A Taste of Heaven

This morning, at church, I think I got a small glimpse of Heaven as we shared communion together. Communion is not uncommon to me, but I was struck by how this would be more like it was in Heaven because of the mix of cultures. Here I was with the African church sharing in the remembrance of Christ. We sang together, read the Word together, and then remembered all that Christ did for us on the cross. It was a good reminder for me of how we serve a universal God who is coming back to take every culture Home with Him where we will all commune with Him. 

Great God Who Saves

Even when the way is hard to bear

And you wonder if someone even cares

The mountains seem to hard to face

Moments make you question your place

Look to Me, My child, I'm holding your hand

He said My child I love you

I came to earth to die

With My outstretched arms

I held you so tight

So don't question what I'm doing

Don't question what's inside

I said I would  never leave you

So won't you trust Me tonight

Don't you see all that I've done

Did you miss that I sent You My Son

I've walked with you all the way

By your side I'll always stay

Look to Me, My child, I'm helping you stand

My grace is sufficient, sufficient for you

My grace is sufficient, sufficient for you

My grace is sufficient for you

The two verses of this song came to me during some of the hardest days so far while we were in Nyemah last week. God pulled us through that week, and then He gave us a pretty good week with the kids this week. He is constantly by our side, constantly holding our hands, and constantly walking every single step with us. Without Him, we couldn't be doing any of this.

Coming off of week 2, I will be honest and admit that I was not looking forward to heading out again. We had one less day in Monrovia, so when Sunday rolled around, I was not excited. We arrived on Sunday to the big village with over 250 kids. Monday morning proved to be a challenge as there were kids everywhere. I don't even know how they all packed in there. I referred to this week as chaotic. I will say though that for that many kids, they were quite calm and quiet. The sessions went well.

The afternoon of day 2 is when we present the Gospel. I was wondering how this time would go as both weeks prior have been different. We went through the presentation and then asked who wanted to make this commitment. This time we had them raise their hands before coming up front. It was so cool because there were a few hands, but it wasn't like the whole bunch of them raised their hands. It seemed to be peer pressure free, and I loved it! We end that session early giving those who have questions a chance to stay back, and this week the ones who asked Jesus to come into their hearts stayed back. We got to talk with them and encourage them. 

From the moment we landed, there didn't seem to be the same feel of extreme spiritual darkness that normally took root in us as heaviness. There was a more "lightness" about this village which was much needed coming off of the previous week. We know that the "heaviness" is ok because it means we are taking Light where the devil doesn't want it, but it was nice to have a break from it for sure. 

Our last session was good as we took our new brothers and sisters in Christ aside to answer more questions and just read some Scripture and encourage them. This is my favorite time of the week. Please pray for these 16 as there isn't a lot of guidance for them. Our team will be going back in a few weeks for some much needed follow up, but we pray that the Holy Spirit guides them as they asked some great practical and applicable questions. It was amazing some of the questions they were asking. God is at work in their hearts!

We made it back to Monrovia yesterday morning and were able to celebrate Lisa's birthday with dinner and cake. She got the bush in the morning and city at night! Who could ask for more!?! :) 

Last weekend, I got to experience "town" for the first time, and let me just say that I am not a fan. It was craziness everywhere. We did go back yesterday, and it is better to go during the week. There is so much to take in here in this Liberian culture. I think I had a little culture shock when we came back from Nyemeh because life in the bush is so different from Monrovia. I wasn't expecting that I would have that shock within the same country. It only makes me wonder what it will be like when I step foot on US soil.

Our plans have changed small small. The original plan was to go to different villages every week. It quickly became apparent that follow up for these villages was vital though, so after a meeting last week, we tweaked the plans a little. The original plan was for 9 different villages, so now the new plan is to go to 4 villages, come back for a week of follow up training here in Monrovia, and then go back to those same villages for another week. I must say this plan made me smile as I was concerned about leaving these new believers with very little discipleship in our week with these kids. We will spend that week here planning specific outlines and plans for each village. Pray that God would guide us to know how to best follow up with each village. 

God is doing great things here. Not only was VBS going on this week in our village, but water projects were happening and sanitation workshops were in session. One of the girls on our team, Comfort, was even able to use her nurse training to help out at the clinic with some malaria patients. It is cool to see all the different ways God uses to proclaim His name! He is the same here as He is around the world! He is our constant!

I will try to post some more pictures later.... maybe even share some of the funny stories of the weeks. 

