Sunday Update

I am just in from our first trip to the “bush”.  We are divided into teams and so two go each weekend.  I was on children’s ministry and so my job all day was to entertain children.  It’s very crazy and chaotic most times as they don’t like lines or order.  And so everything you do is in the midst of chaos unless you can whittle it down to just a handful of kids, which doesn’t happen until close to dinnertime.  I spend most of the time in the dirt with them teaching them games, each of us not knowing the other’s language, although I am learning a lot of their tribal languauge.  I just go around and point to things and the kids love to teach me and laugh to hear an “acuna” (white person) speak their tongue.  I had a permanent marker and I must have drawn over 400 “tattoos” on all these little arms!  Even grandma’s and teenage boys were wanting something drawn on their arms.  It is so amazing how easily satisfied these people are and the little things that make them happy.  And so there are hundreds of people in a small village in the middle of Africa running around with flowers and hearts and fishes and smiley faces by Carolyn on their arms.

 

If you have emailed me and I haven’t responded, please don’t feel bad.  I haven’t had a single day off since getting here.  The saying for us is, “Blessed are the flexible for they shall not bend”.  So many things have come up at the last minute that we have to do, not voluntary.  I have missed quite a few meals and have found that this is okay.  It is very hard for me to not be able to talk to each and every one of you because all of you are so very important to me.  When I get a day off, I really want to spend like 4 hours just getting caught up on the web with my friends and family.  For now, this is all I can offer.  It takes sometimes 45 minutes just to get online and upload one blog update.  Very frustrating for me.  Facebook is almost out of the realm of my reach because of time.  But, I still attempt it when I can!

 

A recap of my week of learning in school and personal revelation:

 

God will use the unobvious choice to do the most amazing work.  He used a white woman in a male dominant culture to change a nation toward God (Heidi Baker).  Why not us?  Our faith to go can only come from the confidence that we have in what God has called us to.  It only takes one to lead and go and how awesome that we don’t have to have a whole church to capture a city or even a nation.  We just need a few foolish ones to follow.  Be a fool for Christ!

 

If we would just pray first, God would clean up a bunch of stuff before we even go so we wouldn’t have to work so hard.  It would be easy, just like Jesus did, to pray first and then go and with a word, people would be set free.  We wouldn’t have to labor for the harvest, we could just go and harvest out of His rest.  Wow!

 

Ephesians 5 says to live out of what God has already given us.  Live under the influence.  When we tell of what God has done for us, do we only have stories of months ago?  If we aren’t sharing stories about what God did for us yesterday and today, or what God showed us yesterday or today, then we aren’t living under the influence.  If we are under the influence, it’s an everyday thing in our everyday life.  If we aren’t here for Jesus our love will grow cold.  If we are here for the orphans or for the nation or for ministry, then our love will grow cold.  We have to be here for Jesus.  Everything needs to include Him or He isn’t having much influence.

 

In the villages, I haven’t been a part of any amazing miracles yet, except to witness the most amazing one of all, the love of Jesus at work.  Oh beloved, do life, do life, especially under the influence of love.  Some may wonder what my typical (lol) day looks like.  Well, I get up at 5am, hang out with Jesus for some intimate time until 7am.  Then I grab a roll and some hot tea for breakfast at the community kitchen (200 kids :-)).  Then it's off to Mission school non stop until 130pm most days.  Then the afternoons are taken up with local village outreach stuff like playing with kids and visiting villagers and praying for people or feeding the widows etc...  Then we have dinner at 5:30-6:00.  Then we have a speaker or home group or something until 9-10pm.  Then we start again.  I haven't had a day off since I've been here and today I am finally tired.  Going to nap after this!  I love you guys!!!!  Keep me lifted in prayer!