Serbia was a wonderful month of ministry for my team and I. We worked with a small church that is so passionate about people. We learned many things about the history and culture of the Serbians. Our heart has grown to love them all abundantly. We had the chance to know a particular family of 4. Lydia and her 3 kids filled our time with much joy and love. They are our family away from home. Although we were sad to leave, they gave us so many happy memories. I will smile everytime I think of them. Below is a few of my favorite moments from Serbia.
We had the opportunity to work with youth ministry every Saturday night. We were many times in charge of music, message and games. I think their favorite part was the games. Not because it was the most fun, but because it gave them a chance to laugh with us. We built so many great relationships through laughter. Above is a picture of the "human-knot"... We never could quite figure out to untangle...
Pastor Dragan is the pastor of the church we worked with. He is such a kind hearted individual. Every Sunday and Thursday night, we had the privilege of hearing him speak. His love for people and the Lord is so apparent. He blessed our team in so many ways. His wife, Kaca, invited us into their home the first day we got there and made us a wonderful meal. They served us the best bread we have had on the Race. We raved so much about it that it was hard to ignore how much we loved it. One Sunday, on our walk home from church, Pastor pulled up in his car and gave us 2 loaves of our favorite bread. I think we embarassed him slightly with our enthusiastic thank yous (he is a very humble person).
Lydia is the wonderful woman we worked with everyday. She is the mother of 3 kids, Aleksander, Adrijana and Miljana. She has a passion for music and a beautiful voice. She leads the congregation into worship every Sunday and Thursday nights. I got the privilege to lead alongside her during my time in Serbia. It was an experience I won't forget as we speak different languages, yet we were able to come together and sing to the same God just the same.
Every Sunday day, we got to visit different villages for "home church". Above are some of the wonderful people we met there. They would feed us physically as we got to feed them spiritually. It was such an amazing time!
This is Aleksander. He is Lydia's oldest child and only son. He speaks excellent English. He was our translator for the entire month. For more on Alex's story, check out my blog "His Name is Aleksander". You must read! We are so thankful for our "big brother". He took great care of us girls. We miss you Alex!
We got to do some fun ministry out in the parks several of the days our squad leaders came to visit (They are awesome guitar players!). It was so neat to see how playing a simple song would attract people to our group. We were able to minister to several people. One family in particular that came back to the Lord and started going to Pastor Dragan's church. We are still praying that the seeds we planted in the two older women, the park owner, the photographer and his family and several other people along the way will continue to be watered. God is doing big things in Pozarevic.
One thing that greatly blessed me in Serbia was how many powerful prayer warriors were apart of the church we worked with. We went to prayer meeting every Tuesday night and would often end our time there in tears. The people we met are just so passionate for the Lord. They trust Him in such big ways. It was such a blessing to be apart of this ministry and be poured into so well.
The beautiful lady on the left is Mama Gotcha. She owned the little house we stayed in for the month. We love this woman! She doesn't speak any English but she would come by every other day with a special meal prepared just for us. She loved us so well! We miss her and her big heart so much!
Maggie, on the far left, loves horses. On the second to last day, Alex took us to the equestrian park about 45 minutes outside of town. We were able to speak with the horse trainer and he offered for us to pay $12 each to ride some horses. It was a slightly terrifying experience as no one spoke much English and the horses turned out to be retired racing horses. However, we had an awesome time riding around the arena. At the end of our time, our friend bought us all coffee and Coca Cola. He ended up only charging us for one person. We were so blessed by this man who was so kind to us even though he didn't know us. It's so fun to be God's favorite =)
There are so many other stories I could share. Serbia was one of my favorite countries. God allowed us to meet so many people! I can't wait to see them again, either here or there.
If you are a Racer, then you know how crazy travel days can be. If you’re not, understand there are no true words to describe our traveling experiences so what I write can only be an under-exaggeration of the events that I am about to disclose.
We had a wonderful experience over a 5 day period that we are calling WATL (Weekend Ask The Lord). Our team got the chance to go on a “mini-vacation” of sorts. We prayed about it and came together to talk about our options. The itinerary we decided upon was 2 days in Budapest, Hungary then an overnight train to Poland where we would spend 2 days in Krakow and 1 day at Auschwitz. It was an incredible time for our team to rest and tour Eastern Europe.
