Oh It's Ladies Night

     I just tucked ten of God's most beautiful creations into bed. I'm playing "mom" again for some of the weekend so tonight was officially ladies night (yes, I actually sang them the song..or bits and pieces at least). Our devotion time tonight was lady focused, hence why it was 'ladies night'...I will be honest I have struggled with whether or not to skip over the "girly topics" because these girls need the gospel, the true gospel. God has most definitely taken all the plans I had prepared to teach them and totally turned them upside down. After seeing the massive confusion of truth and scripture these girls are constantly bombarded with, I felt strongly that every night we should study a different passage that clearly explains God's redemptive power, because in my opinion, you can never get enough of the gospel. With that said, tonight I felt the Lord leading to have girl talk, and by His might alone, He completely turned girl talk into full fledged gospel talk. I had print out stick figure girls and got them to draw on the girl what they thought, or what the world considered, beautiful. Favorite answers of the night: "chubby cheeks", "long fingers like rakes" and "bushy eyebrows". After we laughed and giggled like girls do, I made them write across their entire page, PSALM 45:11..that says,

"The king is enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your Lord."

      We talked about how God didn't mess up with he created you, how He has a plan and purpose for your life. My heart broke when my precious Loide asked, "What do you do when you always feel like you aren't beautiful and that no one loves you?" I told her that the only true comfort comes from Christ, how even if not a single person on this earth ever loved or cherished us, that God's love is greater. He is enough. Enough to fill every void. Every longing. Every desire. I shared with the girls possibly the most comforting verse in my life personally, a verse that brings me great joy, one that I clung to in some of the hardest times.

"For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things."

-Psalm 107:9

     We talked about 1 Peter 3:3-4 and how true beauty is found in the person of the heart. That desiring eternal things, that is what God finds precious.

"Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear—but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious."

     We concluded our time before bed with the gospel...that far more than all the beauty tricks this world has to offer, Jesus offers an everlasting remedy for the heart. And that is salvation in Him...God is truly at work here, that I am confident of.

A few more questions from the night were:

"Can we really ask whatever we wish in His name and it will be given to us?"

"Does God punish His children?"

"If God really does plan all things, can I blame Him for the death of a loved one?"

     Tough questions, but God is stirring up questions in their hearts. Thank you Father for drawing your children to yourself.

Scenes From The Location

     Wednesday is our weekly vegetable distribution day for families in The Location and here are some pictures from that outing:

"learn to do good;

seek justice,

correct oppression;
bring justice to the fatherless,

plead the widow's cause."

Isaiah 1:17

To see last week's post on vegetable distribution go here: The Location

The Location

     Today, some of the girls and I delivered fruits and veggies to people in "The Location". What is "The Location", you might ask? While the majority of Namibia is impoverished, this is the area in Tsumeb of severe, unfathomable (insert whatever extreme adjective you would like here) poverty. Over 80% of children in the country of Namibia are considered malnourished under "normal" circumstances, but considering the recent loss of crops, lack of food supply is through the roof.

     This precious baby girl had recently been burnt my boiling water, her entire neck and back are covered in burns that are not being treated properly. Her wounds are open and bleeding. Pray for an avenue to get her medical attention.

P.S. It is actually called "The Location", that is not just the name I dubbed it.

Just Jesus

     **Disclaimer: My heart is broken for a people that are missing the true gospel, bare with my ranting and raving**

     On Wednesday night I went on my first outing alone with the girls...to a church they wanted to visit, there is no better place to go, right? I write this with a heavy heart because I went to a so called gathering of believers and witnessed more darkness and lostness than I possibly ever have before. 


     For me...it's just Jesus. Not Jesus and casting out demons, or yelling out against evil spirits, or "healing" the lame with the touch of a sinful human's hand...just Jesus. My heart is so broken for not only a room of 200 people that are deceived into thinking that rituals and traditions are what it takes to get to Jesus and experience the joys of life in Him, but for 11 girls that I have come to know and love. I understand that their are cultural differences but this wasn't cultural, what was different was that they were missing the gospel. As the man they called a prophet began to lay his hand upon "demon possessed" people, and in the name of Jesus command these spirits to come out..I came to a startling realization. These people are participating in the same acts as witchcraft, just claiming Christ's name on the side of it. In America, it materialism and then let's just add a little of Jesus in here and there...here, it's witchcraft, with a little Jesus. How desperately these people need the gospel, simple as that. They are so convinced that all this hoopla is what it takes to be right before God. If they allow the "fire" or so the preacher said, to come upon them, they would be promoted in heaven. Oh, how contrary the Word of God really is.

