DeDe In Africa

REDEEMED!!

2011-07-10T10:09:00.000-05:00

Today we went to the store to pick up a few items. Over the last two years we’ve made several trips to this same store and each time we’ve been given a receipt. Today I stood in awe as I watched the cashier quickly and easily stamp “REDEEMED” on the receipt and hand it to me with my change.

As I watched her stamp that small slip of paper I begin to think of the power of that one simple and beautiful word. I did not ask why “REDEEMED” is stamped on the receipts but my thought is that it is because we have purchased or paid the full price for whatever items we have found that we needed. But I can tell you from experience that those same receipts are often asked for at the door as proof that the price has been paid in full.

For the rest of the afternoon the image of the word “REDEEMED” from my receipt was in front of my eyes even though the piece of paper was put for safe keeping. It’s not visible but I know the stamp is there and it is all the proof I need to show I own something from that store. Such a small stamp but oh so thought provoking. A verse kept coming to my mind too. I wasn’t sure the exact wording but I knew it said that I’m no longer my own because I’ve been bought at a price. So I began to delve a little deeper into that word and did find the verse that kept coming to me, 1 Corinthians 6:20, but as God so often does in looking up the word I found two other verses that are just what I was looking for.

Psalm 107:2 Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out!! Tell others he has redeemed you from your enemies. (NLT)

I knew the word redeemed meant purchased or ransomed or delivered. What struck me was where we are redeemed from and what we are supposed to do. It says we are delivered from our enemies hand and can mean debt or dominion or power or charge. The one that got to me was that it can mean armhole. I would say that’s an odd analogy but think about it for a minute. If you hold something under your armhole it is not something that you are wanting to let go of or let get far away. It’s also not a place for strangers. Bear with me a second. I may hug someone when I am introduced to them, the custom for many people is to hug, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to stand on my first visit with a stranger with my arm draped around them or theirs around me. I’m not going to stand in their ‘armhole’. But with some dear friends I may do just that and stand close by their side with arms draped across shoulders. We are told in Psalm 107:2 that God redeems us from our enemy’s armhole. To me that is very comforting to know that God doesn’t want me that close to anything that can harm me or anything that can harm me that close to me. Now to the command of this verse. We are to ‘speak out’! I like that translation. When God has delivered you from your enemies side. You have been redeemed and your job is to speak out or publish. Yes, that would be the word that stands out most to me. We are not to keep our redemption private but are to publicize it to the world! And that simple thought to say or speak out also means to challenge. If you are around someone who is not seeing an end to their troubles or is not seeing their deliverance then challenge or comfort or commune with them. So often we feel so alone in the battle when we have so many near who can be the support we need.

Just as I thought I was done with the idea of “REDEEMED” another verse came to my study time: Lamentations 3:58 Lord, you are my lawyer! Plead my case! For you have redeemed my life. (NLT)

In this verse plead really does mean to grapple or to contend or wrangle. Ok so the country girl has seen more than her share of cattle wrangling. It’s not something I’ve ever wanted to do but I can tell you it looks like a lot of hard, messy, sweaty work. This is what Christ has already done for us. He wrangled our eternals lives from the grips of hell on the cross. He has pled the case and won the victory. It’s not a maybe but a definite for sure absolute. There is no partial redemption but just like our items in the store He paid the full price for what He picked out. I wonder when I came to know Christ as my ‘Kinsman Redeemer’ did HE stamp REDEEMED across my life, not for me to pull it out and look but for my enemy to see that I am PAID FOR?

1 Corinthians 6:20 And you are not your own, for you have been redeemed at infinite cost. Therefore glorify God in your bodies.

Smells Like Africa

2010-08-24T08:59:00.000-05:00

It is almost fall at home. Soon I'll get to rake leaves and build a nice burn pile. This is a part of the year I've looked forward to since I was a child and would help my Granddad work in the yard. I've always loved the color of the leaves during fall but most of all I love the smell of the fires as we burn them. Or the smell of a bonfire or a fire outside to cook on. Now though when I smell that I think not just of Granddad but of Africa too. Many times Zesa goes (electricity) and a fire has to be built to cook on. Those fires are great things but also very dangerous and we've seen many bad burns on children who played too close and fell in. But I did get to see one fire that made me smile. The school has a kitchen and this is it! No lights. No running water. No counters or cabinets. It is simply a building with a fire in the middle of it and two large pots to cook the rice in. I loved going into this room and smelling the smell. In town we would step out at night and smell Africa. When you smell that smell this fall please think of Africa and pray for the people here. Pray that GOD will become their GOD. Pray for us that we will share HIM and spark a desire in their lives to know the Amazing GOD we know and love so much.

Be Strong and Courageous

2010-08-24T08:47:00.000-05:00

It was time for Joshua to take over. It was time for him to step up and ‘play the man’. We’ve all been at a point in our lives when things were changing around us and we had to step up to fill a certain role. Joshua was told to be strong and courageous.I spent some time with Joshua this trip. I read through his story and then as only GOD could do, I got to see people who have followed in Joshua's footsteps and have stepped into new roles. We've meet so many people who in telling their stories talked about doing things they didn't think were possible. There is a great strength that comes only from GOD. It is visible in our lives. It is visible in our faces. One of the schools that God allowed us to take food too has a team of volunteers who cook the food every day, outside, on an open fire. One of those ladies is Gogo. We didn't ask her age but you could see the strength and courage in her life as she talked to us. It is such a blessing to meet so many amazing people. To know I come from a 'rural village' in East Texas and that God would allow me to be part of His work. Some days I feel a lot like Joshua as I am stepping into unfamiliar roles and doing things that I never thought were possible and it's more than a little exciting to see HIM work.

Selah

2010-08-24T08:32:00.000-05:00

In the garden in Bulawayo grows a plant that I was told is called a 'cat tail.' I've seen it at home too but don't know it's name there. It's got an amazing texture to it as the star shaped leaves grow so densely packed that it feels like a soft brush. All of the ones I've gotten to see have been straight. They may be tightly bunched together but they grow straight. All except one. The one in the garden has one branch that grew under a leaf from another plant and the cat tail grew bended in a couple of place to get out from other the bigger, heavier leaf. But even with the extra weight and the blocking of sunshine the plant grew strong and healthy. Think about that for a moment.
In Psalms many of the verses have one word in common: selah. I've looked up it's meaning several times and was thinking about it the day I sat in the garden and noticed the bent cat tail. Selah seems to have a couple of different possible meanings; to measure or weigh in balance, to value, in music it means to pause. I like how the Amplified Bible translates it: pause and calmly think about it. So there I sat studying a bit in Psalms and looking at the word selah when I noticed a plant. And I did what the translators suggested and I paused and calmly thought about it. The plant is a bit like me, like all of us should be. It didn't break under the weight of the other leaf but bent into an unusual position and kept growing. It was a bit longer than the other parts of the plant, possibly because it had to grow out from underneath something. It felt the same as the other parts and other than shape you cannot tell it apart from the others. It stands strong and does what it is supposed. I like the cat tail because to me it is so different. Now I even have a favorite branch of the plant. Selah, pause and calmly think about that. What do I do under pressure? Do I bend into a shape that will allow me to continue to grow and become stronger? Do I break? Do I quit producing? There was another plant under the same big leaf and it was ugly, dull, yellow and nearly lifeless. Which plant am I? Selah... What a word and what a lesson from a plant.

In Search of a Pangolin

2010-08-24T07:45:00.000-05:00

At school one day a reading story was about the Pangolin. The kids didn’t have any idea what it was, and neither did I. From the description I thought it was a bit like an armadillo. Can you imagine not knowing what an armadillo was? I know you can’t if you’re from East Texas. I’ve looked this elusive little creature up online and for our purposes it’s fine to just know it looks a lot like an armadillo. As we’ve walked around a bit by the street vendors I’ve seen lots of carved or handcrafted pangolins for sale. However we don’t remember seeing them last year. Do we notice them now because of the reading story or were they truly not there last year? I remember having a pet armadillo for a while as a child. My great grandfather had visited from Oregon and became fascinated by the little armored creatures. I do not remember if he saw the pet one but I do know that we named it Louie in his honor. In the midst of my search for pangolins it dawned on me that my focus has brought more of them or their likenesses to my attention. You know what I mean, when we’re looking for a scratch on our car we’ll find every nick that is there, or if you look for gray hair then you’ll see them all. I don’t know if there are more carvings of pangolins or if I’m just more aware of them. Pangolins are not in Texas so I must look for them while I am here. As I type this I am very grateful that the same is not true about God. HE can be found everywhere and anywhere. He must be sought. ‘Seek the Lord while He may be found, call on Him while He is near. Isaiah 55:6’ The word seek means to inquire, frequent, follow, search and to worship. Panoglins were here long before I knew of them. God has always been here. When I leave the pangolin will remain. From the story about the pangolin I learned that they are endangered. They may not always be here. BUT GOD will always remain. How will I pursue HIM?

