Learning To Be Content

I've been ruminating on this post for a few weeks now but I think I have down what I want to say...

I am constantly amazed at the way the Father teaches me and reveals Himself to me. I found a new verse in my quiet time that I'd read probably dozens of times in the past but never really thought about. Look up Phil. 4:11. Now, we're all familiar with Phil. 4:13 but I'd skipped right over verse 11. Paul writes that he's learned to be content in whatever circumstances he's in. Catch that phrasing - LEARNED to be content. It's not something that magically happened, God didn't grant him contentment after he'd been thrown in jail for the upteenth time. Paul learned it. God brought him into circumstances where he had the opportunity to learn to be content. Paul goes on in verse 12 to say he knows how to live in humble means, in prosperity, being filled and going hungry, and in having abundance and suffering need.

I've been thinking about how this applies to me. I can honestly say I've never had to go hungry out of necessity and I've never really been in need. For goodness sake, when picking out shoes today, it was a multiple-choice test. I have more than enough to make ends meet each month. Sure, more would be nice but what would I really do with it? I honestly think God is using this time to show me that He is my provider and I need to be content and trust in His timing. This doesn't mean I can be complacent and not follow His commands but my attitude should be one of thankfulness not worry or complaining. I think back to South Africa and the complete poverty I saw. But I also saw joy and contentment.

I think the concept of learning to be content also applies to my personal life. As a single woman who desires to be a wife and mother, I know discontent. But, Phil. 4:11 doesn't say content whenever you feel like it. It says in whatever circumstances. That means that right now, God has me single for a reason and I need to be content with that. And I think I am. Sure, I have my moments but I'm praying God will bring this verse to mind in those moments and I'll focus on the positives about being single.

Book Review - Kabul 24

Last weekend, I finished reading the book Kabul 24 by Henry O. Arnold and Ben Pearson. This book chronicles the story of the 24 Shelter Now International (SNI) workers kidnapped in Afghanistan in 2001. The story outlined in these pages is nothing short of amazing.

As the book opens, the arrests of the two American workers start the saga. More arrests follow with ultimately 8 SNI workers being taken along with 16 Afghani nationals. Conditions in the prisons were horrible to say the least. Lack of food, lack of adequate toileting facilities, illness and beatings by guards were endured by both male and female prisoners. I was amazed at the love and concern shown by the 8 prisoners the book focuses on. Over and over, the book chronicles how Georg (the SNI leader), Peter and the six women prayed for, conversed with and showed Christ's love to their captors. The authors also spend time detailing the miracles God orchestrated to allow this story to have a successful outcome.

While the storytelling is stilted at times, the book itself is riveting. As you get further into the book, you will get to a point you can't put it down. The authors did an excellent job of portraying why the SNI workers did what they did. You could so see the call of God on their lives. I would recommend this book highly to anyone who asked.

Two Months!

I can't believe I've been back from South Africa for 2 months! It seems like only yesterday I was dreading the long flight(s). It was such an amazing time and God moved on our team in such a mighty way. I think in some ways I am still processing all I saw and experienced there. The poverty we saw was extreme in a way that words cannot fully describe. Yet, the joy we saw in so many lives was greater than the joy I see in many American's eyes on a daily basis. I think we all (me included) take for granted all we are blessed with in this country. We get so caught up in politics, who despises who, how our football team did and when lunch is to realize there are over 30,000 children who will die today from diseases we can prevent or malnutrition. What are we doing about that? I have been convicted lately through a series at Brook Hills on James to really re-evaluate my spending and try and cut out anything that isn't truly needed in order to free up money to send to the nations. We're undertaking a Radical Experiment at Brook Hills to save every penny we can to send it to Compassion International to fund 21 Child Survival Projects in India. It's a partnership designed to save lives both physically and spiritually. Talk about living out the Great Commission and James 2:14-26!

I've also started praying about where God will have me go on mission in 2010. There are numerous opportunities open to me anywhere from Uganda to China to Indonesia to areas I don't even know about. Considering there are over 1.5 billion people who have never heard the Gospel, I want to go where God wants me to go. I know He has the place picked out, I just have to seek and see where that is. There are so many other issues that complicate the selection like dissertation completion, new job, moving, etc.; I'd covet other prayers as I continue down this road.