Another week

Psalm 121

I lift up my eyes to the hills where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD watches over you the LORD is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all harm he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

We find ourselves at the end of week two in the bush, and what a week it was. I found myself thinking about what I would write because we don't have the same story to share as last week. It wasn't necessarily a bad week, but it was a more trying week with less connection. Although we had about the same amount of kids, we all seemed to struggle to communicate with them. Very few really understood English which made one on one interaction next to impossible for me. Once again, we were met by such a physical heaviness that loomed over us for a couple of days. I found myself asleep most of the first day, and then once VBS started, I would sleep during the lunch break. It was a hard week, but Psalm 121 was an encouragement to me. I listened to Bebo Norman's "Lift My Eyes" several times throughout the week which provided a boost for sure.

The village we were in was Nyemah which from the air appeared to be smaller than Gbarngay, but we quickly learned that at night the place was hoppin. We were told on day one that the school was were we would be meeting and that right behind it was were the bush society met. Once again, we were reminded that we were in the midst of spiritual darkness. Our first night there, I woke Lisa up to walk with me to the latrine which was located right next to the school. We were stumbling our way through the village around 9:45 when we heard someone yelling at us. I was just going to ignore him (probably not the wisest thought I have ever had), but Lisa started talking to him. Apparently he was trying to tell us that our house was the other way because he thought we were going into the bush. That would be a negative! You couldn't have paid me to set foot in there after dark. She informed him we were merely trying to go to the bathroom, and this seemed to settle him down. That was our only experience with him chasing us thank goodness. 

We taught the same curriculum as before, but this time mostly through an interpreter. This was hard for Lisa as she was used to being able to be understood. I found it easier because either way they struggled to understand me, so it made it seem like I wasn't just sinking alone in my communication. On day 2, the gospel was presented again, but this time the response was different. There was a time where it seemed like no one would respond. That was ok because we didn't want to force it, but it was a reminder that from village to village responses would be different. We just aren't sure how much was understood. By the end of the week, we think a couple of kids had a good understanding and one boy, Amos, is now in the family of Christ. We aren't sure where some of the others stand. 

It's been a busy weekend, and we are off to our next village tomorrow and will be back on Thursday. There is plenty more to tell, but it will have to wait til the weekend. Thanks so much for praying. Please continue. The village that we are heading into has over 250 kids for VBS. This could get interesting! 

Pictures!

Here is a view from the chopper of Gbarngay

Our friend Joni with some of the girls during one of the sessions

Lisa and I sporting our massive rain boots. It might be a bad sign when you get laughed at, but oh well!

The above picture is the kids who accepted Christ this week. Please keep them in your prayers!

Our Family is Bigger!

Let me start this out by saying a big THANK YOU for praying! We knew people were praying, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for that. We made it back safely this afternoon and are thankful to have one week of vbs behind us.

My heart is heavy-o (working on my Liberian English here). What a week this has been. I am not sure that my heart is done processing all that we experienced, but I will do my best to paint a picture of some of the highs and lows of the week. 

We flew into Gbarngay (Bongay) Monday morning and were greeted by a lot of people when we stepped out of the chopper. We were taken to a hut where we sat with tons of little eyes glued on the white women. Immediately I was overwhelmed, and I thought what have I done? By the afternoon, we knew where we would be staying and had begun to settle in for the next 4 days. We ended up staying in one of the village elder's houses. It was a tiny hut, so that meant that 2 people slept inside and 2 of us were outside on the porch. 

From the moment we stepped foot off the chopper to the moment we got back in, we had very little moments without children staring at us. We started our first lesson Tuesday morning, and I quickly learned that I was going to have a tough time of communicating with the kids. The older kids could speak Liberian English, but we don't think most of the younger kids really could. Lisa ended up taking one for the team and did a lot of the talking. She snapped right into her Liberian English and did a great job. My conversations with kids went something like this.... they would say something... I would say what? They would repeat themselves and I would say Huh? One more try to which I would reply, "Lisa!" She would come and rescue the conversation. 

On the first day, I was faced with extreme physical heaviness and tiredness. At first, I just chalked it up to a lack of sleep and new environment. It wasn't until the kids left the last session of the day and had left the building and immediately the weight was lifted that it hit me that this could be because of the spiritual darkness in the village. It was rough. This place was so extremely dark. There are the traditions of the bush that result in the girls coming out with markings down their backs and legs. There are the strong beliefs in medicine necklaces that children must wear around their necks. There is a sadness as you watch the children interact with one another through constant hitting. It just hits your heart and makes you hurt. 

