Thanks to You!

Thanks to you, those who supported me in my travels to Africa, I have come back loaded with awesome.  God's awesomeness.  It wouldn't have been possible without your support and prayers.  There was a lot that happened in the past 10 days that I want to share with you.  I will try to do my best.  I know...it's a huge responsibility.

 

God happened.

God showed up.  

God moved in the hearts of those we encountered.

God moved in my heart.  

That's the 30-second answer to "How was your mission trip?".  Do you want to hear the longer version?They say that not everyone is ready to hear the long answer.  I have found this to be true from my stories from the Dominican Republic (June 2010).  I want give you the right answer and but please know that it will take more than 30 seconds.  So you need to tell me...which answer you want to hear. 

 It was an incredible journey.  One that had more than what I expected, and held more promise than I would have thought.  There was discovery of new territory....that of Swaziland, Africa and also those uncharted waters of my heart.  

Changed happened in Africa, change happened in my soul.  I now see God in a new and fresh way.  Not that I had a bad view of by any means.  But it is bigger, it's on the wow-scale at 15, it's now expanded.  That is awesome, that is God.  I can't wait to share with you.  I hope you are ready for the long answer.

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Merciful Footprints

It's about a week before we leave.  Wow...I remember when this time was months away.  I didn't realize that it would go by so fast.  All of a sudden I feel so unprepared.  This is really going to happen.  I have been traveling to distant lands for a while in my mind and prayers.


There's a verse in scripture that gives me reassurance this week.  

Isaiah 52:12 "But you will not leave in haste or go in flight; for the lord will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard."  

I am praying for traveling mercies.  Not just safe flights to and fro but for mercy to be shown, mercy to be given.  I want to be a giver of His grace as I have received it.  I want to be a giver of smiles as He has given me joy.  I want to be the giver of His love.


I know though it's really not me who is doing the work.  I am just an instrument that God chooses to make His footprint there.  My small imprint will be with the host of others that going in name of Jesus.  I know that God has prepared this way...laced with His mercy and grace.  Just when you think your heart can't take any more...God is expands it a little further.


I appreciate all the support and prayers of those have come along side to support me in this incredible mission journey.  It's really just the beginning of a whole new story, a whole new work in my heart.  And as I go forward, I know that God's mercy and grace are making footprints too.    

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Ordinary Missions

One of my recent memory verses really defines my idea of missions.   


Ps. 82:3-4 "Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and the oppressed.  Rescue the weak and needy, deliver them from the hands of the wicked."


It speaks of helping, serving, reaching with action words like defend, maintain, rescue and deliver.  Everywhere I look there are mission fields full of the poor among us.   


Jesus focused his ministry on the down-trodden.  He hung out with the sinners, the tax collectors.  His mission team was comprised of the ordinary.  Those who cared.  Those who had been changed.  Those who had followed him in His ministry on mission trips.  

The most striking idea in this verse is that it commands.  Our participation isn't optional.  It's a calling that is not reserved for just a few who have a divinity degree.  There's no disclaimer that says...only if you can or want to or have special training.  

Everyone is invited and expected to be a part of God's work in the harvest field.  The disadvantaged, the low, the down trodden are close to God's heart.  He keeps them in the folds of His love.  I pray to sense His heartbeat for those who are in need.  These verses softly speak missions and quietly quicken my heart with deep devotion to serve mercy, inspire change, and bring boldness.

"When God said 'Go!' he meant 'all the way'" 

Dave Ohlerking, founder of Children's Cup   

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His Big Picture From the small

I pray that we can be one as a team. 

There is not one thing I can bring.

I am not skilled.  

I only have a willing heart to follow...

With eyes on our big God....He leads....

As seeing Him I am able to see a small slice of His grace.

I can't comprehend why He would want to send me.  

I only follow.  

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Packed

I have been away for a while...this life I live for Christ is consuming.  As the mission preparations are being made in regards to fundraising, selling "This Is Africa" t-shirts, gathering supplies for VBS, being on-the-ground ready, God is preparing my heart to be on-the-ground ready too.  


With all the things that need to taken or packed in my luggage I am leaving pockets of emptiness that can only be filled by Him once I arrive. Filled with empathy and compassion, laced with His love, my suitcases are bulging.  As each gift is packed in the weighty bags, there is still room for His Spirit to work.  With each day on the count-down calendar, God keeps reminding me of one more thing bring.  Deeper still is His love for us, the gospel message brings that truth.


My heart is packed and ready to go, but still it stirs.  

