“But, what if God wants to send me to Africa?”

“But, what if God wants to send me to Africa?”

or

“What if God wants me to marry someone ugly?”

If you grew up in a Christian home as a child you may have had these thoughts enter your mind. I soon grew into maturity knowing God would not want me to marry someone I didn’t love or want to be with. But the fear of being called to Africa?  A desolate place that sounds scary, dark, full of disease and of war, that never ever really changed, just never really had the desire to go there.

Until lately, Africa especially Uganda, has been on my mind and heart.

When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. I Corinthians 13:11

A few weeks ago, when John (hubs) and I thought the Lord opened the door to our dream home (relatively). We have been waiting and searching for the right home, well since about the time we got engaged, so over two years. So when this particular home opened up, it seemed like perfect timing and it was just a beautiful new home with land practically everything on our wish list.

But when our plans fell through, it was disappointing and yet we were actually slightly relieved when it didn’t work out.  

But here we are back to house hunting again. It did affect me a lot in that I was doubting so much about our lives and questioning whether we are in the right place. Even though I do know God opened the door for our jobs and it seems God has been opening the doors for John in ministry and other opportunities. He was asked to join Youth for Christ and is now working with the Chaplin from the training school, and has been officiating and training youth in basketball. And let me tell you I am a very proud wife!

SO all that to say, in my grieving and disappointment of losing the house I thought was for us I struggled with discontentment.

And the question “Now what?”

Then, I picked up Kisses from Katie. A book that has blown me away.

I couldn’t get through the first couple of pages with out sobbing!!!

Nearly ever page thus far was piercing as it resonated in my heart that I have lately been missing the point.

Watch Katie on Youtube

Katie Davis explains

“I laugh now when I think about how stressed out I was about geckos in my bed, children eating erasers,  and learning to cook beans on an open fire, was my laundry by hand with a bar soap, or bathe outside in the bucket. Every day, though, as I looked around at beautiful, expectant faces with huge coffee-brown eyes hungry for the love of Jesus, I know that I was here just to love, and the rest I would figure out in time”

See her blog at Kisses from Katie blog

WOW. I have MUCH more comforts in life, so what could I be ungrateful about? And I was left thinking ‘What have my thoughts been consumed with?' Sometimes when you get caught up in discontentment it really helps to put things in perspective. Maybe my priorities need some adjusting!

Back to Africa…

Awareness in Africa has been rising quite a bit in the media lately.

Have you seen the Kony video??? Kony video Though I think the 13.7 million dollars raised should also definitely be going to safe houses and clothing for the kids and not just catching Kony, I think it’s a good start to ending the injustice there.

And recently John found a new movie that was definitely less televised called 
Machine-gun preacher.

 Its almost like the Christian version of RAMBO.

It is a true story that takes place dead center in the battle grounds in Uganda that Kony’s video talks about.

Machine Gun Preacher is the inspirational true story of Sam Childers, a former drug-dealing criminal who gets saved and accepts Jesus as his Lord undergoes an astonishing transformation finds an unexpected calling as the rescuer of hundreds of kidnapped and orphaned children. Outraged by the unspeakable horrors faced by the region’s vulnerable populace, especially the children. Sam breaks ground for an orphanage where it’s most needed in the middle of territory controlled by the brutal Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a renegade militia that forces youngsters to become soldiers before they even reach their teens.

Gerard Butler (300) delivers a searing performance as Childers, the impassioned founder of the Angels of East Africa rescue organization. For Sam, it is not enough to shelter the LRA’s intended victims. Determined to save as many as possible, he leads armed missions deep into enemy territory to retrieve kidnapped children, restoring peace to their lives - and eventually his own. 
The explosive, real-life tale of a man who has rescued over a thousand orphans from starvation, disease and enslavement.
Its gruesome, but its really happening.

The true Sam Childers

Its gruesome, but its really happening.

~
This movie and events so impacted me, it was all that was on my mind.

 I know my dad would just love this movie! He is a minister and is passionate about 

fighting injustice and saving tortured children for Jesus.

 I have to evaluate myself, what am I doing to help?

 I know everyone has a specific calling. But if this were happening right in front of you and you walked away and said “That’s not my calling”? Who does that sound like!!! Remember the Good Samaritan story? Luke 10:25-37 

Now, you won’t find me catching the next flight to Africa,

BUT for the first time in my life I am more open to idea and have a new found heart for the African people.

When your love is stronger than your fear

And that verse now makes more sense than ever.

Perfect love drives out fear.

I John 4:18

I am reminded of a time when my love for Honduras children over came my fear. A few other missionaries and myself invited the girls from the orphanage to have a sleep over and we had such a fun night, getting prettied up and just laughing.

Well to my horror, a month later when I got home from Honduras, I was the childrens church guest speaker for IMI Pastoral Conference. And one morning
 I scratched my head and found LICE 
in my FINGER NAIL!!! 
 a TRUE friend of mine whom I will always be indebted, combed through my hair entire head of thick hair every hair! My dad told me he was sorry that happened and I looked at him and said “It’s a small price to love a child”.

NOW I said this before my friend combed through my entire big head of thick hair, and I have THICK hair. Tears filled my eyes through the process- I am not sure I would say the same thing AFTER that experience-IT WAS AWEFUL, but when I said it, I meant it. 
And my friend...
 well she went and got a haircut after that.LOL.

Ever since, going to Honduras through Impact Ministries International for four consecutive years I could first hand see the 
amazing growth of the kids, frowns turned upside down, how Jesus called us into this destitute place and worked his hands through us and helped changed their future for eternity. There is nothing in the world like it!!!
 A piece of my heart will always belong to those deep dark brown eyed kids.

If you want to go on a missions trip to Honduras with us?

We are going June 28^th-July 4th

My husband and I along with some of his family and some of mine are going to Honduras at the end of June this year. CAN’T WAIT! The Lord has already begun to lay things on my heart of what we can do for the orphan kids. People come from all over the United States to simply love the unloved and make a Christ’s hands and feet. 
~

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

I Corinthians 13:2

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is LOVE.

I Corinthians 13:13