Hello Mara (Missing Days, Part 2)

I am up before the sun this morning… Jet lag can be the only culprit because if you know me at all, you know that I am NOT a morning person!  While I don’t particularly enjoy my body clock waking me up at all hours of the night, I do enjoy pretending to be a grown up that wakes up without a bazillion alarms!  This morning I have found two things in particular that make rising early appealing: 1. Giving yourself a much needed mani pedi, without having to worry about messing them up…I painted my nails and proceeded to just sit there in silence.  Feeling no pressure at all to get up and get anything done, because its 5AM!!!  2. Feeling (almost) no guilt about eating a brownie for breakfast because I have a very long day ahead to burn it off!!!  I quickly feel a 3rd appeal coming to mind… completing “Part 2” of my Missing Days blog!  

With packed bags, our group left Breckenhurst Conference Center (our home for the past weeks) and headed to the Nairobi airport!  To all of our delight (not really), we boarded a “puddle jumper” headed for the Masai Mara!  With nervous voices, we sang a song the children at Little Eden taught us as the plane left the ground…and prayed!

“Higher, higher

higher, higher

higher, higher

Jesus, higher!”

To all of our delight, we landed 40 minutes later, with no trouble at all, on the dirt road landing strip!  Welcomed by our Masai friend, Thomas.  Thomas is the reason, more or less, our church decided to bring us to a Masai village.  A few years ago, a couple for Houston’s First whitened to Thomas on a safari.  Thomas had just suffered the loss of his father and along with that handed the responsibility of his entire village… all at the age of 22!  Needless to say, Thomas was searching for any kind of comfort and answers to his pain.  And in the Lord’s perfect timing, He provided this couple to meet him right where Thomas was at!  Long story short, Thomas became a Christian, went home and shared the good news with his village, and started a church!  Houston’s First has since built a beautiful building for Thomas’ congregation, right next door to the area public school!

After a long jeep ride through the Mara, our team got settled in our… tent, that’s right, the only thing separating us from a lion attack was a zipper!  Don’t worry though, the lion would have had to get past Masai Warriors on watch in the forest around us.  Anyway, we got settled quickly and headed to the area school.  At a good distance from the school, we saw the bright red and yellow outfits of the school children waiting to meet us.  Upon first sight, I was in love!  No sooner had we hoped out of the jeeps, that the kiddos were dancing and singing for our group.  It was, without a doubt, one of the coolest experiences of my life!  I mean, WOW!  

With that kind of introduction, we all felt a little timid to perform… Thankfully, the Lord used our small offering of songs and a short skit to open the doors of their little hearts.  Meeting eye to eye with their curious faces, asking questions that only the Lord knows, and witnessing the pursuit of a Holy God to an unreached people… Priceless moments, that yet again can only be explained (not understood).  Before we left for the evening, we were all released to PLAY!!!  Bubbles and stickers abounded as well as laughter… running and skipping from one game of soccer to another of parachute fun!  

With promises of tomorrow, we all loaded up in the jeeps.  Little did we know, that Thomas had planned many surprises for us ahead!  First stop, Thomas’ village!  All the ladies were lined up and greeted us with song and dance upon our arrival!  (I could certainly get use to this)!  Next, Thomas took us on a tour through his small village and walked us through a traditional mud hut.  Talk about a humbling experience… the huts are smaller than most rooms in America, barely wide enough for two people to stand at arms length across.  Even still, Thomas’ face beamed with pride to invite us into his home and family.  Before we we left, I was humbled (yet again) as each of the women removed a necklace from around their necks and placed it around each of the women of our team.  To have so little and to give so much… this was a recurring theme in Kenya, Africa.

Next stop, spontaneous safari!  Our fearless leader?  None only than our personal friend and Masai Warrior, Thomas!!!  Before any of us knew we were even on a “safari”, our jeeps came over a hill only to be greeted by a 60 year old elephant!  It was pretty awesome!  Believe it or not though, this was not the end to our excitement for the day!  Sometime after dinner, we were all gathered around the campfire when all the sudden we heard a commotion in the bushes… Masai Warriors came running out of the woods!  There, in the dark of the night, Thomas’ friends performed for us a variety of traditional songs and dances.  Talk about a perfect ending to a perfect day! 