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Whispers

I was visiting with a good friend about our trip to Swaziland.  She's traveled there before.  She remarked it is a hard place.  She said that she has left a piece of her heart there.  I told her I felt like my heart was already there as God has been planting His seeds of love deep within. It's interesting how God will plant the seeds of His desires and they quickly become your own.  


One of the activities that we know we are going to do is love on kids.  That is one of the main reasons to go.  They need a lot of it.  But not just our love, they need to know that they are holy loved.  She told of previous trip of a time when she had some littles in her lap.  As she held them in her arms, she whispered "You are the one Jesus loves".  When she told me that a wonderful picture of Christ came to mind.  I could see it so clearly, her lap full of kids, hugging those who needed an extra measure of grace, whispering love in their ear.  Imagine it with me, in that moment..in the quiet and the still, I would guess you could hear God whisper love too...saying the same in our ear.


How could I not go...knowing I would miss His whisper??  I don't want to miss a moment.

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God Doesn't Really Need Me To Go

I had this thought this weekend....God doesn't really need me to go to Africa.....It's true.  


When I was first asked to go, I didn't hesitate to say yes.  I recognized the opportunity to go and see the work of Children's Cup in Swaziland.  I couldn't wait to see the kids they reach and teach.  I still can't.  I can't wait to hug them with love.  


But God doesn't really need me...to go.  It's not about feeling needed.  


It was in Sunday's message that I understood.  Yes, this is an opportunity but I also have a responsibility to go.  I can't pass that up.  I do missions, that is an area where God has called and planted His desires for His needs in my heart.  So it's like I can't NOT go.


I don't really bring any special skills to the team.  I can't fix the broken, I can't bring prosperity, I can't heal the sick, I can't.  But I can love, I can hug, I can serve them where needed, I can paint, I swing a hammer, I can sit and hold a precious heart in my lap.  Those things I CAN do.  


God does want my willing heart to be, to go, to give.  I believe that is His mission.  I can obey His call to go.  I can share my love of my Savior with them.  I can tell of how he has worked in my life with the broken things.  I can give them hope.  I can.

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Beautiful Feet!

This past couple of weeks I have been reading Romans. Paul has a way with words and I found this nugget of power that I just had to share. Romans 10: 14 - 15 -

"But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

Are you bringing God's good news to people in your life?
Have you told them about the love and forgiveness of Jesus?
How will they know unless you tell them? 

Will you utilize the gift of your beautiful feet?

Are you willing to shod your feet with the Gospel so that others can know Him?  When we see our part in sharing the gospel and how God equips us to go by using the gifts we have, it takes the fear out of the going.  Think about their beautiful feet...the feet of those who still need to hear, those that are still waiting to receive what your beautiful feet have to bring.  Everyone has a story and I encourage you to share yours with the very next set of feet you meet.

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My Why!

So what does the picture of that bear have to do with my reasons for going to Swaziland?  Absolutely nothing....but it made you come over here and read my post now didn't it?  


My reasons for going are numerous but really nothing says it better than the chorus of the song by Josh Wilson "I Refuse" ...


Check this out...




I refuse.
'Cause I don't want to live like I don't care.
I don't want to say another empty prayer.
I refuse to
Sit around and wait for someone else
To do what God has called me to do myself.
I could choose
Not to move but I refuse.

I can hear the least of these
Crying out so desperately,
And I know we are the hands and feet
Of you, oh God.
So, if you say move,
Then it's time for me to follow through,
And do what I was made to do.
Show them who you are.

I refuse to just stand by and not help those who need it.  I refuse to not hear the weary and the lost.  I refuse to not invest in people who need to see you more clearly.  It's time to get radical.  

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Prayer Circles

When preparing for  a mission trip, I start praying the day I know that I am supposed to go. My list of prayers covers a variety of topics from safe travel, to providing enough funding, to bringing the right team together, to being used by God. There are so many details that need to be in place before one steps foot out the door.

The one of the biggest prayer circles I present before the Father is to accomplish His work in my heart. I don't want to wait until I get to the destination for Him get my heart ready. I am hungry to know what's on His heart concerning the days ahead.  

When asked, I knew immediately that God wanted me to go. As I was talking with another team member who had been struggling with the reasons for going, he again asked the question.. "Why should I be going?" I kept reassuring him of all the reasons to go, but it wasn't until God reminded him of a previous mission trip experience in the Dominican Republic, that actually helped him feel assured of the mission call. There was a tender moment a year ago when God opened his eyes to the distractions of his life at home, only to reveal the "rich" life of those he had traveled to serve. The American dream is quickly cast aside when it collides with wide-spread poverty, and buried with the disadvantaged.  That was life-changing for him, as it was for most of the team members.