Why Can’t the English Learn to Speak?

2010-08-24T07:42:00.000-05:00

In the musical “My Fair Lady” Professor Higgins sings a song called ‘Why Can’t the English Learn to Speak’ and in it he says that in America “they haven’t spoken it in years.’ That’s one of my favorite songs from that movie and sometimes while talking to people here I think it’s quite true. Our accents are different but there is much more to it than that as we even used words differently or at times use completely different words. For example one friend here is always very ‘chaffed’ when we get to visit. At home that would mean he was a little upset or mad but here it’s the opposite and he is happy to see us. Biscuits are cookies. Chips are French fries. Torches are flashlights. If you just show up at a friend’s house then you are pitching up. If someone does something nice then you try to revenge them. And you really do hoot your own horn by honking it in your car.

The Lord is The Spirit

2010-08-24T07:37:00.002-05:00

When I was in college I attended a great college youth group. But I learned the most at the praise and worship and sharing times we had on Sunday nights at our leaders’ home. At some time we sang a chorus that was from 2 Corinthians 3:17 – “The Lord is the Spirit and where He is there is freedom. Freedom from sin and bondage. Holy Freedom.” I do not know that I’ve ever heard that chorus anywhere else but it is in my mind and heart often. Today, August 8, 2010, we attended church in Mthombothemba. It was my first trip to a village church, although the village is bigger than my home town. The music was in Ndebele and the grade 7 kids tried to teach me food words so I didn’t know much of what was sang. I did pick up on three key words:Kulakula (God), Jesu (Jesus) and sebonga. Sebonga is thank you so I knew the general idea was giving thanks to God and Jesus. For the rest of the songs I hummed along but somewhere in one of them the chorus from so many years ago came to mind. The Lord IS freedom. Today HE was freedom to stand in a village church in Zimbabwe and praise along with my brothers and sisters in Christ and only know three words that they were singing. Where HE is there is freedom. HE took my breath away as I stood there in awe of the fact that HE is Lord over ALL and is allowing me to see HIM and to serve Him. I heard GOD a bit louder when the preacher asked us to open our Bibles to 2 Corinthinas 3:10-15. I turned there, read the verses, and read on to find that chours leaping off the page at me. Then he corrected it and sent us to 1 Corinthians. Oh but the joy to hear and see GOD in those words in my Bible. HE IS Freedom. One of the translations I read today says: “Now the Lord is the Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there the heart is free.” What a way to see freedom, standing in the midst of God’s family and hear HIM without knowing what was said.

One Candle

2010-08-24T07:35:00.001-05:00

When the lights go out one of the first things we do is reach for a torch (flashlight) or a candle. It’s amazing how much light one candle can produce in a dark room. But the candle is much more than a light. As a Christian we are supposed to be the light of the world. That’s probably a familiar thought as twice in John we are told that Jesus is the light of the world and in Matthew 5 we are told that we are to be the light of the world. So I looked up the word light in the Bible study program in my computer and it so nicely told me to refine my search as it has more than 200 references to the word light. That made me smile. To have the program tell me that I was looking for something in God’s Word that was to big!! So what else can that little flame do? It can heat the room. It can start a bigger fire for cooking. Fire can be protective as it will keep wild animals away or here in Africa it can attract them as we’ve been told that hippos are attracted to fires. Fire cooks food. Gold and many minerals are refined by fire. Fire can be used to turn sand into glass or clay into pottery. Sometimes land is burned to rid it of weeds before planting. But fire can destroy crops and homes. In lighthouses fire points out dangers and safety for ships at sea. Fire can be both good and bad, controlled and uncontrolled. Back to the thought that we are called to be fire as we are to be the light of the world. We can be good and help those around us by lighting up the path to God. Or we can be bad by shining a way that does not follow Christ’s example. Our flames can be used to purify our own lives and help clean up those around us. Or we can be like the wildfires that burn uncontrolled and destroy everything in their paths. But eventually after the ground has cooled and rains have come the plants will come back. Some may be completely destroyed by the fires but some seeds need heat to grow and some things will come back stronger. Further on in Matthew we are told that our lights are supposed to give glory to God. That’s using light for good. Find a candle and turn off all the lights. Light first a match in the darkness, then a single candle. Find a three wick candle and light it too. Sometimes our light shines with others. But it must shine to be useful; it must burn to be productive.

His lightening lights up the world; the earth sees and trembles. Psalm 97:4

HOPE

2010-08-24T07:27:00.000-05:00

I’ve seen miracles just happen….That’s what faith can do… It doesn’t matter what you’ve heard impossible is not a word…Life is so much more than what your eyes are seeing… I’ve seen dreams that moved mountains….Hope that doesn’t end…

As I sit here typing I am also listening to music in my computer. I miss that so much from being at home. My normal morning involves me turning on a cd or the radio shortly after I get up. When I’m in my car I do the same and even play music in my classroom. There is music here and I enjoy it, but I do miss the music from home. Tonight I’m just typing some of the events of the past days and listening to Kutless’ song “What Faith Can Do.” What lyrics. It hit me as they sang: “Hope that doesn’t end.” I’ve seen that hope alive here. Of course the area that Mthombothemba is located in is called Hope Fountain and I’ve learned a little of its history and that ‘hope’ has kept them there. Hope. Confidence. Faith. Verbs. Action words. Someone said that they want the fountains of hope to keep flowing here. To have faith stay alive. But the verse that combines faith and hope that jumps into my thoughts is: Now abides faith, hope and love but the greatest of these is love. One more action word. Possibly THE action word that may be the hardest and at the same time the easiest to live: love. Love is the reason for hope and faith.

God’s Math

2010-08-24T07:25:00.000-05:00

In school I teach math and the kids are amazed when they start to see problems with letters in them like 7 + a = 9. To them it is ‘fun’ to figure out what is missing to make the equation true. I’ve also been amazed to see GOD work out some ‘math’ problems in our lives that could be written:

Give It Away = Have More

Then God highlighted it even more today by having my devotional reading be about that very subject. The devotional was written in 1865, roughly 145 years ago! Even greater it was from 1 Kings and that was much longer ago than that. But it could have been written on many different occasions and in many different settings throughout this trip. The story from 1 Kings was when Elijah went to stay with a widow. She told him they were on the last of their food and after eating it they would die. Now this was not a lady who just hadn’t done her monthly shopping yet but was a woman who had used all her resources and had nothing left. Elijah simply told her what God had said, that the provision would not run out until GOD had made the way for more food to grow. Give it away and HE will give you more. That same idea is in Proverbs 11:24-25 where we’re told that giving will increase you. One translation I read, Bible in Basic English, says: “He who gives blessing will be made fat.” Now that one truly made me smile as I thought of the physical body and our battle to ‘slim.’ But I know I’ve seen this verse in flesh as GOD so often provides much more than could be imagined or asked for. You know though we do have to keep emptying the storehouse so He can continue to fill it up.

Friends

2010-08-19T04:32:00.000-05:00

I cannot recall all the songs about friends I've heard. The elementary teacher in me leans more towards the Disney cartoon ones and especially the vultures in Jungle Book and their singing, "We're your friends to the bitter end." That may be the one that comes to mind most now because they sing with a British accent. I feel like that song is in my heart right now because the end of this trip is here. We have been saying our goodbyes for the last few days and will continue to do so right up to our departure next Tuesday. At the same time as we prepare to leave we have joy in knowing that soon we'll return home to our family and friends there. Best of all we know that we will return here.
Towards the end of the song the vultures tell Mowgli that they've 'never met an animal they didn't like.' I know they mean it as a meal but we'll pretend they're not hungry carnivores. At this trip is ending we see so much to do in trips to come and at home to help us serve here. We've also just met some new friends and see great potential for things to come.
Our time here may be ending but we'll carry a bit more of Zimbabwe home with us as we seek ways for GOD to use us to serve Him here and share HIS love with those who do not know Him. We may be leaving Africa but Africa is not leaving us. The red dust that covers everything and at times makes specks on the camera lens is deep inside us. A friend recently told us that when she was young her Grandma had them eat a small bit, just a taste, of the soil whenever they went to a new place. We did not eat any soil, at least not on purpose,but we have more than a taste of Africa inside of us.