The next morning, we headed out early to the school again to put on VBS.  Myself and another woman from the team were in charge of Bible.  With the knowledge that the majority of these children had never heard the gospel, I was a bit nervous to say the least.  Recognizing the large responsibility of the hours ahead, I was without a doubt praying continually for the Lord to speak through us.  As each group came through, my confidence grew as I felt the anointing of the Holy Spirit.  Scripture weaved in and out of my speech with a grace that can only be attributed to the Lord.  Even more than that though, I could see a hunger in the children’s eyes as I spoke- living proof, right in front of me, that the Lord was after their sweet little hearts.

While I set out to finish this post before church this morning, I ended up talking to my Mom on the phone midway through the post.  I’m so glad I had to postpone writing because the Lord gave me a vision in church today… As we were singing praise and worship this morning the Lord brought the faces of those Masai children to mind.  I saw their faces listening to me share the gospel and then immediately saw wind blowing through the school and the Mara grass.  Then the Lord said, “my word will not return void”.  Praise the Lord!  Amen.         

“So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty,

but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

Isaiah 55:11

Goodbye Eden (Missed Days, Part 1)

We are home… our hearts are still in Africa though.  (Clearly, Tony Bennett has never been to Africa because his song would have gone a little differently)!  

“I left my heart in Kenya, Africa”

As Ben and I process being home, I will continue to blog.  I have a feeling, that will be just as much a part of our journey as anything else.  Until then though, I will catch you up on some of the days you have missed.

Goodbye Eden

Saturday and Sunday were our last days with the children of Little Eden.  Saturday was a full day of fun!  We got to Little Eden early in the morning and didn’t leave until we absolutely had to…  

(Have I mentioned the roads in Africa?  Not sure you can actually call them roads… They are more like twists and turns around potholes of death!  Don’t worry though, it didn’t slow our drivers down a bit!  Every pothole seemed to encourage them to drive faster, as if speed would compensate for the jaw rattling ride.  Thankfully though, in Africa you are not constricted to staying in one lane… You are more than welcome to drive in the other, until a game of chicken forces you back into your “rightful” lane!)  

… Sorry for the detour, but clearly that was important part of our experience to share.  Now it may make more sense to you why we would need to leave Little Eden before dark.  Anyway, back to Saturday.  From the time we arrived to the time we left, we just played and played and played!  It was awesome!  Soccer balls were flying in all directions, as the sweet sounds of girls singing “Little Sally Walker” played in the background.  When we weren’t singing, laughing, or doing both, we were just quietly holding a sweet girl or boy in our laps.  Some of my greatest memories from Africa will always be the quiet ones.  In America, we don’t seem to enjoy the quiet… our quiet somehow still includes the t.v. in the background…It took some time for me to realize that the children of Little Eden wanted nothing more than to sit quietly in your lap or hold your hand while watching other children run and play.  Didn’t take me long after that though, to realize that’s all I really wanted too.

Latter in the afternoon, we started VBS.  Saturday was my day to present the bible lesson.  I taught the story of Moses four different times and loved it more each time.  The children of Little Eden gave me their full attention for every minute that I spoke.  With eager eyes, they sat quietly and took in every word… twice.  (Not sure I have told you this either, we needed a translator the majority of the time to communicate effectively with the children).  I’m not sure I have ever felt more privileged to share a bible story.  The Lord spoke through me, I could feel it.  Not sure there is a better feeling in the world.  Thank you Jesus.

Onto Sunday, the best/ worst day… Sunday was a perfect day.  A day that can only be explained, not understood (unless you were there).  We spent the majority of the morning in the Cheese church with all the kiddos from Little Eden.  For three hours we danced and sang praises to the Lord.  It was yet another taste of Heaven.  Worship for me will never be the same, now that I have been blessed to witness the praise of “the least of these”.  After church we all went back to Little Eden for lunch.  The Aunties of Little Eden prepared a delicious meal for us and we all enjoyed a great time of adult fellowship (the children ate separately downstairs).  As we ate, Mike and Sylvia Eden shared stories with us… stories of the Lord’s constant provision.  After lunch all the girls had some girl time!  We brought dresses for all the little girls and got to spend time to find the perfect one for each girl.  I will never forget the faces of each girl as they tried on their new dress.  It was as if each of them looked down and thought, “I feel like a princess”-which they all are.

With thier new dresses on, we all headed outside with the boys.  Mike Eden wanted some of the children to perform for us, so we all gathered to watch.  As you may imagine, I cried through each performance.  Somehow the individual performances lead to everyone dancing and singing!  All the Aunties, all the men on staff, Mike and Sylvia, our team, and 67 orphans!  It was a party!  We danced and sang for hours!  As the dancing evolved into holding hands in a circle, everyone could feel our time together coming to an end.  Still singing songs of praise, all of us slowly began to cry.  Without a word, we all began to break apart to give our final goodbye hugs… There was not a dry eye in sight.  Eventually we all had to force ourselves into the vans.  Waving goodbye with tears still flowing, to a family we had always had but never known. 