 "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." -Ephesians 2:8-9

"But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." -Romans 3:21-24

     As the "healing" went on for a number of hours, I was brought to my knees of behalf of my precious girls that think that this is what it looks like to truly seek God. Many of the girls asked me if I was doing okay and thankfully the Holy Spirit put more than just a simple "Mmhmm" in my mouth! I was able to explain that I believe the Word of God teaches that once we truly put our faith in Christ, Satan no longer has a threshold on our lives, we are free from the devil's snare and cannot be possessed by demons. That yes, there is a spiritual battle going on all around us, but how do we flee from sin and temptation? The Word of God!..That is why He gave it to us in the first place, to know Him and make Him known. 

"For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death." -Romans 8:2

     The girls and I discussed the night over devotion the next day and I wanted to make sure they understood that the same power that that man claimed to have, I have, living inside of me. I do not need a human to get to Jesus. The Holy Spirit is alive and active in the lives of those who believe. 

     God has totally revamped my view of what I am doing here..The biggest tragedy in this country is that their are churches and people that claim to know Christ on every corner. Christians around the world would look at Namibia and many other African countries and think that Christianity is thriving and believers are being trained in truth, but if churches and believers are classified as what I witnessed the other night, boy do we have a long way to go. The Johnson's are here because pastors, those in charge of leading a congregation and training them in the Word, don't even know the truth of the gospel themselves. Pray that this harvest field is not overlook because statistics show that a large number of people are dubbed Christian. Pray that those that do know the truth will not hide it under a bushel. And ultimately, have confidence in the work of the Holy Spirit that is truly active here.

Look at these faces, they will grow up confused on what is truth and what is not if we, the church, don't get out there and share the Word!

     

Front Porch Girl Talks

     I got to spend Sunday afternoon just sitting and having girl talk with four or five of the girls from the hostel. We talked, did hair, soaked up the sun, and dove deep into some questions and opinions they had about the gospel and what it looks like to live it out. Piper says, "Let Him who gives the strength, get the glory"...I don't know how the conversation started, but I know that Jesus intended on His gospel being boldly proclaimed, may He solely get the glory in that. 


     We talked about God's grace and they asked questions like, "Why do people live with the mindset of, "I can do whatever I want now because I know Christ will always forgive me later"?" They told me that many of their friends say they will believe in Jesus later and have fun now. 


     Sin transcends all cultures, but thank you Jesus, your grace does too! 


     We talked about sin and how the Holy Spirit, if we are saved, is there to convict us of sin and encourage us to do good. We spent a lot of time on the subject of claiming Christ with your mouth and believing Him in your heart. How too often the world around us does the first but never truly experiences the saving grace of the latter. 


     My heart is truly broken over the fact that so many foreign cultures look to American media to find their role models and are so heavily influenced my American culture as a whole. They asked me if all the Christians in America are like the ones on tv, and if they are, they don't look or act different than anyone else. My insides lurked... American media is convincing precious teenage girls around the world that it is okay to indulge in sex, drugs, alcohol, lust, greed, and other selfish desires as long as you stand before a crowd and thank God for the award just given to you. 

     Christ's name is being defamed and I refuse to stand for it. 


     I got the opportunity to explain the difference the Holy Spirit makes in your life and how obedience to God's Word flows from a desire and love in your heart, a desire and love that doesn't just put theologically correct sayings in your mouth but radically transforms your very being. My prayer for these girls is that they seek and find their role model in the person of Christ and not in this or that actress or musician. 


     I look forward to many a Sunday afternoon porch talks with the girls...


     We celebrated Rachael's Sweet Sixteen on Tuesday night and here are a few pictures from our night:

(I promise the cake tasted better than it looked..promise)

(The birthday girl! Rachael couldn't keep her eyes open in a single picture.)