Looks Like Home - Sort of...

2010-08-19T04:14:00.000-05:00

While traveling one day we drove through an area that resembled East Texas, more than any other area I've seen. There were taller trees, even some pine. The fields were filled with tall grasses and in some places had been mowed. One farmer was even baling the hay into square bales. As we traveled I enjoyed the similarity to home. Then it happened. I remembered I was in Africa and not East Texas when we had to slow for the monkeys crossing the road in front of us and playing along the side. So much for a view of home. Or maybe we could import some of the little monkeys to Texas and make it look like Africa...

Do It Yourself

2010-08-19T04:09:00.000-05:00

At home I'm surrounded by a lot of "Do-It-Yourselfers." (Think I may have just made up that last word.) At one time my mom was known for saying the phrase, "Billie can do it!" Seems that was her answer to everything for several years and yes, Billie, my dad, often did what Mom said he would. I thought of him as we followed the 'Do It Yourself' combi (public transport) recently. Not only was it fully packed with people but seems the luggage overflowed onto the back of the van. Not that peculiar of a sight here as we also saw one with the luggage strapped on the front bumper. Seems you'll put it where ever it fits and then tie it on tight. Hopefully we'll not have to strap any of our suitcases down like that next week when we leave Zimbabwe to travel home.

TEST...

2010-08-13T05:16:00.000-05:00

I remember as a child seeing the emergency warning system run its test on the TV. 

“This has been a test. This has only been a test. If it had been a real emergency it would have been followed by more information.”

Some days are like that. We get to face things that are simply tests of how we will react and what we will do next. Recently we faced one of those tests.  At the same time we learned a few things for the next time we face a similar challenge. To me that is one of the most important parts of tests. As a teacher when I test my class I then look at the results to see what materials need to be reviewed and which students need a little extra help. That is how we have to look at the spiritual tests we face too. From our spiritual tests GOD shows us what we need to review or learn better or what we need to learn to apply to our lives. Now we are looking at the results from yesterday and seeing how we can do things differently next time and also storing knowledge so we do not repeat the test. Back to my class for a minute. If I taught and never tested then how would I know the materials were truly learned and mastered? That’s the goal in school to master the material. Not to just see it but to be able to fully understand and use what has been taught. You know that’s the same in our spiritual lives. We have to learn from the events we face every day and use that knowledge to grow and to help others when they face similar things. Or we use that knowledge to pray for others we see battling alongside us. And trust me it is a battle and we know WHO wins in the end. Today is a new day and we will face new battles but this morning GOD highlighted a verse for me.

1 Corinthians 7:17 Let everyone lead the life which the Lord has assigned to him, and in which God has called him.

My battle yesterday was mine. Praise GOD He has placed friends here who helped me along but this morning it was pointed out that I had to walk through the fire yesterday to test my call. Then God showed me the verse from 1 Corinthians. I was not alone but in so many ways yesterday was a battle I had to step in to and face alone and now am learning from. It’s like the tests I give at school because now I can see how I handled it and things to do differently but I can also see an end product. For me now the end is just a beginning as I know more that I’ll come back to face more battles. I could have given up yesterday, and at one time really wanted to BUT GOD has more in store and for HIS work to be done I cannot quit. I feel like I got to see that verse in the living the assigned life. Now to pray and prepare for the next battle because I know there will be more to come.  Like the test patterns at home – if this had been a real emergency there would have been more instruction or help BUT GOD provided all that was needed and greatest of all has filled us with peace. That’s the greatest result of any test in life – peace. Peace that passes all understanding.

A Gift

2010-08-06T05:48:00.000-05:00

When we were sharing in churches and Gogo Katy was with us she would often ask what a good present was to receive. Then she would share that often here when we give vitamins there is much joy and excitement. I've given and received many gifts in my life but do not know how excited I would be to have someone give me vitamins. Once my granddad gave me a huge bucket filled with peanut butter, I was very young but still remember it as one of the best gifts I was ever given so maybe vitamins would excite me. Recently I was talking to a friend who shared with me that when she was young she lived in a village and missionaries came to share with them. She was telling me of the small toys and candies that she, as an adult, stills remembers receiving. Her description of the toys made me think of the toys we get in kids meals at home. She remembered the excitement and joy from her childhood. A few days after that conversation Sherrie and I were able to visit a children's ward in a hospital to deliver some bright pillowcases made with love by someone at home. BUT the kids were even more excited by the sweets. Every good and perfect gift is from the Lord. We passed out little candies and got such big smiles. I thought of my friend and her childhood memory. One of my favorite parts of the Bible is when Jesus taught the children. I remember pulling out the family Bible when I was little and looking at the picture there of Him holding small children while others gathered around to hear Him. I've not looked at it in years but it is etched into my memory. Our childhoods were very different, my friend and I were both touched by missionaries though in different ways. As we passed out the sweets I wondered if one day one of these children would pass on a story of learning about the Love of GOD through sweets they were given when they were children.

Class Pictures

2010-08-06T05:23:00.000-05:00

One thing I enjoy as a teacher is class picture day. In those pictures I get to look back and remember. I have a new class picture to look back at now. This is 'our' class for the last few weeks. I've been allowed to help the grade 7 class and the teacher, Mrs. Bhebhe. Some of the names are a bit different but the spirits are much the same. There were lots of tic, tac, toe games, Zizonka, and passing of notes... Children are the same no matter where you teach them, how they dress, or their heart language. When I was young my parents taught me that it is the inside, not the outside, that makes us all different or unique. The outside is just a temporary package that fades but the spirit is forever. My spirit has forever been changed by my time in Hope Fountain, where 'hope flows like a fountain."
One of my first years to teach I found a picture frame with the words, "1000 years from now it will not matter what clothes you wore, what hair style you had, or where you lived, it will matter that you were valuable in the life of a child." I know that is true as I have received so much from teachers in my own life. I've not used that frame in a couple of years as the class pictures were too big but now I have a picture for it not because I was a part of their lives but because they are so valuable to mine.

Tradition

2010-08-06T05:10:00.000-05:00

We finished the term of school this past week and I got to see how they close school. At the same time they were getting ready for a special day as we had an official handover of books. Bethany Ministries was able to bring books in the last container and some of them were for Mthombothemba Primary School. In the last two trips I've been allowed to make with this Ministry I've gotten to be part of several handovers but they've all been in the medical area. This handover was extra special to me as I've been allowed to step into the school and lend a hand working with maths and writing. The teachers have become my friends and they are all a part of me now. It was such a blessing to hear the gratitude in their voices as we unpacked the materials and the joy they got from the supplies. They can see a way forward now and have greater hope for the children and their education. Part of the handover process is singing. No matter where we go there is music. The school was no different and the different grades worked very hard on poems and songs to share with us and the rest of the guests at the ceremony. To see their little faces as they recited a poem about a bookworm who needed books to eat so it could live and be happy, poems about education, songs of thanks and praise. Then the extra special blessing as one teacher had her class sing "Hakuna Wakita", a favorite of ours. But the neatest part of the day was the group I had joined, grades 6 and 7. Over the week they even taught me, sort of, the dance steps (1, 2, 1-2-3 twisty). They did some traditional songs and dances and it meant so much more to know that they had worked so hard.
It was a blessing to spend the time in Mthombothemba and I look forward to going back next year. BUT GOD is the reason I was able to go. HE brought in the books, materials and supplies and then allowed us to be the hands that delivered them. HE is working greatly on that mountain and I cannot wait to see what HE does next.

Can't See the Forest

2010-07-27T13:00:00.000-05:00

You can't see the forest for all of the trees.
Sometimes it really feels like that. So many obstacles stand in our way that we cannot see what lies in front of us. I know at times I get so distracted that I can only look at the ground immediately in front of my feet.
Today, July 23, we drove to Victoria Falls to enjoy the glory of God through His creation. Along the way we say the Baobab tree. As a child we drove through the redwood forests in California and to this day I remember the size of the trees. I know I was young but I KNOW that they were huge and I will never forget them. Now I have a new set of trees engraved into my memory. For my kids back home I wanted you to see the size. No way I could have measured them but standing in front shows an idea of their massive size.
As we drove on we saw many more along the way. The idea of not being able to see more than what is directly in front of me came to mind. Then as I marveled at the beauty around me the story of creation came back to mind. To know that GOD created all the trees: Baobab, Redwood, pines, maples, oak, fruit trees. Then the even greater number when you look into the scientific names and classifications. BUT GOD created every one of them. It didn't take Him years and centuries but a day. Oh what amazing things HE can do in such short time. To recognize Him at work in and around us. The blessing of seeing His glory, majesty, wonder and power. All from a tree... But then again the size of the tree deserves a lot of thought and amazement.