Whirlwind!

Since I last posted, a lot has happened! We had our last days at Little Eden, visited a Masai school and village, and went on a Safari! In all our travels the last few days, we have not had any Internet. Thus, no blogging.

Currently we are in Amsterdam waiting for our next flight to Houston. Nairobi to Amsterdam= 8 hrs, layover in Amsterdam= 5 hrs, Amsterdam to Houston= 8 hrs! Does it make you as tired to read that as it does me to write it? Anyway, we are headed home! ( Honestly though, I was not ready to leave). Once I get home, I will catch everyone up othose adventures in Africa! Look forward to that 🙂

 

A Few Moments…

We have had a lot of rain!  It is hard enough walking, so you can imagine how difficult it would be to move a bike up a hill WITH a huge sack of grain.  Thankfully, Ben was able to help this villager as we walked to the new Little Eden boy’s dorm.  (On Thursday morning we had the honor of participating in the dedication for this new building.  It was another time of worship to remember)!

I spent most of my day Thursday doing laundry with all of Little Eden’s Aunties (this is what they call the women who care for them).  Let me tell you, a few hours of washing clothes by hand will convict you to never complain about laundry again!  This provided a great time for me to bond with the Aunties, along with having “tea” with them later in the day.  A lot of the girls on our trip put the tea together and it turned into a really sweet blessing for all of us.  (Again, this was yet another time of worship to remember!  Do you notice a trend?)  While most of the girls from the team stayed at the Little Eden home on Thursday, all the men did construction on the new boy’s dorm.

We spent Friday morning at a public school in Cheese (Little Eden is in the town of Cheese).  This was an AMAZING experience.  The HUNDREDS of students were SO excited to see all of us.  They sang songs for us and then we sang songs for them!  One of our team members also shared the gospel, but something tells me that they hear that every day.  (There was scripture and the like hanging in every classroom)!  As soon as the children were given permission to play, they all ran to crowd around each of us!  It was hilarious!  The group that surrounded me asked me tons of questions and could not stop touching me!  Ha!

Left: Rosemary, Right: Grace

Today (Saturday) was a perfect day!  We were able to spend the ENTIRE day with the Little Eden kiddos!  All of us were in heaven as we played games, sang songs, and danced with God’s little treasures.  The day was too rich to even try to explain it, but I will share one God moment with you.  As I was packing up to leave today, someone brought some papers to me that had fallen out of Ben’s bible.  (I had just finished teaching the bible lessons for VBS).  To my surprise one of the papers was a picture.  In November Ben and I attended our church’s Orphan Sunday service.  At this service we chose a couple pictures of orphans, to remind us to pray for the orphans of the world.  Both pictures were of orphans in Kenya.  (Little did we know, that the Lord would call us to Kenya in January)!  Anyway, I look down at the picture and saw a familiar face.  It was Grace!  A young girl that has been following me around since day one at Little Eden!  In fact, at the same moment that I was handed the picture, Grace was holding onto me!  I can not express to you the emotions of that moment… How humbled I felt to be holding in my arms, the very girl whose picture has challenged me to pray for the world’s orphans.  Just to clarify, Grace has grown a lot since that picture 🙂

The sheep of Little Eden!

Last thing I wanted to share…The Lord has blessed our team with great morning devotions.  This morning was particularly good.  Today our leader, Bill, read the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000.  Bill has been to Israel, so he pointed out something about this story that I have never heard.  He pointed out that the Bible says that Jesus instructed the thousands to sit in the grass.  The interesting thing about this detail is that Israel is a very dry and rocky place- not a lot of grass in Israel.  Bill’s thoughts this morning were that Jesus had the people sit in the grass to be a witness to how the Lord provides for the animals.  In other words, if God provides food for the animals how much more will he provide for His people (Matthew 6:26).  This scripture, along with Psalm 23 are such a perfect testimony to how the Lord provides for us.  Honestly though, this was such a sweet reminder of how the Lord cares for the orphans 365 days a year- not just the days our team happens to be here.  He is such a good Father!  Who is like our God?!

“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.  He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. 
He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; 
your rod and your staff, they comfort me”(Psalm 23:1-4).

Burping Babies to Plucking Chickens!