God prepares you as you pray to prepare. 


He will always bring us   


to seeing their needs 


to His broken heart 


to loving them as His people.


It's there that we can see God's purpose in serving.   


Purpose.  Once we see His heart...how can we say no?

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The Broken Road

When preparing for a mission, if you seek God, He will prepare you for what is ahead.  Sometimes though I don't know that anything could really prepare me for what His real is.


I have been reading some blogs lately of missionaries on the ground in Swaziland.  There have been heart wrenching stories that have come out of that small country.  It makes me pause.  It makes me broken.


I pray for the broken lives there and for those who need mending.  I ask myself, "How can I make a difference in just a few days?"    

I believe what Ps. 147:3 says, "God heals the brokenhearted and bids up their wounds."

So I cling to the promise that He knows.  He sees.  He heals.  He mends.  He loves deeply.  In my own broken world, it's hard to imagine theirs.  I am glad I serve a God who cares about the "whys".  

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This is the team shirt for our mission to Swaziland.  The words in the center mean a lot to me.


Be.  
Be who God called you to be.  You are special, unique and He has given you gifts to share with others.


Go.
Jesus met people with compassion right where they were and showed them the truth.  He went with a heart loaded with mercy and grace.  If we don't go, sharing the same, who will?


Love.
The reason for our being, the reason for our going is in this last word - love.  Love speaks volumes when words fail.  Love speaks of mercy.  Love communicates grace.  Love heals.  Love hugs.  Love bridges the gaps.  Love is enough.


When I think of the mission ahead, I pray for God to load my heart with love for those who need to receive.  Love motivates me to be, Love propels me to go, Love moves my heart to give.


My thoughts travel to Africa everyday.

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Something I Can't Get Past...

I can't get past this story.  But God can.  He is bigger than the pain and the scars leftover from such a violent act.  I am thankful that we have a God who cares, and knows.  And the end of the day, and at the end of this story, God is still God.  And that is enough.

Of course this story brings up the age old question of, why God?  Why did you allow this young precious girl be violated in such a way?  Because evil exists.  Everywhere, it's not just confined to Africa.  What I do know that in the middle of her pain God was there to meet her with the hug and touch through this missionary couple.  Grace and mercy were given.  In situations like this, when words fail, a touch of comfort is what is needed.  

Where is God in the middle of these type of situations?   I believe that God weeps too when his children are hurting.  I watched a the movie Tears of the Sun this past weekend.  It was on our "recommended" list of resources in preparation for this mission trip to Swaziland.  Here's your disclaimer.  I know that it is rated R.  I don't watch rated R movies...ever.  The violence is too much, I can't absorb it, and it doesn't entertain me.  This movie was very violent, and horrific.  The good guys win in the end, but there is a lot of blood shed.  I wouldn't recommend it at all unless you really like bloody fighting scenes riddled with profanity.  I now have those hurtful images in my mind of such horrible acts of violence.  I can't get past those either. 

Why does God allow bad things to happen, even to the innocent?  I don't know.  But I know that God loves and I know that my response to those who commit acts of violence is one that should be of love.  Without conditions, without judgments just like what Christ has offered to me.  That kind of love is something I can't get past either.  I hope I never do.    

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Heavy Heart

When God calls you to something, it's interesting that He also plants a passion in your heart that can't be quenched.  It's like he backs up your dreams with his.  Sometimes the fire burning inside my heart is so strong...


that I can't see past stepping off the plane and hugging kids.  


that I wonder if I could ever learn the language.  


that the return trip home will be twice as long and what about the "what-happens-next?"


Today I read a blog about being a visionary.  I like that word.  In my mind it means that God gives life to your dreams.  

"Being a visionary has to do with what you can bring to life. God is the Creator not because He imagined or envisioned creation. But because He acted and brought it into existence. ~ Steven Furtick"

I strive to have God-sized dreams and dreams that align with his will. Going on international mission trips will always be on my dream list.  That is what I feel called to.  I know God is breathing life into this mission trip dream to Africa.  He has inflated my heart with his passion for the broken there.  I have too many tears not to go.

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Missions Horizon

God continues to deepen the impact of missions daily in the folds of my heart.  He is filling crevices that I didn't know existed.  I see this as a good thing.  I think about the mission trip to Swaziland, Africa everyday.  I also think about the days after I return home. How will I make a difference then?

Just in time for your summer reading list.  Mission of Mercy, an awesome organization, has posted two of my blogs on their top ten summer blog list.