An Inside Room

2010-07-27T12:31:00.000-05:00

We travel a lot while in Africa and quite a bit while in the states too. I’ve come to realize the value of an ‘inside room’ from those trips. Let me explain what an inside room is. It’s a bedroom or hotel/lodge room where most of the walls are enclosed and the outside air is stopped, maybe only a little from entering the room. When looking for a place to stay we do value an inside room and indoor (preferably attached bathroom) and running water. Recently we were looking for a place to stay and my Dad would have loved the bush camp site we visited. It was close to town but very much in a remote place in the bush. There were some watering holes nearby, although I didn’t see much water in them, and we were told the animals go to them nightly to drink. While walking around we did see some small deer, probably female impala and we saw lots of animal evidence. By the sidewalk between the sleeping room and the bathroom was giraffe poo and I sort of think the larger footprints were elephant. We were told they have giraffe, zebra, elephant, bok, and impala. And they roam freely in the camp area. Now that was our problem. If they are ‘wild’ animals that roam freely and if they are roaming in the path between bed and bath then there may be a problem. (For all of you who have little bells and whistles going off we did not stay in the bush camp but went into town and found an indoor room.) For just an instant forget the wild animals roaming through camp and recall that it’s winter here. How about getting up at 5am to go bathe and having to walk through the bush to shower! I can only imagine what stories could have come from that stay. We bring our own coffee and creamer all we want is some solid walls, running water, electricity and something to keep the animals at a nice viewing distance.  For all you fun loving adventurous types who are thinking we missed a great opportunity we’ve got directions to the camp so you can go any time you’d like.

Hope Fountain

2010-07-26T15:39:00.000-05:00

This week I’ve gotten into a classroom in a village school called Mthombatemba (sounds like -ma tome ba tem ba) or Hope Fountain. It amazes me how much these students remind me of kids from home. I may not know all of their names but the eyes, faces, expressions, joys and frustrations are much the same. So far, I’ve gotten to do math and writing with them. For all of my teacher friends the lessons are the same even in Africa. The story problems are about Kudzai instead of Susan or John but the math is the same. Instead of writing wild adventure stories they write about their own lives which are a bit different from those back home. I am also ploughing my way through a bit of their olde English ways of spelling.

The kids are teaching me a bit too as they started my Ndebele lessons today. Soon I’ll be able to name all the foods in the store. Funny how the first words they wanted to teach me were for sweet potatoes -mbambayila {m bomb a eel a}, potatoes – maguili {ma kwee lay}, tomatoes – matamatisi {ma tom a tea say}, bread – sinkwa {seen quay}, and eggs – maqanda {it’s got a click in it and is the hardest one for me to say}. Sherrie is giving us lessons too and the teachers and most everyone we meet tries to help us learn a little bit at a time. The Ndebele is fun, all but clicks, but they are fun too – especially when my attempts make the kids laugh so much.

Mngane = friend

2010-07-26T15:35:00.000-05:00

Sometimes we look for new friends and sometimes they look for us. On our first trip to Hope Fountain I met a new friend. I was there to see the school and meet the teachers. I was not really looking for a friend but she found me. Her name is Sipho too, the same as Ashley, and she is very sweet. Her main language is Ndebele and my Ndebele is very limited so we don’t talk very much but we don’t have too. You know sometimes you can just love and care for someone and feel such a burden to pray for them with limited communication between the two of you. Today during break/tea time Sipho came and found me. I shared my bread with her and Amanda, another friend I’ve made there. We all then went back to class. Well I sort of went but was stopped mid way and was talking to another teacher when Sipho came looking for me again. This time she wanted me to join her in the crèche, which is a lot like pre-school. The other teacher said it would be fine for me to join her even though the crèche students have a much harder time understanding me. About the same time the crèche teacher stepped out calling Sipho’s name looking for her. I guess now would be a good time to tell you that Sipho and Amanda are crèche students. Sipho led me back to class where I greeted all the students and we sang a few songs and worked on the fact that she has to share me with the other students. I cannot wait until tomorrow to see if she is better at sharing me.

Diamond in the Rough

2010-07-26T15:25:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite Disney movies is Aladdin. I mainly like it for the Genie but today I’ve been thinking about it because of the line where Jafir is told to look for a “Diamond in the rough…” This weekend we returned to Francistown, Botswana, to be a part of Light of the World Church’s Ladies Tea. The speaker was Barbara Van Wyk who shared with us that we are ‘diamonds’ and gave an amazing teaching on who we, as women, are in God. It was amazing to sit and listen and then get to visit with and know more of the ladies stories. One young lady befriended me and spoke to me. Originally she was slow to speak and as I often see happen she struggled a bit understanding my English. Seems my English accent is a bit different than theirs. She was very quiet at first but listened so intently to the drama and the speaker. Then she won the last door prize that was given. That was all it took. On her way back to the table she stopped multiple times to share with others. Finally she made her way back to our table and excitedly shared her story with me. She has lost both her parents and was attending school to be a teacher when she became ill. She said she has epilepsy now and did not get to take her finals and they will not let her make them up. Since she’s not able to test she has taken a different training, has applied for a couple of jobs and is waiting to hear from them, but today she knows she is special and that God loves her because of the word and the gift. Seems her name also means gift and her door prize was a couple of small perfumes. She was so excited about them because where she stays it is crowded and she’s not always able to bathe or doesn’t always have bathing supplies. Such a small token meant the world to this young girl whose face was shining with joy as she talked about how much God was blessing her through that small gift. She is a diamond in the rough but has seen that she is God’s diamond and was shining with His love and joy. Oh how much I was blessed to see and hear her as she spoke with such passion and hope that all that she heard today helped her know God’s loves her. What a lesson to learn at a ladies tea.

Soccer

2010-07-03T08:03:00.000-05:00

Soccer!??! World Cup Soccer!!!

So many folks ask if we went to any games in South when we landed. We did not. As a matter of fact we were only in South for the airport and the road that leads to Botswana. We did however get to watch the US vs Ghana game while in Bots. It's more than a bit amusing to me as I do not know that I would have watched the game if I had been in the states. And we were a bit sad that the US lost.
As I was trying to post a few things here, so Thulani can quit giving me a hard time, I thought of the soccer match. You know everyone here tells us how well the US team did and that they played a good game. In my mind I hear the verse that talks about running the race. You know they did not want to lose. We don't ever go into anything wanting to come out in a bad way but it happens. It was just a game after all. But in our lives we must live out that verse daily. We must "RUN" the race... We can't sit and wait. We must be active and get into life. This summer our race has taken us back to Africa. We are running through the red dust that will follow us home. This soil lingers on our clothes after we leave but it will linger in our hearts forever. You know with time we tend to forget who won all the past championships. Every year a team will win and many others will lose. But in my life I can remember many from the past who made great impact. I thank God for them. I also know I am impacting others and pray that it's a Godly impact.
So run the race. Finish. Get moving. Pray. All action words.

The Longest Sunset Ever

2010-07-03T07:55:00.000-05:00

During the flight from London we saw the most amazing sunset I have ever experienced. We were flying over the Swiss Alps and got to truly see the beauty of God's creation. I've never been to the Alps. Never really wanted to go. But GOD knew we would enjoy His handiwork so he painted a sunset that had more colors in it than I can describe and laid it behind the Alps so we could see it contrasted against the pure white snow that caps the mountains. Ashley took pictures and I will try to post some later but we know already that they will not show the true majesty and glory that was before our eyes. To know that we are just regular everyday folks, a nurse, a college student, and an elementary teacher, and that GOD would allow us to see His creation in such a way. The best word I can think of is 'majestic' but it seems so inadequate. There are not words to truly tell you how we feel or what we've seen. We are amazed not just by what GOD has done or shown us but by the fact that He allows us to participate in His work. Many of you are involved in this too. If you are reading this...you ARE involved. If you'd like to see some amazing sunsets then come along sometime. There's something here for you to do and more than enough sunsets to share.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