Hello All!

As you may assume from the blog title, the last three days have been pretty crazy!  Thus, I have not been able to be at my computer blogging.  A lot has happened since my last blog, so I thank all of you for your prayers and thoughts.  Here is a picture story to catch you up quickly!  Enjoy!  (Scratch that, internet is not cooperating!  Hopefully pictures will come tomorrow.  Sorry guys).

Monday: Our group spent the day at Heshima Children’s Center.  Heshima means “dignity” and the mission of this center is to provided specialized care for mentally challenged children.  We enjoyed a day of walking and playing with the young children of Heshima.  The weather was beautiful so it made for a perfect morning walk.  Once we got back, we did a craft with the kiddos and broke out some play-dough.  The kids LOVED the craft and couldn’t get enough of the play-dough fun!  We had such a wonderful time and honestly forgot that these children had any disabilities at all!  (Half of the group also helped to plant bushes, while we were there.)

Tuesday: Ten of us drove three hours North to Nukuru, to visit His Cherished Ones.  This is an orphanage that reaches out to infant orphans.  As you may imagine, this was a heart wrenching experience.  All of the babies are absolutely beautiful and just the perfect size for our carry on luggage.  😉  Seriously, if I could legally bring them home I would have.  Thankfully though, the staff of His Cherished Ones is incredible and those babies are abundantly loved and cared for.  (The rest of the group headed out to Little Eden, where they started some construction work and played with the orphans after school).

Wednesday: Our group was reunited today and headed off to Little Eden together.  One of the greatest blessings of our day came before the day truly began- we had an amazing group devotional this morning.  It was such a refreshing time of fellowship, prayer, and time in God’s word.  Driving out to Little Eden was quite a challenge today, due to rain and A LOT of mud!  This lead to us pulling over to buy rain boots on the side of the road.  We were so thankful for the Lord’s provision in this area because we did a lot of walking in the mud today.  (Some of us did some falling too)!  Thanks to our amazing drivers, we made it to Little Eden safely and we got to work.  Much to my surprise, I found myself scorching and plucking a chicken!  I couldn’t help but think how proud Mom and Dad Fuller would be of me!  Most of the group continued with a construction project today and then a lot of us visit all the children during their lunch break at school.  Later in the day, I helped the ladies sort beans in the kitchen area and then we all spent time playing with the village/Little Eden kids before heading out for the day.

Joy

Today was one of those days that you know you will never forgot.  Before the day even started, I somehow knew I would never be the same when the day was through.  And I was right.

I knew it was going to be an emotional day, when I was feeling weepy a few miles from arriving at the orphanage.  In the last few miles of our drive to Into Abba’s Arms, we saw child after child making the long journey to morning church.  Every child we passed stopped along the road to welcome us with a warm smile and an enthusiastic wave.  It was beautiful.

When we arrived at Into Abba’s Arms, I was surprised to find that there were no children around.  (I think most of them were checking us out from inside the orphanage.  The village children were still walking to get there).  Next to children, there is nothing that magnetizes me more than cooking in a kitchen.  So moments after jumping off the van, I found myself peeling carrots in an open shack with all the older women.  I have never been more blessed to peel a vegetable.  There was not much conversation shared between me and the other ladies, and yet I experienced such a sweet fellowship with them.  With each carrot I peeled, I felt more and more at home.

Before I knew it, the music in the chapel was booming- the call to everyone that it was time for worship to start…and boy did it start!  The room was filled with children of all ages anxious to start singing and dancing.  After a short welcome and prayer, the music and dancing commenced.  At the start of the music, all of the children came running to the front of the chapel.  I have never heard such a joyful noise!  And I have certainly never seen such joyful dancing!  At first sight, I started to cry.  I was so completely  overwhelmed by the beauty of these sweet precious children.  The Holy Spirit was so thick in that room, I knew immediately that I was on Holy ground.

We sang, danced, prayed, and read God’s word. For close to 3 hours!  Our group also had the pleasure of leading everyone in song.  (Have to say though, I felt a little silly considering the passionate praise of the little ones).  In addition, we performed the play we practiced last night.  It all went great and we all had a blast doing it.  My favorite part of the whole time of worship came at the very end though.  When sweet Nancy turned to me and said, “can I teach you how to dance?” (I think my smile from ear to ear gave her the answer she was looking for).  Lead by her sweet hand, she took me to the front of the chapel and gave me the best dance lesson of my life!