I was also trying to do my best to adapt to village life filled with none of the commodities that I am accustomed to at home. Our bathroom was now a latrine. Our shower was a bucket of water in a circular structure with a lappa covering the opening (and let me just say those warm bucket baths at night were quite the highlight!). The food was a struggle for me as I learned that when it comes to pepper I am a wimp! :) I had been excited about the thought of going to bed at 8 when the sun went down every night, but I had forgotten 2 minor details. These being that 1. not everyone else would be going to bed then and 2. there are animals roaming around that don't just get quiet. We would wake up some mornings to goats jumping on the ledge of the porch. I was convinced that one day, they wouldn't just jump back down but that they would end up jumping on my tent. Fortunately for me, I was not attacked by a goat, although I did find myself dreaming about attacking them and the roosters just to get some peace and quiet! :) Overall though, village life was not as hard as I had anticipated. I know I have God to thank for that. He guided us through every day moment by moment.

Day 2 of vbs was critical for us because at the end of the second session, we were presenting the gospel to them. We were hoping that they would get the connections. And some did! We now have at least 10 new brothers and sisters in our family of God!!! Praise the Lord for this! After we ended day 2, we told the kids that if anyone had questions to stay behind, and some did. We were then able to talk more in depth with them to find out if they really did understand what Jesus did for us on the cross and how we were now able to have a relationship with Him. 

It was hard to say goodbye because my heart wonders how they will do now. This village is not a "safe" place to leave a new believer. I pray these kids stay strong. They were being shown the Jesus film tonight, so we pray that what they learned these past couple of days will touch them even more as they see visually the story and hear it in their own language. Tears started to form in my eyes as one of the boys that I was privileged to spend a good amount of time with picked up the megaphone minutes before we were to leave and starting quoting the Bible verses they had learned. He then helped all the other kids with the last one that we spent the least amount of time on. He was then able to explain what that verse, John 3:16 meant, and he finished with singing Father Abraham. I turned away for a few seconds as the tears were forming as now it was ok to get on the chopper. This boy knew what decision he had made, and he could then be a leader for his friends. My heart was happy. I know that God is in control, so no matter what temptation comes or what these kids are faced with He has got them in His hands. 

Here are the names of the children who said yes to making Jesus Lord of their lives. Please join us in praying for them as they have a lot ahead of them. They are Maly, Josh, Danil, Gballea (Balla), Mark, Regina, Ruth, Mary, Hauwa, and Princess. I could go on and on with stories, but I will try and wrap this up. God did awesome things this week!!!! 

Missing Home....

I know that today only marks 6 days since I left home, but I woke up this morning really wanting to be home. I'm not sure what the driving force behind the feeling was other than maybe because it is Father's Day and Sunday and with those two biggies I was hurting. This marks the second Father's Day to be away from home with the family, and I don't like it. I know I am where I am supposed to be, but it can still be hard. All that to say, Happy Father's Day, Dad! I love you.

I knew that I would probably struggle today with going to a different church, so a few days ago I asked Lisa if we could go to the most Americanized church this week. I know that may sound bad, but I figured singing songs that I was more familiar with would make a huge difference. And it did. It was cool to sing "Great is Thy Faithfulness," "How Great is Our God," "Blessed Be the Name of the Lord" with the African church. It was so loud! I loved it. I tried to sing louder and louder but still could not sing louder than them. I can't wait to sing songs with the little kids blaring them at the top of their lungs. It will be hard to wipe the smile off my face then. Today was a good reminder of the church around the world worshiping the same God! It doesn't matter where we are, God is the same. I can't tell you what a comfort that was for me this morning. 

It was quite the culture experience for me to step out of the building after service and see ice cream and other treats being sold. Just another reminder that I am not home! Ice cream did sound like a good idea although I passed it by because as they would say here, "It is hot-o!" I think today has been the hottest so far. 

With that being the case, it was definitely time to take a plunge in the ocean. It still amazes me how beautiful the ocean view is. It is a different feeling sitting on the porch, looking out at the ocean, and it not being commercialized. It is nice.

We had to send our clothes bag up to Bopolu today in preparation for the drop off in the bush. Sure hope we packed all we needed. This is going to be fun! I've decided to turn it into my very own version of Survivor! I figure if I keep thinking of it that way, I will be fine! :) 

In all seriousness though, please pray. Pray we don't get sick. Pray we get good sleep. And pray God changes so many lives!