Our original plan was to take a 5 hour train to Uzhgorod, Ukraine to start month 8 of our Race. We were asked to make plans to be there by Wednesday so we did our research and found a train that left Krakow at 8:00 pm. Our group was split in two for the day doing various things. Amaris, Kat and I arrived at the train station about an hour before our departure time. We were greeted by Shannon, Maggie and Jessica who informed us that we weren’t going to make our train ride. Apparently tickets had sold out. No big deal, right? We will just leave on the next train and be on our merry way.
It’s always a big joke among my team about how little we are really able to spend out on the field. We knew that ahead of time when reviewing the break down of how our money would be spent. It’s different though seeing it on paper versus living it in real life. So understanding we have a really strict budget to adhere to, I will proceed with this story.
The next train out of Krakow was due to leave at 8:45, the next morning, of course. Tickets were purchased and lodging decisions were made. Where were we going to stay? In the train station lobby. It wasn’t the first time and I am sure it won’t be our last.
Unbeknownst to us, the station turns into a landing pad for people who are either homeless or drunk at around 10 pm. We watched as the station filled one by one with people who were staggering, fighting and yelling towards one another. I really felt like I was in a scene from a movie. It took all we had within us to view our roommates as people the Lord loves. This was especially hard around 12 am, when the station was filled with smells of alcohol, urine and passed gas, sounds of snoring, sleep talkers and Polish music and even more so when a fight broke out that made us a little fearful of our safety.
During the course of the night, starting right after the first fight, it became apparent to us that maybe we were here by God’s doing. Louisa was our first clue. She was a young girl traveling alone. We invited her to sit with us in the safety of our guarded corner (praise God for favor with the security men). We got to share with her what we were traveling around the world for. She was so excited to hear our stories. We passed along our blog information (so I hope she is reading this right now…Hi Louisa!) and made a new facebook friend.
The second person we met was a young Polish boy by the name of Konrad. Konrad speaks no English. But, by God’s grace, the combination of an iPod translator and the translation master, Google, allowed us to somewhat carry a conversation. By the way, have you ever tried to communicate face to face with some using a technological “translator”? So many things are lost in translation. Even though most of the 5 hours spent with Konrad consisted of confused facial expressions and unsuccessful games of charades, I was able to figure out he was on his way home from technical college for Easter with his family. I took a step of faith to ask Konrad if he knew why Easter was celebrated. He responded via Google translator “Easter is for risen Christ stand up.” AMEN! That’s exactly what it’s for. So I felt like our card games could proceed now that I knew I could have been playing with a fellow brother in Christ.
Before we boarded our train, Maggie and I were able to carry a gestured conversation with one of the drunk men in the lobby. This must have been the reason God didn’t allow either of us to sleep all night. Although I had to warn him several times to scoot away from Maggie, he seemed to understand that God (pointing up) sent (gestured by “flying” arms) us (pointing to me and Maggie) to pray (that one is easy) for Poland (or Polska) and you (pointing to him). I really don’t know if he will remember our conversation at any point in his life but we couldn’t help thinking what if this was his only chance? To know that God loves him might be the beginning of something greater. Oh what fun we had.
We boarded a train that went from Krakow, Poland to a small border town near Ukraine. We took a bus from there to the border where we walked a mile through the different points of immigration (carrying 50+ pounds of stuff each… we are always such a sight to see). We then boarded a second bus that drove us 2 hours to the city of Laviv, Ukraine. We had found a train that went from LaViv to Uzhgorod prior to our bus trip. We knew that the train left at 4:35 pm. Our estimated time of arrival to LaViv? 4:15 pm. After some brief moments of anxious planning, a Ukrainian man interrupted our conversation to inform us that it was not 3:30 pm as we had thought, it was actually 4:30 pm. Once we realized that we weren’t going to make it anyway, we were quite relieved.
The man was very kind and offered to help us buy tickets upon arrival. He even helped us unload our ridiculous packs from the bus. It never ceases to amaze me how much God must love our team. Its hard being on a team of females at times, but he always sends someone who offers to help and is happy to do so.
Our tickets were bought immediately upon arrival. Departure time? 8:45 pm. We bought dinner and played cards in the train lobby for 4 hours. During one of our card games, a lady overheard us speaking English. She introduced herself as Olga. She spoke fluently and flawlessly with us for 30 minutes or so. She shared with us that she recently became a Christian. Her family was not happy with her for leaving the Orthodox church but God has shown her so many blessings. She just got accepted to study at NYU in Prague. We were able to pray with her after our conversation. She hugged every one of us despite our smelly, dirty appearances. It was a humbling moment that meant so much to each of us.