2010-07-03T07:11:00.000-05:00

If I remember the lyrics correctly then the song said that somewhere over the rainbow skies were blue. Right now we are IN The Rainbow, a hotel in Bulawayo, spending a little time on the internet. We've been in Africa one week and one day and have adjusted very well to the time change and are layering clothes to keep us warm. We've got a couple of thermometers in our house and seems like the temps are staying in the 60s for the most part with a little drop at night. But the sun is bright and warms us during the day. Last night we drove out of town a bit to get away from the lights and enjoy the stars. WOW!!! If you go out in the country at home you may see a few stars but here it is so different. The air is much cleaner and clearer here and there are so many stars that I cannot think of a number that would adequately tell you how many there are. It is almost as if you can see into the next galaxy. Amazing. Who could look at the beauty of the world and not know there is a Great and Awesome GOD who created it all?
This is my second trip to Zim and I feel much at home, though I do miss my family and friends in the states. Sherrie has returned this side again and this trip has brought in a new team member, Ashley Lowery. Again God has brought to the team a student who is working on her Masters in Public Health. It is interesting to listen to the medical discussions, from a teachers perspective, and I may learn something....
The team is once again a trio, but Ashley will leave us at the end of the month. Already we know that we will miss her. It amazes me that God can knit us together so quickly, especially since Ashley and I met for the first time at the airport in Houston on the day we left!
Today is Independence Eve back home. I know many will be celebrating this weekend. In a way we will too as we've been invited to a Braii (think bar-b-que) this afternoon. Somehow I don't think we'll get any watermelon or sweet iced tea. More than likely we'll have sadza and hot tea with milk - Yummy.
God has done so much here since last summer. The town seems to be returning to what everyone describes it as being in years past. I can see many positive changes in the time I was gone and cannot wait to see it continue. So many prayers have been answered and in days to come I will try to introduce you to some more specific ones.
Please continue to pray for us as we spend the next two months here. We appreciate all the love and support and cannot wait to share our God stories with you when we get back to the states.
Happy Fourth of July to Ya'll on the other side of the rainbow.

GONE FISHING!?!

2010-04-13T06:38:00.000-05:00

Ricky likes to tell the story that when he first met Sherrie he was getting ready to go fishing. It’s been three years and he hasn’t gone fishing yet…

Sherrie’s dad has a really nice pond at his house and they all like to fish in it from time to time.

Recently I tried to reach a preacher and every time I called I heard the same thing: “He’s gone fishing.”

Me, I really am not that big on fishing. I love to sit out by a nice quiet lake and enjoy creation around me. Growing up we did A LOT of fishing so I guess you could say I’ve caught my ‘limit’ and am okay with that. Truly I will fish as long as someone else will bait my hook and take anything off that I accidently manage to catch. I will cast and reel a line in all day. Yes, I know that’s like teasing the fish and disturbs the water but I do enjoy it.

I do have a point to all these fish tales. There’s a great fishing story in the Bible but it’s not filled with whoppers. As a matter of fact it seems to be going like most of my fishing experiences and they’ve been at it all day. Everyone is tired. Sore from sitting in the boat. Maybe a little grumpy because of their lack of success. AND you know someone there was hungry and just wanted to go get something to eat. They had ‘toiled all night and caught nothing.” The story is in Luke 5. I remember lots of those kinds of fishing trips where all I caught was a sunburn. BUT JESUS had plans for dinner. HE gave one simple order, “Let down your nets for a catch.” It was a sure deal. HE may have even told someone on shore to get the fire going because dinner was coming. Those fishermen were ‘professionals’ though and they knew it was a long shot as they’d spent so much time there already with nothing in their nets. But they obeyed. You know how it ends. Man what a fish tale – so many fish that the nets start ripping, they start to take on water, and you know the crowd on shore was amazed by the catch.

So how does this apply to me? Simple, I need to keep putting my nets out. How long do I have to fish and catch nothing? I do not know BUT GOD tells us to be fishers of men so I must keep putting out those nets. Sometime one will get in. Maybe more than one. Maybe, just maybe one day the nets will start to rip and there will be a bit of water in the boat.. BUT only if I keep putting out those nets.

(And if you're wondering... The picture is real... Real old that is. Those guys are my dad and uncle and note the rounded edge on the perfectly square picture... Real real old!)

146 Days of 'Rest'

2010-01-20T19:55:00.000-06:00

Someone asked me why I've not blogged much. (OK - - I've barely posted anything since we got back this side!) I laughed and told her that I have but I've not posted them. While in Zim I typed blogs in a word document to be posted when we had access to a good internet source. Around here I have easy access to much better internet, faster speed and much more reliable. But I've been a poor blogger. There have been many added to the word document but I've not posted many, until today.

So, why didn't I post since we got back to this side of the big pond? No reason or excuse but I will tell you that I (we) have been VERY busy... Note the number 146... That's how many days have passed since we arrived back home. As I type this Sherrie, Katy, and Ricky are leaving Houston for a trip to Zim that will last until the end of April. BUT back to those days home... You know God created the world and all that is in it and then He rested. We didn't create the world and I'd never even dare to compare any of us to God and I can tell you that we only rested one day a week!!!! Of that 146 days I have in my calendar almost 70 events, churches, associational meetings that we were allowed to be part of. There were several that Sherrie and Ricky went to on days when I had to teach that did not get recorded on my calendar so that number is truly higher... So in that time about half of it was spent sharing or otherwise working with folks in Bethany Ministries and the other half???? Oh my.... it has been a busy time... AND not slowing down. While they are in Zim they will be working on getting things ready for TWO containers to arrive, half of one is filled with food for a couple of schools and an orphanage, and the other is filled with medical supplies, Bibles, teaching materials and all sorts of things that were donated and inventoried at the warehouse. In about a month a group of men will join them to help unload the medical supplies. I have to stay this side and teach, which I have done with all the other activities going on too, and I will be doing some updates, upon request, and trying to work in the warehouse when I can.

But there will be time for rest... This trip to Zim will end in late April and the group will be home the beginning of May. I am working on some church dates for May and early June and in late June we will return to Zim for the summer/winter.... And somewhere in the midst of all that there will be at least one day of rest...

EISH ME...

2010-01-20T19:27:00.000-06:00

Have you ever noticed that sometimes we pick up ‘pet’ phrases or just tend to say the same things repeatedly? As we’ve been around one another so much we’ve noticed a few phrases. Sherrie tends to be colder than us and she’s often said “Eish me I’m cold…” We’ve joked about it and I was looking for just the right thing to blog on it and then we saw the bumper sticker. Yes they do have bumper stickers in Africa. When we got back to Francistown and were driving around we got behind a car with Sherrie’s word on it: EISH!!! Now we’re on the hunt for the bumper sticker. Maybe they'll find one this time while they are 'that side' of the big pond.
Oh - and if you're wondering EISH is just an interjection like the words: wow, yahoo, oh man...
EISH me you just learned an African word...

An Oil Change Every Six Weeks

2010-01-20T19:20:00.002-06:00

Car maintenance is crucial… As we travel so much I’ve become good friends with the folks who change my oil. With all the traveling I’ve been to their shop more often than to my home church. But it’s just another door GOD has allowed me to go through. During one oil change I got to visit with a lady sitting across from me whose cousin had been a missionary in a country in Northern Africa. He had raised his children on the mission field and they are now on fields of their own or preaching full time. As she talked we both marveled at the ‘age’ we’re living in where we can be this side or that side and thanks to the internet still talk daily. Cell phones reach across oceans and continents. When her cousin first went they only had contact via mail and that took many months so any news was always very old and there was not quick, easy, or immediate way to reach him. She informed me that she doesn’t have ‘computer mail’ as she called it. She got the name of the website, blog, facebook, and even my email to share with her family that uses computers. You know it was neat as we talked because she said we might not ever see each other ‘around here again’ but she’d love to pray for us. I got so much more than my oil changed that time. And she was right. I’ve been back twice since but not seen her again. One day I will…here, there, or in the air…

Does Jinny Craig Deliver in Zimbabwe?