By the time Nancy and I finished dancing, we were the only ones left in the chapel!  I’m sure this goes without saying, but I was t.i.r.e.d!  Thankfully, a delicious lunch awaited us outside.  I have to say, the carrots were the best part of the meal.  😉  No sooner had we finished eating, that we started being tickled and chased by the little ones.  This began a good 3 hours of tag, piggy back rides, airplanes, and soccer!  It was pure bliss!  I’m not sure who loved it more- the kiddos or us!

As everyone started to play a game of soccer and the crafts began, I felt that pull again to the kitchen.  Once again, I was welcomed in by all of the women.  Without a word, I was handed a sponge and joined in the cleaning extravaganza!  And just like before, I shared a sweet fellowship with these women that can not be explained.  These women are a beautiful testimony.  After meeting them, I will forever pray to be half the women that they are.

Just as before, the music began to call us all back to the chapel.  We all gathered together for another time of sweet worship.  One of our team members shared the gospel and did an amazing job articulating the Good News.  And just as before, all of the children (young and old) sat respectfully- listening to each word intently.  Its funny, we came there today to teach them and found out that they had more to teach us.

Before I knew it, it was time to say goodbye.  Just as I was brought to tears at first sight of these little ones, I was brought to tears again as we loaded the vans.  Leaving that orphanage with empty arms was one of the hardest things I have ever done.  As you may imagine, this blog entry does not come close to explaining the JOY of today.  I was given a gift today, one that I will always carry with me.

“Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;

let us make a joyful noise to the

rock of our salvation!

Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;

let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!”

Psalm 95:1-2

Orphans of all sizes!

Jambo!

Today we learned that orphans come in all shapes and sizes!  Today we visited an ELEPHANT orphanage!  After a good nights’ rest and a delicious breakfast, we made a short visit to some orphans in need. 😉  We got there just in time to watch all the baby elephants come running in for their breakfast.  They had some tasty greens (tree branches) and washed it all down with some rather large bottles of milk.  It was SO cute!  These orphans were only a year or two old and were at the orphanage because their parents had been killed by poachers.  😦  Thankfully though, we were able to show them some love today.

With our hearts totally melted, we left to get some shopping done for the orphans we really came to see!  We spent a few hours this afternoon getting some last minute materials for our visit to Little Eden.  Most of the group was assigned an item and we were sent out to get as much of it as possible.  With bags full, we all loaded on the bus and headed up the mountain to the city of Limuru.  The two hour drive gave us a “thrilling” taste of the roads and traffic of Kenya!

As we got further up the mountain, it got colder and more and more BEAUTIFUL!  Words can not describe how lush and wonderful the country side of Limuru is!  We are staying at a place called Brackenhurst and it is far from roughing it!  Brackenhurst was originally established as a British country club, so all the buildings have stunning character and the grounds are breathtaking!  (While everything is beautiful, there is no heating in the rooms… so let’s just say, we will all be layering up tonight)!

This evening we finished the day out preparing for our trip to Into Abba’s Arms.  We are leading worship, putting on a play, sharing the gospel, playing games, and creating crafts with them tomorrow!  I wish I had a video of all of us working through the play production- it was pretty humorous!  After many hours of practice though, I think we are ready to go for the big day.  Please pray for us as we visit our first orphanage tomorrow.  All of the children we are visiting do not speak English and a lot of the children have special needs.  We are spending the whole day there tomorrow, so hopefully the Lord will use us in a mighty way!

Blessings to all of you at home!

Safe and Sound!

Hello from Nairobi, Kenya!

After many hours of travel, we are happy to say that we have arrived safely to our destination!  Our first flight was 8 hours from Houston to Amsterdam.  Much to all of our surprise, we were served dinner and breakfast on the flight!  The excitement for the trip was high, so I don’t believe anyone slept much.  Once we arrived in Amsterdam, we had a 2 1/2 hour lay over.  All of us felt like we were awake in the middle of the night (probably cause we were!), but the day was just beginning in Amsterdam!  Even still, the group enjoyed a great time of fellowship while we waited for our next flight.

Spirits were high as we boarded the second plane, little did we know that our flight would not leave the terminal for another 3 hours!  Right before our plane took off, an issue with the brakes was brought to the attention of our pilots.  Praise the Lord!  Those are just kind of important, right?  Anywho, I don’t remember much about this stall because I fell asleep as soon as we got on the plane!  Ha!  The rest of the crew reported that it was very very hot!  It was not until a few hours after our plane finally took off, that I even realized there was a problem!  Haha!  Once we were in the air, the second flight was another 8 hours.  As you may imagine, everyone was pretty well exhausted by this point so everyone got some much needed sleep.  Again to all of our surprise, we were served 2 more meals!  All of us could not believe how much they fed us on these flights (especially since you barely get a pack of pretzels on American flights)!