We boarded our last train to Uzhgorod 30 minutes before it left. We were blessed once again with a man that spoke little English. He offered to help us find our seats and put up our bags. We went to sleep for 6 hours completely exhausted but overwhelmed with the blessings that God gave us. We met people that were in need of love and companionship but we were also blessed with people who just wanted to help us out of the goodness of their hearts. It was an amazing, ridiculous and frustrating experience all in one but the one truth that I cling to in these times remains present. There are no such thing as coincidences just divine interruptions.
All of our luggage that the sweet Ukrainian man from our last bus ride helped us unload. The picture doesn't even capture the amount of luggage we have.
When I met Aleksander, or Alex as he calls himself, I wasn’t sure if my time in Serbia would present me with an opportunity to learn about him. He seemed very shy. But as we walked down the streets of Pozarevac, I asked him questions about his life. He was surprisingly at ease with our conversation. He even seemed downright delighted when I asked if I could feature him and his story on my blog.
Alex is 18 years old. He is finishing his last year in high school. The average American senior would be deciding between their top 5 universities and preparing for their first semester in college. For Alex, however, this preparation is a bit different. He has a desire to go to seminary. The Lord has given him a passion for high school age kids. This is so evident in him just through the way he describes his high school experience. The problem for Alex is that in Serbia, there are no seminary schools.
Alex tells me that he doesn’t like high school that much. He is different than most. When I asked him why, he told me that he is the only Christian that he knows of at school. He enjoys talking about his walk with Christ to his friends but none of them have come to know God yet. This is so discouraging to Alex.
So I asked Alex what he wanted to do for school since seminary isn’t available in Serbia. His answer was “Go to America of course.” His desire is to somehow get to the US so that he can pursue his dream of becoming a youth pastor. I listened to his story in awe of how an 18 year high school senior, lives in a city where he can literally count (and name) the number of Christians in the surrounding area and still manage to live his sold out for Christ
It never ceases to amaze me how God weaves our stories together. Throughout the course of our month, Alex’s life touched our teams. He was our translator for every church service and ministry outreach. He walked us home every night (quite protective of his “little sisters” as he calls us). He even spent his free time with us playing games and putting together puzzles. I have never met a kinder person.
In the process of learning about his dreams, one of my teammates, Jessica, saw an opportunity to help. Jessica spent much of her free time researching the things Alex needed to do to go to school in America. She spent countless hours researching credentials, scholarship opportunities and host family options. The hardest part was figuring out how to get Alex connected with a family to live with. After much prayer and consideration, Jessica approached her parents as a potential host for Alex. They were so open and welcoming. Jessica explained they were ecstatic with this idea.
At the moment, Alex has a place to stay, the grades to get accepted and the motivation to get him where God is calling him to go. The only thing Alex is in need of at the moment is the money to get to America. Alex’s plan right now is to go to community college in Michigan for two years to save money. He will be working part time to pay for his school. He then plans to transfer to a 4 year university to study English and writing. Once he has graduated and accumulated his bachelor degree, he will go to seminary to get his degree in theology. These are the steps that Alex knows he needs to take to do what God wants him to do someday.
Below is a video of Alex. He is a courageous and pure hearted individual who needs your help to fulfill his calling in life. We know it was no mere coincidence that we are the team that came to Pozarevic, Serbia this month. We have seen God do amazing things. One of those things is to help a teenage boy step into the plans that God has for him. The Lord is using us as tools in Alex’s life. We are asking you to be apart as well.
I don’t often have people ask me what God is teaching me. When the question comes, it always stops me in my tracks. I really think it’s been HIS way of drawing attention to my inner turmoil. See, God and I are on this cycle of sorts. I have my weeks of feeling Him present in everything I do. Then, a change of events occurs that makes me ask the, “What the hell, God?” question. Then I spend a few days just sitting in my anguish, not willing to dig deeper to the root of my frustrations. I outright refuse to look at the new lesson plan He has laid out before me. I actually find that I will literally pull a “LALALALALALALALA. I can’t hear you,” when He starts talking to me about it. I know, it is SOO mature of me.