(I joke with the girls because every time a camera comes around they all start posing like models. Cracks me up.)

Happy Birthday To Ya

     Happy Birthday to the wonderful, beautiful, talented, Whitney Pritchett. Your life has challenged me to grow closer with Christ and for that I am forever grateful. Thank you for striving to honor God and bring Him glory. You make friendship easy. Really easy. You genuinely love and care for everyone, despite their circumstances, and that is a wonderful quality to have. I see Christ in you. Simple as that. 

     Since I couldn't be there to celebrate your life (life is a pretty good thing to celebrate so let's do it more than just one day a year, deal?), my friends from D.A.T (Discipling African Teens) and I wanted to wish you a very happy birthday!!

Whit's B'day Video from Morgan Werk on Vimeo.

Dinner...Yum.

     Mr. Gary brought home a duiker the other night and the girls impressed me with their slaughtering skills. Real women slaughter wild animals in record time. I semi participated, so I guess that makes me half of a real woman. Dad, you would be proud of the African skills I am picking up.

Rally claimed the liver before they were even done devouring it. LOVE these girls.

Afternoons On The Compound

     One of the many avenues By Provision uses to share the gospel and create a safe environment for children is having a community pool. Everyday, despite the fact that the pool water is freezing this time of year, dozens of kids line the gate waiting to swim. On Friday, (I know I am behind on blogging but time with these kiddos is just too good to pass up) I got to play lifeguard and spend the entire afternoon just loving on kids that desperately need Jesus. Nothing brings me more joy! The majority of the children are from an orphanage three blocks away so this wonderful treat is just what they need. I have been blown away with all the opportunities God has given me to just pour His Word into them..just sitting by the pool and chatting. 

A For Africa

Isaiah 40:28-31

Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,

   the Creator of the ends of the earth.
 He does not faint or grow weary;

    his understanding is unsearchable.  

He gives power to the faint,

   and to him who has no might he increases strength.

Even youths shall faint and be weary,

   and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength;

   they shall mount up with wings like eagles;

they shall run and not be weary;

   they shall walk and not faint.

     I have been fighting off the funk the past few days but it woke me up this morning..and I think it won. I refuse to let my days here be wasted in bed. All my vitamins and antibiotics are in my other suitcase, go figure! That means lots of water, especially the Living kind! (Yes, I just used a cheesy biblical reference!)

     Not to be a complete Debbie downer...I met the girls yesterday, and it was WONDERFUL! God is already breaking down barriers. Robert Scott (Scott and Tori's oldest) told one of the girls that he was baptized on Sunday and she came to me and asked why he waited till he was older to be baptized instead of getting sprinkled as a baby like they have always known and done..I was able to explain that we believe baptism is a public profession to the church and the whole world that we have put our faith in Christ and made Him the Lord of our lives. That the Bible teaches that baptism comes after salvation, to show a decision that we have made in our own lives, not one our parents or denomination made for us! I know, hardcore theology day ONE! God doesn't wait around to share His good news..and we shouldn't either!

May God Be Glorified In Our Coffee Dates..

     After seemingly forever in the car, seeing nothing but bushes and dirt (and a few animals here and there), we finally made it to Tsumeb. During our journey here, I was debriefed on the situation with each of the girls living on the hostage and arrived feeling slightly overwhelmed. There is so much need, and I am insufficient, but one thing I know is true, the God of the universe conquered sin and death and can most definitely draw these girls to Himself and radically transform their lives. He is where my hope is found. The set up is a little different than I had previously anticipated but I am all the more excited for what God has in store. I had originally planned to spend a set time with all the girls as a whole during the week. Teaching "life skills" and simply pouring into their lives, but because of extra afternoon classes to help bring up the girls grades, I will not be given that specific time. Instead, I will be working around their schedules and investing in two to three girls at a time. Basically, lunch or coffee dates (which are my favorite, anyway)! The desperate need for positive attention and care was expressed to me and even though I hate that those have been areas of neglect in the girls lives I am super excited, hopefully I am pretty good at being a friend by now! 

Please pray as these relationships begin to develop. May God be glorified in our coffee dates!