You can keep missions on your horizons by reading these blogs.

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Swazi Slice

A slice of Swazi life

I found this blog from a missionary couple who just moved there several months ago. This post speaks of an emotion that I have felt since returning from the Dominican Republic last year.  Read this post about conflict.

The Stephen and Krista Prince have been in Swazi for a few months as well.  They have a different view of life in Swaziland.

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Call of the Wild

There are a lot of wild things in Africa.  And when I think about traveling there I think about how my "wild" soul will fit in.  I don't know that it will.  God is taming the wild beast that rears up within me.  One of the ways is through my quiet times.  I think about how a person, a Christian and a follower of Christ must have to operate  without a group of believers, that accountability surrounding them.  That's one of the qualities that I pray for the missionaries there...that they would be surrounded by God somehow....through accountability, through his Word.

I understand to be a missionary you have to be a "self-feeder".  That means...that if it were just me and God, I would have to depend on just HIM to satisfy this wild beast that lies within me.  It is to this journey that I am dedicating myself too.  It could be lonely and it will get painful but I am excited to see the benefit that His Spirit will produce in my soul.  I press forward towards the goal of alone.

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This is Africa!

Hippos are the 3rd largest living land mammal, after elephants and white rhinos

"This is Africa" or TIA for short. I don't really know or understand what this means....yet. I have an idea that this phrase is a blanket statement that envelopes or encompasses all things that happen in Africa that don't make sense or for which there is no explanation. I expect it is something you have to see rather than be told. I will find out soon.

When visiting another culture, things will be different.
There will be things will make me pause with cause.
There will be things that will hurt my heart.
There will be things that I will not understand.
There will be things that are only seen in Africa.

But that is what is so great about going right?

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New Website for the Swazi Team!

Andy and I have started a new website that will be used by the team to post our thoughts, post updates and prayer requests, and photos and travel updates.  It's a place that we can post and keep in touch with our families and others up to the time of the trip and while we are on the trip.  Feel free to submit and post as well.

Check it out, follow, and be a part!

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HopeForSwazi.com

HOPEFORSWAZI.COM

Here's a way to support my mission trip to Swaziland. For just $6.00 you can have your own brightly colored reminder band to pray for team, keep updated on the latest mission trip adventure, see prayer requests of those who are traveling and photos of God working. What a deal!!!! You might need two for this price!
Get your HOPEFORSWAZI.COM band here.  

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My Heart Is Not Ready For This

The Response (by Elton Veals Jr.) from Children's Cup on Vimeo.

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Shot...to the heart!

One of the things that must be attended to is travel vaccinations.  The CDC has recommendations for the areas where you are traveling.  Plus it is a good idea to ask your doctor what he thinks you need.  Always good to protect yourself from sickness.  The last thing you want is to bring something back home or be sick while you are there.  God's got plans!  


When Andy and I were talking about the recommended shots and the cost, Brent in his weird and twisted way sent me this picture.  Uh....thanks for your support Brent.  Sigh....I am not that sad about it really.

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Why Go?

People ask me why I want to go to Swaziland. I have one answer.

I want to go to love on the kids. Plain and simple. I have no personal agendas, no personal goals. Just to love them.

You say, that's a long way to go to love on kids. Yes, it is. They need to know too.

You say, there are missionaries there already. Can't they just do it? Yes they love. We bring love for the missionaries on the ground too.

You say, what difference can you make in a week? That's for God to know, not me. All I can do is be obedient to His call to go. I can't control the circumstances, I can't control the results. But God knows what difference my going will make. Why not be a part of His work there?

You say, that's a crazy way to use your vacation time. I say...yes, it's weird, but what better way to be a part of something holy in communicating God's love for the forgotten.

Why I go? For all of these reasons and more.....

God has worked in MY life to remind me of His love for me, I HAVE to share. He has called me to share that. I can't NOT go. It is what He has called me to do.

God not only prepares the way for me to go physically, but He also prepares the way for me to go emotionally...and spiritually. There are a lot of holy moments that change me to be ready. A lot of God-encounters that bring awareness to see the broken, the forgotten, the hurt, the sick.

Leeland has a song "Follow You" that encapsulates my emotions about going:

You live among the least of these
The weary and the weak
And it would be a tragedy
For me to turn away
All my needs You have supplied
When I was dead You gave me life
So how could I not give it away so freely?

And I'll...
Follow You into the homes of the broken
Follow You into the world
Meet the needs for the poor and the needy God
Follow You into the world

Use my hands use my feet
To make Your kingdom come
To the corners of the earth
Until Your work is done
Faith without works is dead
On the cross Your blood was shed
So how could we not give it away so freely?