So, it all started one afternoon. A fellow Racer and I were sitting at a table in the Mures Mall food court during our ministry time. I just watched the seven year-old homeless boy we bought food for run down the hall to give his left over chicken leg to his younger sibling. I was having an “I can’t believe this actually happens,” moment. At this point, it had probably been two weeks since I first started the “Can’t Hear You” game with Father God. At times, I would use miniscule, slightly skewed things to argue my point. What was my point? I really couldn’t tell you to be honest. I think it was anything I could think of to give God a reason why I didn’t want to chat. A few snide “You let this stuff happen” moments and maybe some “You could do something about World Peace” fits of hysteria. None of it really touched the root of the matter.
I was caught off guard when my friend casually asked “What’s the Lord been teaching you lately?” My heart probably beat out of my chest. Accusations of “Why, what do you know?” and “He told you something didn’t He?” wanted to escape out of my mouth but I realized I needed to keep it cool. So I paused to make my thinking face. But I couldn’t stop the thoughts from coming. What IS the Lord trying to teach me…..?
A verse came to mind. Exodus 34:2. It says “Be ready in the morning to climb up Mount Sinai and present yourself to me on the top of the mountain.” To most, this would seem like a filler verse. But for some reason, this stuck out to me in ways I couldn’t understand. At least, I didn’t understand them until I opened my mouth to share it. It was inevitable. The Lord answered my questions by literally speaking out in my own voice. If I wasn’t going to listen to His, He was going to get me to listen using the one voice I rarely ignore - my own.
I was instantly reminded of the story that played out before this verse comes in the scripture. At this point, Moses has led the Israelites out of Egypt. They are in the wilderness. Moses has received instructions from the Lord, gotten angry at His people and broken the tablets (wow, haven’t been there before…). Yet, the Lord still meets Moses in the Tent of Meeting. The Bible even states that they talked face to face as one would talk to a friend. A series of incredible events take place (GO READ IT, skipping for time’s sake). The Lord is giving Moses a second copy of the covenant. In order to do so, He is asking Moses to meet Him on the mountain.
As I am recapping this event to my teammate, I am reminded of the reasons why this verse is so powerful. It amazes me that God is meeting Moses face to face on a daily basis, talking as friends would talk. But in order to give Moses a second copy of the covenant, possibly even a representation of giving Him a second chance to let go of his anger, God calls him to present himself on top of the mountain. That sounds like a lot of effort to me. I mean, Moses talks to God all the time and suddenly God is like, OKAY, time to hike up a mountain, meet you up there!
This is a PERFECT representation of where God has me at the moment. I have talked with Him on a daily basis for some time. I feel His presence most everywhere I go. Then a turn of events played out that had me angry at my circumstance and I was so quick to throw down the “tablets” the Lord gave to me. And now that I have started to come back to my senses the Lord is asking me to climb the mountain.
But right now, I am just circling it. I keep looking up at the mountain thinking, “Man, that’s a lot of effort.” I am not yet prepared. I don’t know if I have the right shoes. I have been out of training for a little while. I know it will be uncomfortable. What if I fail? What if I fall? But the Lord keeps calling, “Present yourself to me on the top of the mountain.”
I was challenged to look at the real fears I have. I haven’t been a Christian that long. What if people think what I say doesn’t hold value? I don’t know how to lead worship. What if people think I don’t belong here? I get angry at God when my life doesn’t turn out the way I expect. What if I ruin it all?
My resolution came once the fear was voiced. If I never climb the mountain, I won’t experience the higher heights I have been called to. God calls us to climb the mountain to take us to the next level. My friend gave me some great advice. “You don’t want to rush the journey because the journey is one of the most beautiful parts. But sometime, it is best to rush INTO the journey. Sometimes you need a running start.”
This made me think of a time when I was younger. I was playing with my cousins in the front yard at my grandmother’s “Cottage in the Woods”. We thought we saw a bear so we took off running into the house.
Sometimes fear will literally cripple us. But other times it gives us that edge we need to run as fast as we can in the right direction. It gives us what we need to get a running start.
As a part of feedback this evening, my team and I wrote a list of the things we want in our future husbands. This idea formed after we made a commitment to pray each evening before bed for eachother's husbands. It has been such a fun way to bond together as sisters but even more exciting for our future men. They are well covered (and loved already!).
So, as a part of allowing you into my life, I am sharing a piece of my heart (and humor) with you tonight. I hope you enjoy.