2010-01-20T19:18:00.002-06:00

Was part of the reason GOD rested because HE went to a Baptist church pot luck dinner? HE is GOD so we know HE wasn’t tired. I’ve been watching a lot of tv commercials that all seem to be pushing ways to lose weight. I like the exercise equipment that will, in most households, become clothes hangers or dusty object d’art. But the greatest ones are the meal plans where ‘they’ fix all your meals for you and ship them right to your door. I wonder, does Jinny Craig deliver in Zimbabwe? How many points is sadza? Or porridge? Or madora (those caterpillars)? Maybe we should make our own commercials and start our own diet system. I can see the ads with before and after pictures and a by line about village chicken… I know where those rubber chickens come from, they hatch from village chicken eggs. So it may not be the most favored diet program in the world, but it works…

Have Tub... Will Travel

2010-01-20T19:09:00.000-06:00

You know it took a mission trip to Zimbabwe for me to learn the true value of a 30 gallon plastic tub. We carry our clothing and personal items in our luggage but we take other supplies along in those 30 gallon tubs. It amazes me to watch as we pack those tubs full with Bibles, Bible study materials, medical supplies, baby diapers and blankets and a little bit of everything and anything. In 4 tubs goes the contents of about a dozen boxes. Before the team leaves we’ll pack 6 more tubs. In all they will be carrying 10 or so pieces of extra luggage packed with the contents of a pallet or two from the warehouse. I tried to explain this to someone earlier this week. “Why are you guys taking so much extra stuff every time you go,” she asked me. Simply put, we call the supplies extra but they are so much the reason GOD has called us to Zimbabwe. HE didn’t call us there for vacations or safari. HE didn’t call us there to just visit and hang out with our friends. HE called us there to serve HIM, to share HIS grace, to share HIS love, to share HIS blessings that we so often take for granted. But as I helped pack and prayed over the miscellaneous supplies I prayed for the team as they go next week to be able to do those things and so much more. I prayed for the supplies. You know GOD has put into our hands HIS fish and loaves of bread in the shape of Bibles, syringes, vitamins, baby blankets, cloth diapers, and so much more. It is so much of a blessing to us to be HIS hands and feet and pass out the supplies from this side and see the appreciation and gratitude. To watch a bunch of teen aged boys cheer and get excited over skin lotion. To see adults be grateful for cough syrup. To hear nurses stories of GOD supplying them with tape and gauze through Bethany Ministries. To be HIS hand and feet. Those 30 gallon tubs are filled with GOD’s provisions and will be traveling that side soon to be used as needed to bless and be amazing tools to share GOD and HIS love.

*** The total ended up being 12 tubs and about half weighed 50 pounds with the other half weighing 70...

Zebra Print

2009-10-23T20:41:00.000-05:00

We took one day 'off' while in Zimbabwe and went to a safari park. It was amazing to get to see GOD's creatures in the wild. Even greater was to see them through the zoom on my camera so we were able to see them from a safe range. I have personally always loved zebras. Could be the great color combination. Or might be the amazing variety of the stripes... I loved getting to see them and managed to snap a few photos. Before we left in May I heard a news report that said the 'in' clothing trend for the summer was going to be safari prints. What joy to come back this side and see zebra print everywhere. I've even gotten my hands on a few zebra print items... Now when I see zebra print I think of so much more. I know the colors help them hide but I also think it helps them to stand out from a crowd. We are to do that, to stand out too, wherever we are, doing whatever GOD allows us to do. The zebra is a beautiful animal. There is a great variety of patterns and they are just amazing to watch. What do those around me say? Am I showing a good print and different pattern from those around me? Am I reflecting GOD or am I just trying to blend in? Be a zebra...

ROAD LAG...

2009-10-23T20:01:00.000-05:00

And this has nothing to do with road rage...
Road lag is the after effects of being on the road daily and often for long distances. GOD has opened numerous doors and allowed us to be in churches all across South East Texas and even into Louisiana. It amazes me how much interest seems to come from folks as we visit in the different places. God continues to allow us to share what GOD has done and is still doing.
Our greatest need is always prayers... But we have identified several areas where you may be able to be of assistance. We need help working at the warehouse in Kountze every Tuesday and Thursday so you can take your own local mission trip and lend a hand counting and sorting. Some physical needs are: gauze and medical tape, otc (over the counter) pain meds like tylenol & ibuprofen, adult and children vitamins including echinacea and acidophilus, hydrogen peroxide, betadine, school supplies, reading and text books, Bible study materials and Bibles, baby blankets, hats, booties, cloth diapers and diaper pins. If you can sew or know somebody who can we also have a cloth diaper pattern that we can share with you. Prayer, Prayer, Prayer...
You know there is a great side to road lag - and that is getting to meet so many people and share what GOD has been doing. As we do this we also invite everyone who feels called to help in whatever way GOD would have them. Please continue to pray with us and for us as GOD opens doors and removes some from their hinges.

Fortune Cookies from GOD!?!?

2009-09-22T17:38:00.003-05:00

My mom loves Chinese food so much that she's eats it daily for lunch. Recently my family went to the restaurant together and of course ended our meal with fortune cookies... Before you start bombarding me with emails about the evils of fortunes/Chinese zodiac, etc let me explain that we eat the cookies and typically make fun of the fortunes but don't really believe them... I liked mine alot though because it is exactly what we are praying will happen in Bethany Ministries. My fortune read: "You will soon be greeted with unlimited opportunities."

First let me say that it could have said -- 'You have recently been greeted with unlimited opportunities.' That is how things have been since GOD first introduced me to Bethany Ministries and opportunities began to arise for me to become a part of it.

For now though, I see the active future of this fortune. "...Unlimited opportunities..." GOD has done so much! GOD is doing so much!! GOD WILL do so much more!!! The opportunities are truly unlimited. The only limits on Bethany Ministries right now are those set by us, BUT GOD continually takes us beyond what we could have asked or imagined.

Right now most of our opportunities arise from the warehouse where work continues to take place and in the churches we are visiting. If you're interested in helping at the warehouse, get in touch with one of us or be there on a Tuesday or Thursday. And for church presentations just ask and we will do our best to be there.

Know also that you are part of OUR 'fortune' too as you are being "greeted with unlimited opportunities" to become a part of Bethany Ministries. Trust me, there is something you can do...

You KNOW you're in Texas when...

2009-09-09T20:48:00.000-05:00

We've been home two weeks today. It seems like such a short time but at the same time it seems like we've been home much longer. Yeah - I know that doesn't really add up but things just aren't as they were.
Sherrie and I were blessed with our first presentation in a small little church. It was so nice to be at 'home' and such a blessing to be able to walk into GOD's house on either side of the ocean and feel that at home feeling.

On my way to the church I saw a COW!!! Hey let me truly impress you and tell you that I even know it's a Hereford. (Okay - confession time. I read it on a sign by the farm!) You know you're in Texas when you are driving down the road and see this guy in a pasture... Like they say everything is bigger in Texas! Maybe it should be, 'you know you're from Texas when you're driving down the road see this huge cow and stop and take it's picture!!!' Still loving life back home and being amazed by all the doors GOD is opening for us to share what HE did this summer in Zim and tell so many of HIS power and might...

What a mighty GOD we serve!

JET LAG!!!

2009-08-29T10:19:00.000-05:00

We traveled the same distance when we went to Africa as we did to come home... BUT coming home was not the same... Right now my clock says it's 10:30 am but it feels like my body is still trying to run on African time and there it's 5:30 pm. Not such a big problem until I wake up at 1 am and am dead tired at 4 pm... Jet lag is not so much fun. There are pills for headaches, allergies and every other ailment but it seems I just have to wait this one out...

The First 24

2009-08-27T07:54:00.000-05:00

About 6:00 last night I realized that it had been less than 24 hours since we left Africa!!! There were signs along the road there that were simply triangles with exclamation marks in them. Last night I felt like I needed one of those signs around my neck. The first 24 hours is always seen as a crucial time and I don't think it's any different here. In my first 24 hours home I was able to see all my family and enjoyed some really good cheese enchiladas and a coffee ice cream drink. I also got to tell many stories from our trip. But the thing that struck me most was when I walked into my own home and it felt so big and bright to me... Everything here seems so much brighter and it just may be since it's not covered in a fine layer of red African dust.
We are home... GOD did so much in such a short time and plans are in the works for return trips. Now now we all have work to do this side to allow us to return. Please keep praying for Bethany Ministries and all that GOD is allowing us to be a part of. AND thank you for the role you fill in this ministry as each person who supports us in any way is vital...

Don't know how to add captions to the pics... The one with the most fields is London and the nice neat housing area is Houston. Shots I thought the kids in class would like to see - I do think about school even when I'm not there.

T-Shirts

2009-08-25T03:44:00.000-05:00

Been there, done that bought the T-shirt...
For years our summers were spent going to Alabama to visit my mom's family. Every year I got a new BAMA t-shirt. Before leaving for Africa I was asked by so many folks for souvenirs of some sort. I did manage to pick up a few things but it was just too expensive to cover everyone I know. In one store though I found the perfect shirt - - - it had people in a pot and rhinos cooking them. Now for a bit of background, a dear friend warned me about the pirates and cannibals in Africa and repeatedly told me to be careful. Shame the shirt was very small or I would have bought it. You know though the best way to get a souvenir from Afrca is to come here yourself. Seems I've put this little bit in several blogs lately so now I'll give a little more info. Bethany Ministries is praying about and planning on getting another container together as soon as possible to send more supplies this side. If GOD allows we would like to get it sent so that it arrives in early 2010. So there will be work to do in the warehouse too. ;-) We also see a wonderful avenue for anyone with a heart to minister to come this side. Look at it this way - if you do feel led to join us in Africa then you can pick out your own t-shirt...