After we arrived in Nairobi, it was off to the races!  Going through customs and getting ALL of our luggage!  Thats right, not a single bag was lost.  This is saying a lot, since we filled an entire bus with our luggage alone!  Once we got everyone and their bags accounted for, we all loaded up and headed to our hotel for the night.  Thankfully, this was only a short 20 minute drive.  I am sure I speak for everyone when I say, we were all ready for a hot shower and a clean bed!  Now its time to get a little shut- eye!  Good night everyone and thank you for all your prayers!

Love y’all!

Ready, set, pack!

Hello friends and family!

Guess what?!  As of late last night, Ben and I are officially fully funded for Africa!  Praise the Lord!  With two days left till our trip, we had just assumed that everyone who wanted to give had already done so.  Honestly, we had already been humbled by the amount people had given, so we didn’t have a second thought about paying the remaining amount.  But the Lord had other plans!

At the beginning of our journey, even before Ben and I decided to go to Africa, we decided we would cover 100% of the cost for wherever we went.  We had a budget in mind and thought we would find the trip to match it.  Only problem was, we were planning from the prospective that our money was OUR money.  In addition, we also looked at the finances of others as THEIR money.  This is the WRONG prospective!  God’s prospective says, “The earth is the LORD’s and everything in it” (1 Corinthians 10:26).  So long story short, the Lord made it very clear to us that Africa was the place chosen for us.  And I’ve got to be honest, my eyeballs popped out of my head when I saw the cost (x 2)!  I found myself in a confusing place…”Lord, I thought you wanted us to pay for the trip on our own.  We thought that was the responsible and honoring thing to do!”  The Lord then loving responded with…”Yes, YOU thought I wanted you to pay for the trip on your own.  And you thought it was the “spiritual” thing to do (ouch!). But, I have other plans and I am going to teach you and Ben that I AM your PROVIDER!”  

AND HE DID!  

Ben and I have been overwhelmed with the love and support of our family and friends.  Even more so though, we are in awe of the Lord.  Total and complete AWE!  So with full and thankful hearts, we pack!  (Ha! That’s what this post was supposed to be about!  But, again, the Lord had other plans)!  Two days!  That’s right people, TWO more days! 

P.S. I LOVE packing! 🙂

How Deep The Father’s LOVE For Us…

As our mission trip approaches, I am expecting great things from the Lord.  Praying that as the days to our trip quickly approach that He would do a work in my life so that I in turn can be used by Him to work in other’s lives.  Asking the Lord to give me eyes to see those we meet as He does.  Each and every one of them are precious to the Father and need the good news of Jesus Christ.  But don’t we all…I am truly in need of your gospel every day.

“How deep the Father’s love for us,

How vast beyond all measure.

That He should give His only Son,

To make a wretch His treasure…”

To help prepare the team for Africa, our mission leaders gave us a small devotional.  As I read it today I was asked an interesting question, “When you think about going on your mission trip, what is the first image or word that pops into your mid?”  My first thought was that this was an easy questions to answer, but when my pen touched the paper I couldn’t think of what to write.  Perplexed by this, I took a moment to pause and asked the Lord to give me an image.  The first thing I saw was a dirt road and my next thought was of Jesus’ sandals.  Again, I was perplexed but decided to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.  The Lord brought me to 1 John 2:6, “The one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.”  As I pondered these words, the Lord brought into focus what He was trying to show me.  God did not wait for us to come to Him, He came to us first!  In the same way, He has called me to “walk in the same manner” to the orphans of Kenya!  The Father’s love is truly so deep.  So deep that He sent His only Son, Jesus!  And all so He could make me His!  This truth humbled me.  Humbling, because He has chosen to send me to walk in His footsteps to Africa.  Also humbling, because of how often I walk through life waiting for opportunities to serve to conveniently come to me.  God has already told me in His word that He has created me for good works.  And not only that, but that He has prepared them in advance “that we would WALK in them” (Ephesians 2:10).  

Lord, give me the heart of your Son, Jesus.  May I grow to walk in His footsteps daily.  Daily seeking to obey His teachings, and follow his example of complete obedience to God, and loving service to people.  Give me the eyes to see a need and the boldness to meet it.  Thank you for pursuing me, long before I knew I needed you.  Amen.