My Heart’s Desire for My Future Husband
Loves the Lord first and foremost, absolutely and whole heartedly
Self-Disciplined – mind, body, spirit
Has a passion for traveling
Not opposed to living overseas
Views family as first priority
Plays nicely with children
Desires to raise children in the church and show them what actively pursuing Christ looks like (praying, reading the word every night, etc)
Doesn’t raise his voice in anger
Not obsessive about animals
Has a solid group of Christian guy friends
Close with his family
Adores his mother
Has ambition and vision for his life – knows where He is going
Self-Motivated
Isn’t afraid to outwardly show affection
Passionate
Clean cut
History of long-lasting, thick hair in family
Natural instinct to protect
First born in his family
4+ years older than me
Blue or green eyes
Nice smile
Over 5ft 10
Enjoys sports
Has a hobby of some kind
Country Boy
Involved in the church
Must have full lips
Adventurous
Desires to support me in my endeavors as much as I want to support him in his
Doesn’t feel the need to be center of attention
Intelligent with his words
Aspires to give above and beyond to others
Sets the physical boundaries between us instead of reverse
Already set on his career path
Desires to lead in the relationship
Traditional in his ways – old fashioned gentleman
Views words as powerful as I do
Has a good first name
MUST PURSUE ME from the beginning and views that as the way it should go
Desires to court and not to just “date”
Looks good in a baseball cap
Brings out the best in me
Loves who God made him to be
Man’s Man
Wise with Finances (and willing to take control of this area)
Might not like everything I do but willing to try new things for me – like dancing
Musically Inclined
Open to adopting children
Physically attractive
Gives me butterflies
Prayer warrior
Has depth and enjoys conversation/debates
Views random conversations with people as divine appointments to share Christ
Been out of prior relationship for at least a year before we date
Enjoys going out
Respectful
Makes me laugh
Healthy in all areas of his body
Not afraid of being completely honest.
Willing to do weekly feedback (thank you WR)
Excited about creating new traditions together – Taco Tuesdays, Feedback Fridays, Adventure Saturdays
Dear Future,
I have been waiting to meet you for as long as I can remember. I have thought I had found you many times along the way. Had it not been for God’s ever abundant grace, I would have missed out on you a few different times. As much as I wish this was not the case, I am not sure that I would appreciate you as much as I will now when we finally meet.
I will tell you one day all the crazy, wonderful adventures that God has taken me on since I gave my life to Him on August 15th, 2010. It was a beautiful day for me and Jesus. And every day since then has increased in beauty. I pray that is the story I get to tell our children someday about us as well. I am on a once in a lifetime adventure with God at the moment. He has given me 5 amazing, godly sisters to take this journey with. Together, we have made a commitment to pray for our futures every night before bed. Of course, I pray the most for you.
Just tonight, we made a list of all the things that we desire for our futures to look like. I have many dreams about the way it will be when I meet you. I have many things I desire, down to the way you look, talk and walk. But the one thing the Lord is showing me is, although He knows the desires of my heart, He knows best. He ALWAYS knows best. And I know that means that I can trust Him to bring you to me. And I know that everything you are will be more than I can ever imagine.
Know that I wholeheartedly seek the Lord for you. I await the day the Lord brings us together. But until then, I will be patient. It is all in the Lord’s timing. I know He is forming me into the future that you are praying for as well. I think that is the more beautiful part of the story. I know in my heart I don’t just pray for you but you pray for me. And because of that, when we meet, our story will have truly been written by the Lord.
This is a post about the matter of perspective. I am not looking for a debate, a correction, and most definitely not a comment from some who believes I personally attacked them (because that’s just simply not the case). I just want to share my thoughts…
On several occasions this past week, I have either had a discussion with God or one of my teammates about sickness. Why are all these hurting people in the world subjected to pain? Why do Christians experience such severe sickness and disease and not become miraculously healed when prayed for? Did God forget about them? All of these questions are asked at one point during your walk with Christ. The only truth that I can cling to is that God is in control and that He is a God of intention. He knows what He is doing and He does not ignore our cries for help. And often times He has a lesson for us to learn amidst our suffering.
I have fallen in love with idea of helping people beyond their hurting souls. On the mission field, I have done a lot of holding orphaned children, showing them love and attention they would otherwise not receive. I have met women who have been abused and neglected. I have heard their stories and prayed for their peace of mind. I have helped feed those who are hungry and clothe those who have nothing. It’s all necessity but one thing I have not been able to do is the one thing I desire most; to help ease their physical pain.