Sufferin' for Jesus...

2009-08-25T03:16:00.000-05:00

Okay - you know you're suffering for Jesus when your last two meals came from McDonalds. Someone tried to help me get 'ready' for Africa by telling me all about the time they spent here. I had no idea what to expect but I came here ready to see what GOD would do.In May Sherrie asked us one day what we were expecting 'from Africa.' I still don't know that I have a solid answer to that question but I got a lot from being here. Africa is... I can't explain it so if you want to know what Africa is like then get your passport ready because some return trips are already being planned.
We drove to Johannesburg Monday and are waiting our fly out time of 9:20 pm tonight, that's 7:20 Texas time. I think we're all looking forward to going home and seeing all of our families and friends. BUT we will be leaving behind a lot of family and friends here.

Thank YOU

2009-08-24T00:00:00.001-05:00

This is my last blog from Zimbabwe, but I'm actually sending it from BOTS as we leave SOON to offically end our time in Africa, for this summer. Our great adventure is drawing to a close… We are not ending the ministry though but will be relocating for a while to our ‘native’ home of Texas. Bethany Ministries Home Based Care will continue to reach out to the community while we are away and trust me, Sherrie will be in frequent contact with her ‘family’ and friends here. All of us will be in contact with folks from here as this is so much a home to us.
I’ve often had the thought that I should have named the blog a little differently as this blog has been about all of us and not just me, DeDe. My intentions are to continue writing from Texas about the work of Bethany Ministries and its activities in the states. Plans are being made for us to present the ministry in different churches and venues at home to share all that GOD is doing here and to invite you guys to join us in supporting and being part of this ministry.

A Fireplace in "Summer"

2009-08-23T23:58:00.000-05:00

Imagine four Texans just hanging out in front of a roaring fire - - in late July or even mid August… It may be a stretch for you if you’ve ever been in Texas in July, but to stretch it even further take those ‘Texans’ to Zimbabwe and you’ll soon learn the value and pleasure behind a roaring fire. For all but Sherrie this was our first winter in Africa. She had warned us that it would be winter but the folks here say it is one of the coldest winters they’ve had and that it is not normally this cold. We are spending our last few days in this African winter and trying to enjoy it as much as possible plus wrap up all the loose ends here.

Somethin's Wrong With the OREOS

2009-08-23T23:57:00.002-05:00

In our honor go grab a glass of milk and some Oreos. We can get them here but something is seriously wrong with them. They all seem slightly faded. You know how your curtains fade from hanging in the window, well that’s what it looks like has happened here. Our first go round with “America’s Favorite Cookie” was slightly shocking as we opened the dark blue pack and found light brown cookies!?!? They taste the same but somehow the looks just mess with your taste buds. OREOS are such good comfort food and we’ve gotten a taste of home from them this summer in all three shades that are available here: light brown, white, and normal dark brown.
Enjoy your OREOS and know that we’ll be enjoying ours next time we have them..

Four out of six and 100%

2009-08-23T23:57:00.001-05:00

We really do love Zimbabwe. The land itself is gorgeous and the fact that in the midst of winter we’ve seen more flowers then in Texas in the spring sure is a bonus. The people are so nice, warm and loving. OH – and since we’ve all three got Zim names one of us is usually related to whoever we meet.
Do you know we travel – A LOT!?!?! Along the road we’ve come to appreciate travel at home much more. Seems they have road blocks and you have to stop sometimes depending on the cops who are running it. One day we were stopped at four of the six we went through and the very next day we were stopped at every one! They are doing their job in stopping us and since the truck has a tag from Bots on it we make a good target. Oh and then there’s the blonde woman driving who stands out in the crowd. But the greatest was when Sherrie and Alicia were stopped and Sherrie got the cops to join her in a sing along…. YEP, Ma Moyo was able to get the Zim police to sing with her.

Mind the Gap

2009-08-23T23:56:00.001-05:00

No matter which culture you are from family is family and family is very important on both sides of the ocean. The problem comes when there is no family or due to illness or other issues the family cannot function. Then there is a gap. We’ve seen that gap filled here in Bulawayo through an organization called ‘Mind The Gap.’ They take in babies, children and even teens and put them in houses with as much family structure as possible. They ‘mind the gap’ for kids who are well and for some who are sick but everyone of the children are valuable and precious in our Father’s sight. I think the folks with ‘Mind the Gap’ are pretty precious to HIM too and I know they are precious to us as we’ve been invited into their homes to meet them, see the kids, learn some of their histories, and share the Love of GOD that is in the homes. They are minding the gap very well here and we are praying about how we can help. Pray with us that this gap will be filled and that those filling it will be blessed and strengthened by the Mighty Hand of our MIGHTY GOD.

A Blog for My 'Niece'

2009-08-23T23:55:00.000-05:00

A couple of days before we left for Africa I went by the school my youngest ‘niece’ attends to visit with her and the people I used to teach with. Victoria is in 2nd grade at Alpha Omega, okay – now she’s in 3rd, and I love how her mind worked as we talked about the trip. Without missing a beat she informed me that, “OH Africa is my favorite continent!” She thought about it for a split second and then said, “I like North America too but I really like Africa A LOT!” I’ve thought of that conversation many times since. The honesty of a child and her sheer excitement over the ‘continent’ of Africa. So many times that same excitement is missing from our lives. I’m around kids in the classroom most of the year and I see their excitement rise and fall throughout the year and in general as they get older. But that can also be a convicting statement when applied to our spiritual lives as our excitement for the things of GOD rises and falls. We’ve been living off adrenaline so much of this trip as things happen so quickly or as so many things happen at the same time. There has been much excitement here for us and for the people we’ve gotten to minister to and work along side.
Victoria, I must admit that I feel the same way you do. Africa is my favorite continent…

Faith

2009-08-23T23:54:00.001-05:00

Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. NLT -Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is a well-grounded assurance of that for which we hope, and a conviction of the reality of things which we do not see. WNT
In my quiet time one morning I came across this quote about faith: Faith is believing what we do not see, and the reward for this kind of faith is to see what we believe. Saint Augistine
I can remember reading Hebrews 11 as a child and enjoying the “Hall of Faith” that is recorded there. It is the first real in depth time I spent studying GOD’s word as it led me to find each one of the stories listed to read and find out what happened. As an adult this passage and the stories that I read as a child have taken on much more meaning and Hebrews 11 is still a place I turn to often to reread and see GOD at work.

The Family of GOD

2009-08-23T23:53:00.001-05:00

I’m so glad we’re a part of the family of GOD. Joint heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod.
This sod has left much more than red marks on my shoes and clothing. It has left a large red mark through my heart, mind, soul and life. Before I left home someone told me to let Africa make a bigger mark on me than I tried to make on Africa. It was one of those GOD appointments I’ve grown to love and treasure when I just happened to ‘meet’ a lady who had done mission work in Africa for many years. She knew the power of GOD in this red soil and she knew that power as real and active as I’ve been blessed to experience it these weeks we’ve been here. I have lived that little chorus from church many times over as we’ve been invited to become part of the families who have opened their lives, homes, and hearts to us. What a family we will all make one day in Heaven when no oceans, time zones, or language barriers will separate us.

Converting...

2009-08-23T23:52:00.000-05:00

Look closely at an outlet near you… Is it square or round pegs? Remember the old saying “you can’t fit a round peg in a square hole?” Well I’ve learned that you can fit a square plug into a round hole or a round plug in a square hole if you have the right adapter…
Sadly our plugs from America aren’t square or round so we have to buy an adapter for the adapter…
And then there’s the whole idea of converters as our appliances also need to be plugged into a converter to change the voltage.
But if all else fails then you just keep plugging adapters into each other until you have just the right combination. And pray for ZESA to not go out!

