Kettle Comfort

To say I have been pushed out of my comfort zone since I've been here 

would be an understatement.

 I'm comfortable loving on people.

 That, I am good at.

 Some other things I have been asked to do..

I'm not so good at.

 I'm afraid of failure. Always have been.

 I don't ever want to disappoint.

 Tori gave me a rubber band one of my first nights here...

encouraged me with the truth that God is using this experience to stretch me...

in more ways than I thought possible.

 I wear it around my wrist as a constant reminder that,

 "My [God's] power is made perfect in weakness"..

"don't pass up opportunities to serve just because I'm not "good" at it."

I catch myself pulling on that band quite often. 

So, have I led a sheltered life or are hotpots (plug in kettles) a foreign thing?

I am completely aware that comfort is not a key ingredient to the command we have been given to spend our lives for the sake of the poor and the needy,

 but I daily fall short and my weakness is a cup of coffee or tea at night.

 Let's just say it's my little taste of home.

 Some kettle comfort (doesn't compare to you though, Mom ;)

P.S. Today, I got to show 93 children what the Bible says about fathers,

and ultimately, the greatest sacrifice God the Father made of His one and only Son

so that we could have life! (Now that's my element. My comfort zone.)

Pictures to come.

Going And Telling

     Sunday mornings in Tsumeb might possibly be my favorite time of the week. This past Sunday over 80 children walked for miles to cram into a tiny building where they feasted on the Word of our living Savior. We sang song after song and dove deep into the last seven days of Jesus' life on earth. We focused on The Great Commission and the importance of telling our friends about the love Jesus has for them. I got to lead the kids in an activity of going and telling...if you can't tell, it was a hit! These kids know their stuff, they were throwing out answers left and right. I was super impressed. My prayer is that it is not just head knowledge but the Spirit that motivates studying the Word in this way. God is definitely at work in these kids lives. I am so excited to be a part of it.

Here are a few pictures from Tori:

And here are a few of mine:

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. 

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!

MOTIVATION

     "They (the church in Rome) knew that God had superexalted Jesus, enthroning him at his right hand and bestowing upon him the highest rank, in order that every tongue should confess his lordship. They longed that Jesus should receive the honor due his name. This longing is not a dream but a certainty. At the bottom of all our hope, when everything else has given way, we stand on this great reality: the everlasting, all-sufficient God is infinitely, unwaveringly, and eternally committed to the glory of his great and holy name. For the sake of his fame among all nations he will act. His name will not be profaned for ever. The mission of the church will be victorious. He will vindicate his people and his cause in all the earth."

-Let The Nations Be Glad, John Piper

Sunday Picnic

(Our rendition of a picnic..hey now, don't call us posers, we were short on time.)

     You know those people that make the world a better place? (Cliche, I know) Everyone has their "people", and Mere is mine. I call her. Finders keepers. She is just one of those people that re-energizes you, and I needed that this week. The stress of test after test, ACT prep (it never ends), Africa prep, and the fact that I leave in approximately 38 days and ALL must be completed, done, checked off my list, FINISHED by that date, was wearing on me (55 days till Africa, but once I leave on the 13th for family vacation and National Convention, I am out of here). So, a Sunday picnic (and God's Word), was just the remedy.