I have to tell you about Ntombi. I met her a week ago. She lives on the side of a mountain in a little grass hut. She is 35 and has two children. Ntombi has suffered severely from an open wound that will not seal itself. She has had it for 3 years now. Ntombi was once able to leave her home and function on her own. She is now crippled in her leg. Her muscles are tense. She is in pain as her wound often gets infected. She no longer is able to care for herself. She doesn’t walk on her own unless she has someone to spot her. She rarely leaves her house. Her brain function has slowly started to deteriorate. She no longer speaks in full sentences. It is heart breaking to see how she lives. All because here, in Swaziland, they don’t have the medical necessities. It just doesn’t seem fair, does it? That because these people are born in these places, beyond their control, that they suffer the way they do?
One visit with Ntombi and my world was wrecked. I cried and prayed and asked God why? If it was in His power to save and heal, why didn’t He do something to help her? And then it came to me. Not like a booming voice from Heaven or a letter that fell from the sky, but just a soft whisper only heard in my heart (as it so often is) that He is doing something about it. He sent me.
It was a very overwhelming moment and I am not ashamed to admit I cried all the way home. I realized I could help her. God put me in a position at one point in my life to work under such a caring doctor and nurse practitioner who love people. I witnessed something that for the first time in my life that I actually wanted myself; to have compassion in my heart for sick and hurting people and to do something with it. I don’t believe in coincidences. I believe whole heartedly that there is an all-powerful God who cares enough about His people to orchestrate day to day life for His purpose. I have proof. He did it for me. He took a job that I got simply because of my gracious father and he used it to ignite a passion in my heart that I didn’t know I had. It’s really quite amazing to think about.
So here is my concluding thought. I have no basis to prove what I think, just a notion that I may be responding to a calling God has placed on my life. I pray often for others to receive healing from Christ. I pray that God calls their body into alignment according to His word. I confidently know that He is more than capable of healing them. I am even more confident that He hears my prayer and works when I don’t see it. But maybe He is asking me to take a step further. Maybe I am seeing these things because He wants to me use my God given talents to help them. The possibilities are endless when we see the needs of God’s people and we act on it. I know He has called me to go back to school. He is calling me to be a nurse practitioner. If I am obedient, He will send me to those places where healing is needed. He can use me to be His hands and feet.
What are you praying to God for? What is He calling you to do about it? Sometimes the very answers to the prayers that we pray is our obedience to be God’s hands and feet in the situation.
I am not saying that every person I ever pray for won’t receive healing because God has called me to action myself. But what I am presenting is that sometimes there is more to be done. Sometimes there is a call that needs to be answered. Sometimes, it’s not enough to just pray and walk away. Sometimes there is some fighting to be done. And sometimes that means you need to get your butt up off the chair and do something about it.
Nik Naks – skinny, crunchy, baked maize meal snack. Closest thing you can find to Cheetos in Africa. A favorite among team SOUND.
I had the privilege of finding this beloved delicacy on our day off in Manzini this past weekend. I have to say, I was really excited to find the BIG bag on sale. My lucky day.
So, I have recognized this tendency I have of pretending like my day off means that I am not a missionary. I look for ways to reward myself for the week of work. Like snacks and other various trinkets (usually earrings). I felt really convicted when I passed a few beggars on the street asking for money and food. I found myself avoiding their plot of sidewalk.
In this recognition of my selfishness, I was reminded of desires that I want in life. Things that I feel God is calling me to someday. I personally desire to be an individual that makes money. Don’t we all? But I’ve said time and again that I want my life to be about how I can support those around the world. I see so many hungry people. I want to do what Jesus did. He fed the hungry.
So, I, who know no hunger, had some extra change and decided to get an ice cream cone. Maggie and I walked into Nando’s and were told that it would be 10 minutes before the ice cream machine was ready to serve us. So, we took a seat to wait. As we were sitting there, a child came up to me and asked for some food. My first reaction was to shake my head no. But this time, I had to stop myself. I slowly reached into my grocery bag, telling myself, “It’s just a damn bag of Nik Naks,” and handed it to the girl. She said thank you and walked away. There, good deed done for the day, right?