I'm going to try and be more faithful about blogging, I just don't always feel like I have anything to say. :-)

Africa Day Eight...Animal Park

On Saturday, we awoke to rain. What?! It NEVER rains in South Africa at this time of year. My sources had told me I didn't need to worry about a rain jacket since rain was highly unlikely. I went against my own advice - I usually always take rain gear when travelling. I won't make that mistake again. :-)

Steve told us instead of open-air safari vehicles as planned, we would just go through the park in our vans. It would be much drier and warmer that way. Considering it hailed and sleeted throughout or visit, it was a wise move. The park we went through was nice drive from Alabanza so we were treated to some South African scenery. The rest of the post will be heavy on the pictures. Most of the animals were very accomodating to our visit...except for the zebras. No pics of zebras - we didn't see a one.


Gazelle/Deer? Not sure...


Lions


Close-up of the Lion


Male Lion


Ostrich


Rhinos


Wildebeests


Giraffe


Both Giraffes

Swine Flu Sheeple

I'll get back to my Africa travels soon but first I have to vent. I am so sick and tired of the stupidity of the American public when it comes to the swine flu. I understand it's a highly contagious illness but seriously, unless you have a pre-existing condition, you have a 99.9999999999% chance of getting better after a few days. People, it is NOT time to panic. If you get sick, keep your butt at home, push the fluids, eat chicken soup and veg for a few days. Unless you are in the high-risk category STAY HOME unless you start having trouble breathing, coughing up blood or spike a fever higher than 103 degrees. Then and ONLY THEN should you worry your doctor. Your doctor's office (and the ER) will be full of other people who are REALLY sick and the Tamiflu you get prescribed (if it's in stock) probably won't do more than cut your symptom by a day or two. Following your mom's age-old advice won't hurt either: cover your mouth when you cough, throw your tissues away and wash your hands (WITH SOAP PEOPLE). It's not rocket science.

This all reminds me of 2000-2001 when West Nile came on the scene. I was in MA working for a public health non-profit and I remember the "sky is falling" scenarios we ran into. The government actually had plans in place to convert hockey rinks to mass morgues. What happened then...ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. Several people got sick, a few people died and the world moved on to the next health "crisis." Guess what? Random people die from seemingly new and novel illnesses every day. It's part of the way God designed things.

I think my mom probably has it right...it's all a ploy to make people believe in Obamacare. Rohm Emmanuel has never met a crisis he didn't love. Stupid sheep!

Africa Day Seven...To Market To Market

Today is our last day in Joe Slovo. We started the day by visiting with Christina. No one else in this little row of homes is at home. We think that means mom and kids are at the doc getting the little one's sore looked at (at least we pray that's where they are). I have finagled permission to give Christina some acetaminophen for her arthritis so hopefully she can get some pain relief. We visit for a few minutes and then move on. We head off in a different direction than we've been going and end up in a place called "Black Magic." It appears that this is where Wilma and her baby actually live. It definitely lives up to its name; it is dark and just feels very oppressed. Rachel was praying and speaking the name of Jesus the whole time we were in this little village. I personally was glad to get out of there.

We made our rounds and visited with Susan and her family one last time. Keri was taking pictures and Susan's teenage daughters begged us to give the pictures to Chris Brown. We told them he beats his women and they deserve better. They agreed and asked us to give them to R. Kelly (no comment) or Usher. We didn't disavow them of the idea that we see Usher on a regular basis. The stereotypes that persist amaze me. We also visited with Yvonne and Baby Likey one more time. I would have given anything to bring both of them home to the US with me. As we visited and hugged and shared, my heart was breaking for all that I had to leave behind.

We did get to visit with Elyse at her store while we were eating lunch. She gave us a Fanta out of her store (she refused to let us pay) and when we got back to Refilwe, the three of us split it. Elyse's little store does a booming business in Joe Slovo. It is a prayer request though. She often walks home by herself after dark and sometimes with money. This is a vulnerable situation for a woman. Please pray God's hedge of protection around her. Owning this little store is one step toward a dream she shared with me. Elyse wants to be a first-class store owner one day. I have no doubt she can accomplish that goal.