And I give all myself
I give all myself
I give all myself to You

This is why I want to go.

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Building Bridges

"We welcome Janelle, a regular guest blogger, who shares with us how she prays for her sponsored girls, and what that has done in her heart since meeting Eskarlin in the Dominican Republic." ~ Mission of Mercy.

I'm so excited to meet my new little daughter Nomphilo in Swaziland.

What an honor to be a Mission of Mercy sponsor and volunteer. Not only is it a privilege to support my little girls through Mission of Mercy with my financial monthly gifts, but I also support them prayerfully with my daily spiritual presence.

After visiting the Dominican Republic with Mission of Mercy, I struggled with the separation I felt in my heart from my sponsored children upon returning home. Their hard reality deeply crushed my heart, read more here....

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High Fives!

It is not possible to embark on my Swaziland faith project without the support of many believers. The gifts of grace I have received are investments in this trip, not only financially but also spiritually. Your belief in what God can do in and through me speaks volumes and I humbly say thanks.

My Thankful High Fives go to:

Christy & Eddie Riddle

Pat & Kali Bell

Brandon & Megan Armstrong

Teresa Richmond

Anonymous

My son Shayne

Michael Youso

Brian Hill

Jim & Ronda Martin

The Rupp Family

Bill & Sheila Ford

Ann Steichen

Terry, the hubs

Jennifer Vaughan

Another Anonymous friend

The person who put $40 in my coffee

Lindsay and Billy Bernhardt

and

To all those who will soon give towards this faith project.....

I am deeply moved by your love gifts. Your gifts mean so much already, your prayer support is needed as well. To all those listed I pledge to do my best with God's best to represent the face of Christ.

Your humble servant.

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The Hard Part

When Justin, our trip leader, told me about the trip my heart said yes right away. And I didn't even know the dates or how much it cost. Common sense reigned me in. I started asking questions. I remember texting him and asking,
"Hummm...raising $3000 is the hard part". Is this the hard part?" He replied, "YOU CAN DO THIS!"
I smiled at his confidence in me. But really I hope it was his confidence in God to work through me.

When you dangle an African opportunity in front of my "hungry to serve" eyes and heart, yeah, I am going to bite every time. At least for this time being I will. The only reservation I had was raising the cold hard cash (for the record, I don't plan on finding any of the greenbacks in my freezer or trekking to the North Pole to retrieve it.)

Financial matters have always been a challenge for our family with my hubs' history of medical issues the entire length of our marriage. We literally have lived the "for-better-or-worse-parts" of our vows. And with his current health condition, him being on medical disability with his job and me working for a non-profit ministry, in my mind, raising $3000 was the hard part. God is asking me to trust Him in this.

I set to work and prayed immediately and declared that if God wanted me to go then the funds would come. Reassurance and peace came to my heart. Remember...this is the easy part. God has proved that to be true so far. My funding campaign has reached the half-way mark. And so far God has made it the easy part because He has prompted generous friends to come along side this mission with a purpose trip. I sent out some letters to some mission-minded friends and God has brought surprise after surprise. I am living Ephesians 3:20 that says, "Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us." Just today I had a couple of unexpected gifts from some expectant hearts.

I just can't get over how creative God is. He is blowing my socks off. I have even found $40 cash in my coffee can. Now that's a gift of love and yes, God has made funding the trip easy so far. Swazi or BUST!

P.S. Thank yous to all who have contributed so far are coming in the next post. Read how my awesome friend Andy was blessed with a surprise gift of $500 in one phone call.

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Seeds for Swazi

I have been thinking about going to Africa for a while now. Actually God planted the seeds for this trip on the day I returned from the Dominican Republic. The DR was where God first broke my heart for missions, for the poor among us.

As we were waiting on our final flight home and saying goodbye to some really good friends, I knew then that I would serve with these people again. We were a team after all. Some really close friendships had formed. There is something about adversity that binds people together.

God was busy binding hearts as well. Africa was mentioned at that time and several expressed a desire to go. Now you would expect that kind of conversation on the heels of an action packed week of serving missions to God's precious ones. Some were on a "mission-trip" high and had experienced God in a most unique and deep way. But for me, the missions seeds go way deeper than that a mountain-top experience that lasts only seven days. I am motivated to spread the mission message and that is God at work in my life. He compels me to stay intent on serving on foreign soil.

When the opportunity to travel to Swaziland came up, I knew I didn't what to miss it. I don't want to miss one minute of serving. God had prepared the way in my heart to say yes.

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