About 2 minutes later, she came back and asked for my plastic sack. She wanted to share with her friend. I thought she must be joking but I proceeded to empty the plastic sack into my purse and hand it to her. She said thank you again and walked away.
About another 2 minutes goes by before she comes in once more and asked me for money. At this point, I started to feel like she is taking advantage. So, I told her no. I had to explain that just because I was white didn’t mean I had a lot of money. This time instead, I took the chance to tell her why I was here in Swaziland. I talked about being a missionary and that I came to love on people and tell them about Jesus. She listened for a moment partially interested before asking once more for “just 1 rand.” My ice cream had just been handed to me. I guiltily told her no, took my cone and left the restaurant.
Later on, I was telling my team about the experience. I had expressed my opinion about how I don’t usually give money because I don’t know what the person will spend that money on. How do I know they aren’t just taking advantage? How do I know that they won’t spend it on beer or drugs? How do I know that it will go to good use?
Kat then shared this quick story she had read in a magazine that day. This story was written by C.S. Lewis. In the story, he explains how he is out and about with a friend one day and he is approached by a homeless man. The homeless man asks for money. C.S. Lewis’s friend says no and continues to walk away, but Mr. Lewis pulls out some cash, hands it to the man and then turns to catch up with his friend. The friend is infuriated and asks why Mr. Lewis gave the money when the homeless guy was most likely to just spend it on his drug of choice. C.S. Lewis responds while shrugging his shoulders, “That is just what I was going to do.”
The whole point of the story being that we refrain from handing out money to people because we don’t trust their judgment on what they will spend it on, but how is their vice any worse than our own? And who are we to make that decision anyway?
I felt compelled to write this blog because of this fact alone. Giving to others shouldn’t be about what we feel most comfortable with. I, who have been given so much by God, am expected to give that much more back to him. And to give to the poor and the hungry is to give to God himself, whether its Nik Naks, plastic bags or money itself.
Oh New Year’s Eve. Such a time of great celebration. My last several New Year’s Eves have looked much different than this one. To my disappointment, though, I felt a little under the weather for a day or two prior to this glorious day, so when it came, I made the decision to stay behind with two other girls while the rest of my team went to a local church celebration.
We had a very relaxed evening, playing cards, reading books, and skyping home with our families. And of course some much needed girl talk about the last year of our lives and the things we have learned thus far on the Race. We were up pretty late. It was around 2 am before we were even tired enough to fall asleep. All in all a pretty delightful evening.
Around 3:30 am, I woke up to one of my teammates coughing so hard. She was gasping for breath and sounded like she was choking. I had woken up in a panic so it took me a few moments to realize I needed to do something. I tried asking her what I could do. Of course, she couldn’t answer. So, I started to pray out loud. Right about that time, I became aware of the spiritual atmosphere in the room. It was dark and unsettling. I felt a presence in the room so thick I could hardly breathe myself.
After praying for a few moments, she started to settle down. We both attempted to go back to sleep. I closed my eyes but couldn’t get myself to relax. I felt overwhelmed by a spirit of fear. My heart was pounding and my breathing was shallow. I felt like I might have a panic attack at any moment. All I wanted to do was close my eyes and hide. So, I started praying in the Spirit. It came to me at once that I was being silly by trying to ignore my fear. After all, I do serve the God of the Universe. I opened my eyes, still feeling frantic. Directly to my left, hovering above my mosquito net, I saw a gray mass (imagine what a dementor might look like in real life). I will be honest, I was terror stricken in that moment. I immediately called out to my teammate to wake up. All I could manage to say was “We need to pray now. Now!”
She immediately understood what I meant. I sat straight up and started calling out the name of Jesus (better than a patronus, praise the Lamb). I thanked Him for being present with us over and over again. It was about all I could think of in the moment, but it brought me peace. After praying for a few minutes, I was able to explain what I saw. My teammate shared her encounter as well. She couldn’t recall actually waking up. She just remembered sitting up gasping for breath because her throat felt like it was closing.
We made a decision to turn on the light and attempt a quick bathroom run down the hall. We woke up our third friend in the process. I am sure it would have been a comical event to watch us scurry down the hall towards the restroom. We were recounting our stories when we heard noise outside. In the distance we heard the beating of drums and indistinct chanting. We realized that it must have been some kind of ritual celebration for the New Year. Mozambique has a lot of spiritual warfare due to witch doctors and witch craft among the people. It was so thick in the atmosphere that night that you could feel it.