After our morning in the village was completed, Steve took us to the market. The market is basically set up like a flea market but runs like a flea market on steroids. You walk in and are immediately acosted by salesmen begging you to check out their wares. The first table I spied had the nativity scenes I was looking for. He had the three I wanted but somehow, he wouldn't stop there. I was taken three stalls over and shown coasters, artwork, carvings, the kitchen sink, you name it. I finally walked away with the nativities, coasters, two pieces of art and a "free" carving of Africa. Fortunately, all that only cost me about $100 US. I wandered around a little more and tried earnestly to avoid eye contact. I did make one more purchase on side one of the market; a mother/child statue. I've always wanted one and I got mine for less than $8.00 US. I then happened upon the lone guy on our trip, Bill. He had the same dazed look that I know I had. He and I teamed up to get the heck out of the market. We went across the street and I happened upon to necklace/bracelet combos in perfect color combos for mom and Sarah (blue/gold for mom, multi-colored for Sarah). Score!! I bought those, Bill finished his transaction and we got out of there as soon as we could. There is only one word for the market experience in South Africa, CRAZY. It was an overwhelming array of sound and toward the end, I was willing to pay people to leave me alone.

Here are a few pictures from the market:


Outside of Market


Sign for Market


Another Shot

Africa Day Six...Sister Jeanne

Thursday dawned a bit warmer for us. I couldn't see my breath when I woke up. That was a great way to start the day. Today was a little different from Tuesday and Wednesday. On Thursdays, our healthcare workers have a morning Bible Study, training and then an afternoon of paperwork. So, we went right along with them. We started our day singing with the healthcare workers, them in their language and us in ours. We were both singing praises to our King. What a great picture of Heaven.

Sister Jeanne then took over and began teaching out of Mark 2. It was neat to watch this woman of God interact with the healthcare workers she loves so much. You can so see that she has a desire to see them grow in their faith. We broke into groups with the healthcare workers and began to process through the passage. When the workers got up to answer the questions, Sister Jeanne probed and prodded to get more than the "Sunday School" answer out of her students. I was amazed at way of using simple probing questions to force all of us to think but not allow for discouragement because the "right answer" wasn't given immediately.

After Bible Study ended, we transitioned into a time of study on a particular health issue. Today's was mental health. Jeanne spoke at length about mental health issues and how the healthcare workers could identify them and encourage their clients to protect their mental health. We only think our lives are stressful. We as Americans have no clue the stress it causes to be hungry, have a sick child, an absentee boyfriend/husband, no job prospects, etc. We may deal with one or two of these at a time but most of the families we encountered were dealing with all of them at the same time. Most situations were like giant onions, address one layer and under it there's another layer and another and another. It was so apparent there is a need for Godly men and women rise up and walk alongside these healthcare workers, meeting needs and sharing the Gospel.

After the mental health lesson, we broke for lunch and then reconvened in the afternoon for a time with Sister Jeanne. She told us the amazing story of how Refilwe got started. She began her work out of the trunk of her car, dispensing donated drugs to people in need. (In 17 years, she has never had to pay for medications, God has always provided.) Over the years, God moved in other people to provide land, labor, buildings, and supplies to build Refilwe into a community organization that provides foster care, schooling, skills training, home health care and more. It is simply amazing to see how God has provided in this community. You can check them out at www.refilwe.org.

After Sister Jeanne spoke, we headed back to Alabanza for showers before our dinner engagement. None of us had any clue where we were going for dinner. It was all a big surprise as we piled into the vans and started out. We drove for quite a while and then turned down a bumpy dirt road. I asked Steve is this was the Alabanza hazing ritual. :-) He promised us it was worth the bumps. Boy was he right! We pulled up next to a building with a path leading to the front door. The path was lined with tea light candles and led us into a giant room (pictures below) that had a huge fireplace with fire roaring, a long table set up and new friends waiting to serve us. As we all found seats, Steve explained that the staff of Alabanza was serving us tonight by cooking up some traditional South African dishes for us to enjoy. Talk about wonderful food!! We had a beef soup, cheesy bread, bacon-wrapped cherries (don't knock it til you try it), grilled beef, cauliflower and pumpkin fritters (OMG!). All of this was topped off by one of the top three desserts of all time, malva pudding. Let's just say it was divine!! It was such a pleasure to sit and fellowship with our new friends.

Here are some pictures of the day:


Sister Jeanne


Prepping for Bible Study


Backpackers Lounge


Appetizer


Main Course


Dessert!

More later...