes my feet jump and dance like the feet of a deer; He enables me to climb to the highest heights.”Habakkuk 3:17-19

i cling to his promises

this is what I know: I rest with trust and faith in Him. "If God is for us, who can be against us?" And we know that God IS for us.

(I'll update more when camp is over and I have the time and energy to share stories!)

Thursday, July 9, 2009

One week left to go! But I’m definitely enjoying my time here. I’m trying to be “all in” these last few days, even though homesick-ness has begun to sink in! We are all feeling better and have been able to do some extremely exciting things this past week!

A few days ago we took the morning off to go rock climbing! Like serious rock climbing! We climbed to the top of a cliff where you can look out over all of the local villages! It was so refreshing to spend the day soaking up God’s beautiful creation! We even found a river that lead to a waterfall! (Rock climbing in a skirt is always a fun time, right!?)

The doctors at the Medical Centre here in Nalerigu are so kind! I have been able to spend some time with them while they make rounds and check on patients. I also got to help out with some surgeries and practice some of my newly learned nursing skills! I’m so amazed to see the way they do all these major surgeries with hardly any supplies!

..And my host family- they are just wonderful! Such great hospitality!! Part of the daily routine now is to wake up around 5:30 to lead a morning devotion with all of them. The oldest of the kids (Woosifer- 20 years old) has been a believer for many years now. After devotion one morning he came up to me and said that this has been the first time his family has ever gathered together to read the Word and pray; he told me that he is forever grateful. He also told me that after I leave, he plans to continue doing this each morning! He wants to lead the devo by himself one morning before I leave so that I can help him out some! It's so exciting and encouraging for me to see God at work in this family!

The best thing about watching a child accept Christ is the fact that you can see the change take place. Children are honest. They don't do things because they feel like they need to, because it is the thing to do. They don't do it to impress. These children give their hearts to the Lord because they can feel Him, they KNOW that He is real. They want hope, something to cling to in a land of nothing. and they find it there, in the arms of their Father. And being able to share that hope with them is a gift beyond anything else in this world…

I'd love to tell you we've seen hundreds come to know the Lord, but the truth is that we haven't. (I'm learning to be faithful in sharing God's truth, and completely rely on the Holy Spirit to convict hearts and tear down walls) It is extremely risky for someone to follow Christ here. Being Muslim has become part of their identity, not just their religion. I have met believers who have faced ultimate persecution because of their faith; many of them are disowned by their family or even physically abused. Please continue to pray for the people here in Nalerigu; I genuinely believe something miraculous is going to take place!

"Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, praise his name: proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all the people. For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise." Psalms 96:1-4

Here’s something that I’ve been thinking about lately that does seem to be pretty ironic: Today I went with 2 of the native girls that I hang out with, Theresa and Elizabeth, to the farm. They were asking me about “machines” we had in America to do our work for us. I explained to them about washing machines, dishwashers, dryers, etc.. They thought it was so hilarious that we have machines to do our work for us and we don’t just use “man power”! They decided that if they came to America they would get fat, but I assured them that we have a gym we can go work out at! This was their response: “So you mean you have all of these machines to do your hard work for you, but you go to a different place later to do other work for fun!?”

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Oh, elephants!

We made it to Ghana! A little behind schedule, and spending some extra, unintended time at the Medical Centre, but we're here!

So we finally made it here. Sorry I have no pictures to post or anything super great to share. I just wanted to let you guys know that we have arrived! We're a little delayed on our schedule due to our sicknesses, but we've all gotten on antibiotics. This is day 4 of sickness and I am beginning to feel a little stronger. We have been entertaining ourselves by telling jokes and playing with chameleons! This evening the families that we will be staying with are coming here to meet us since we cannot move into their homes until we are healthy. The local believers have some ideas of how we can best minister to them and are excited about sharing those ideas with us! I am encouraged and very excited about this! Please pray that we would be healed of our sickness very rapidly so that we can leave the Medical Centre and move in with a native family and continue to do God's work! Please pray that the hope, freedom, and truth found in Christ alone will radiate through my words and actions as spend the remainder of my time with this family.

I am reminded again at how perfect God's timing is. Even in sickness. We were able to maintain health to finish our ministry in Burkina. We arrived safely at the Medical Centre. We will still be able to do our ministry in Ghana as well. I am thankful for these few days in between to rest.

I am refreshed, excited, and encouraged! I am beyond blessed to have so much joy fill my days! Sometimes it’s not easy to see it; sometimes I have to look really hard to find small pieces. I am praying everyday that the Joy of Christ will envelope this village; that they would see the light and be able to have hope...


In the words of Christy Nockels:
"You are able. Higher is our God
than anything that comes our way,
come what may. You alone forever stay.
You're able."