As we meandered back into the room, we took hands in a circle and prayed for the peace of the Lord. We prayed against spiritual attacks and against demonic oppression. For about a half hour or so, we released our fears to God. We managed another 5 hours or so of peaceful sleep before morning came. It was a crazy, unexpected way to usher in the New Year but at least we came into it with a fight.
We came to remember in the morning that our contact would have been here by herself last night had we not stayed back. She often told stories of similar spiritual attacks that wake her up. She got a peaceful night sleep because we were able to pray on her behalf. And on behalf of the other 25 people that are staying in the house this month.
Often times fear grips us in the moments of unknown. But God is always present. Calling upon His name will always illuminate the dark. He is faithful to respond to His children’s cries. And I am so thankful for that. We were able to anoint our contact’s house with oil and prayer the next night. We also placed red pieces of paper around the room as a symbol of the covering Blood of Christ. Remember to pray for Mozambique and Beacon of Hope ministries. They are doing amazing things for the Lord and are constantly against spiritual attacks. Pray for our contact to be strengthened and encouraged. She is doing the work of the Lord and it is such a beautiful thing.
Where did this take place exactly? A little place called Machava, Mozambique.
Most of you know about the month we spent in this corner of the world. We worked with an amazing ministry. It was however a very stretching month, particularly for the women on my team. We were expected at times to get up when the sun rose to weed a garden, to remove large rocks from soil in the heat of the day, to turpentine floors in closed space, and then prepare food for a group of 30 people over a coal fire.
Many times we wanted to complain. And I must add that many times we did. But the Lord met us this month. We learned first hand what it meant to be a Proverbs 31 woman.
“She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household and plan the day’s work for her servant girls (or teammates).”
“She is energetic and strong. A hard worker (this may also mean that she sings LeCrae with a hoe in her hand and a smile on her face).”
“Her hands are busy spinning thread, her fingers twisting fiber (whether making headbands for their sisters or fixing Racer’s well worn clothes). “
“She is clothed with strength and dignity and she laughs without fear of the future (especially since the corn and peppers were successfully planted in time for the end of year harvest).”
“Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting (just ask one of the many racers that sat in dirt with no make up for the entire month). But a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.”
I learned a lot about becoming a woman of God this month. I learned what it looks like to put others before myself. I learned about hard work. I learned about true beauty.
And I must add that this is one of the many reasons why a man should marry a World Racer. We are the women of Proverbs 31.. just saying..
This is where I often find myself in the middle of the day. It’s by far where the coolest breeze blows by. It is almost the perfect spot to unwind. Only downfall? The mango ambush that threatens the safety of your skull at any moment but we haven’t had any serious injuries yet.
Many of my days begin around 5:30 am. It’s the best time to get our gardening done. I take that back, it’s the best time to get our farming done. The majority of our month consists of working the fields. I always find this so ironic because I consider myself in the business of spiritual seed planting. It’s just like the Big Man to put me in a place where I am literally planting seeds.
“So why exactly is a World Race team farming in the middle of the Mozambiquan summer?” you might ask. Well, let me tell you, we ask this question on the daily. But God is doing some amazing things here at Beacon of Hope – Africa.
We are helping this ministry prepare for the upcoming year. Beacon of Hope is a place where teenage boys in the surrounding communities of Machava are given the chance to receive education and life skill training that they wouldn’t normally have the chance to receive. Most of these boys come from families who have abandoned them or that live on streets because of poverty or who are raised in one parent households that can’t afford to send their kids to school.
Angie, our contact, is from America. She has such a big heart for these boys. She houses them, feeds them and educates them alongside her amazing staff. The boys, in turn, learn how to take care of themselves by doing daily chores, taking care of the gardens, learning to cook and participating in various projects around the property in hopes of learning trades that will allow them income in their adult lives. All of the things they learn are taught from a Biblical perspective. They are learning to truly become Men of God.
Even though this month has been messy, laborious, and wicked hot, it has allowed me to step in a self- abandonment I have never experienced. We are helping to enable these boys to have a future. We are planting seeds that they will nurture and one day harvest, both physically and spiritually. MMM God is good.
So, I have learned to love these Mango tree moments. God has met us here in prayer, in worship, in fellowship and even just in a simple escape from the summer heat. Taste and see that the Lord is good. No, literally. Have you had an African mango? Mmm Mmm.