Be Brave

2009-08-23T23:51:00.001-05:00

Names have such meaning in Africa… We were taken to a school named Kusinga which means: be brave. This blog is for all my teacher friends who need to see their classroom through GOD’s eyes. I know that next I walk through my doors I will not have the same vision I did when I last left it. My vision of my classroom changed a few years ago after we studied 1st Thessalonians 4:11-12 and the idea of simplifying life. Like all teachers I had stacks of supplies and more materials stored than I had realized. Notice those words are past tense as I cleaned out my room and gladly sent my things to places where they were needed more. These past few months I have gotten to see a couple of schools in Zim and work with the boys in the North End home. The schools are in such great need. I was told recently that there was 1 school book for 30 children to share. Look around a classroom near you. How many kids have to share school books? Is the ratio 1:30 or 1:1?
During our tour of Kusinga we learned that they have about 500 students. It costs $25 a term to send a child to school there but the majority of the students are unable to pay. The students don’t have the composition books that they do their work in or the supplies to write and work with. The schools do not have the supplies either. To me they are living out the name of the school. They are being brave and working as hard as they can to keep the school up and running. For so many in Zim that is what they are doing: anything and everything to just keep going. It was such a blessing to be invited into this family and I see so much of this country and culture as a family and not just a bunch of people.

Bethany

2009-08-23T23:50:00.000-05:00

POP QUIZ… Do you know where the name for Bethany Ministries came from?
Jesus went there for refreshing. He was anointed there. BUT my favorite story from Bethany is the one we typically are most familiar with, that of Lazarus’ resurrection. A dear friend of mine taught on this one time and pointed out a key factor. When Jesus called Lazarus out HE then told the crowd that had gathered to HELP him remove the wrappings. Lazarus had to get up and move but there also had to be a support system for him. He could not remove his own grave clothes but needed help from those close to him. I also like the idea that Jesus was specific and called forth only Lazarus and did not give a blanket statement that would have resurrected the whole cemetery. At HIS command every grave site there could have been emptied, but the only one that Jesus called out was Lazarus. Those passages in the Bible were the basis for the name of Bethany Ministries. The heart for this ministry is to be a refreshing for those we are blessed to serve. It also serves as a blessing to us and refreshes us as well. We are also called to help remove the grave clothes as GOD calls out His children. BUT we are not called into this ministry alone. Remember the fact that the crowd had to get involved?!
You, our dear friends, are the crowd GOD has called out to help and support us. There are many ways you can serve as part of Bethany all you have to do is be willing.

AFTER...

2009-08-23T23:49:00.001-05:00

What did the disciples do AFTER Jesus ascended into heaven? I heard a preacher once teach about this and he was highlighting the fact that Jesus found them on the beach by the water because they were fishermen and had gone back to what they knew best. They had not abandoned the faith but had simply gone back to work to provide for their families. It seemed plausible to me, after all they would have to eat and take care of their loved ones.
We are at the ‘AFTER’ part of the summer… Alicia has to go back to school to finish her MPH. Sherrie has to go back to visiting churches and gathering support for Bethany Ministries. Ricky has to go back to music evangelism, but first he has to make a new part to the Bethany video. I have to go back to the classroom and teaching math and science.
For one moment pretend you are one of those disciples on that beach. Sure you had returned to what you ‘knew’ best but do you think you were the same person as before Jesus said “FOLLOW”? We know that being with GOD made Moses’ face shine so bright that he had to cover it when he came back down the mountain. The fishermen’s’ faces may not have been shining like Moses’ but I believe they reflected Christ in their own way. We all have to return to our ‘normal’ lives but I believe that there will be a new normal for all of us. Throughout the summer via this blog and our emails we have asked for prayers. I ask you now to continue to pray as the ‘harder’ work lies ahead of us. Serving in Africa cannot be done without support from home. Gathering that support and medical and school supplies also requires physical strength, energy and time. The work here for now is on hold but much must be done for us to be able to return here. We ask you to join us in praying that those Holy Heavenly Windows will continue to be opened and GOD’s blessings will flow.

Many Rooms...

2009-08-17T13:25:00.001-05:00

As the doors to the elevator opened before us we could easily see that it was crowded but the people in it moved around and invited us to join them. Sherrie and I stepped onto the elevator and heard a man behind us say: “In my Father’s House are many rooms…” We looked at each other and smiled as we knew the Biblical reference. The lady beside Sherrie then leaned in and informed us that we were on the elevator with the President of Zambia and he was the man telling us that there was plenty of room in his Father’s House! We tried to greet him when we exited the elevator but he was quickly swamped by the crowd that awaited him on the ground floor. We rode on an elevator with the President of Zambia but to me the neatest thing was to know that he is my brother in Christ and though I didn’t get to talk to him that day I will spend eternity with him.
That’s what this trip has been about. Yes, medical supplies were brought and donated, a home based care was established, many plans and dreams for the future were shared but eternity was the end goal of it all. So many times I have heard Sherrie say that medicine can only do so much but GOD can do so much more. HE has shown us that time and again this summer. HE will continue to show us as long as we seek, serve, and surrender to HIS greater plans.

SUPER HEROES

2009-08-17T13:23:00.000-05:00

Wonder woman doesn’t have anything on some of the women I’ve met in Zim. I can’t imagine her cooking with no electricity. Or doing dishes with only cold water. Or washing her laundry by hand, hanging it out to dry and ironing every piece. Every piece of laundry gets ironed!!! Or boiling enough water for all the members of her family to bath. Wonder Woman may have had the lasso of truth and the invisible plane but she couldn’t touch the strength of the women I’ve met here.
The Godly people in the land are my true heroes! I take pleasure in them! Psalm 16:3
There is a strength that I’ve seen here that could come only from GOD. Numerous times we’ve heard people refer to all the struggles they’ve had and say BUT GOD carried them through. They have a faith in GOD’s provision that I’ve never seen before. During the last few hurricane seasons our area has pulled together in a similar manner but that unity vanishes as the months change and hurricane season ends. As the debris is cleaned up and lives return to ‘normal’ folks seem to forget how much they had once relied on and helped one another. That unity and community is very strong here.
Growing up in church I have been blessed to have meet some amazing prayer warriors, Godly teachers, and some with great testimonies of the faithfulness of GOD. Here I’ve seen people living their faith out every day. A faith that is centered on those things that are true, noble, just and pure. A faith that is surely a great pleasure to GOD.
Someone once asked me who my favorite super hero was. As a child it was either the Incredible Hulk or Wonder Woman. If I was asked that same question today my answer would be the GODLY people in the land.

Who Wants To Be A Missionary?!?!

2009-08-12T08:49:00.001-05:00

So there's a different twist to our version of the game but we're still playing it with all our might. We've even gotten to 'phone a friend' a few times...
Behind every missionary is a suitcase, packed to overflowing, and always ready to go! Since May 13th we have lived from our suitcases. I do so appreciate the ones on wheels now as they are much easier to move. Most days living from a suitcase isn’t too bad as my choices are limited. But then there are those days when I truly can’t find ‘anything’ to wear as my comfy clothes are dirty and I just don’t want to get all dressed up. Or when Zesa is gone and we need to iron our clothes…
We’ve lived in seven houses, five hotels, seven towns, and five countries…
We’ve crossed numerous time zones, the equator, and the borders between several southern countries here in Africa.
We’ve lived with Zesa and without. Taken cold showers and hot showers. Eaten some ‘American’ foods and lots of sadza.
Some days have been exhausting, some exhilarating, some extraordinary, and some have been near ‘normal’.
We’ve seen GODS reflection in the faces of HIS children as we’ve been HIS hands and feet, doing HIS work. We’ve been greatly blessed by all that we have been allowed to be part of.

Entertained

2009-08-12T08:48:00.000-05:00

We’ve gotten to meet so many amazing people this summer. One of our favorites is a man who keeps telling us that he’s “just doing his job.” His “job” was to clear the supplies that were donated in the states, counted, labeled, packed and shipped this side. In just doing his job he proved more than helpful to us and got the supplies through to the hospitals they were sent for. As we were parting today we told him that we would be telling anyone who will listen what a help he was to us. It is his ‘job’ but I cannot tell you how priceless he was to Bethany Ministries these last few weeks.
Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters. Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it! Hebrews 13:1-2
We’ve been entertained by so many people this summer and some of them have brought to mind this verse… Angels unawares is how it’s often translated and quoted. They have been there for us in different positions and have taken on vital roles as they’ve met different needs.

POWER

2009-08-12T08:47:00.000-05:00

Join me for a few moments in the book of Acts. Paul and Silas were in prison and SANG. It’s in the 16th chapter and I’ve always just read and imagined them getting up and immediately leaving when their chains were broken. Looking closely at verse 28 I noticed that they were still there when the guard woke up and later in verse 30 the guard took them out. The last few days we’ve been a bit like Paul and Silas. Don’t panic… We’ve not been arrested, but in a way we were as the cargo was held captive while we jumped through numerous hoops and faced so very many loopholes with the containers. Two and a half days have been spent fighting the good fight to get the containers freed so we could begin the distribution process. As we sat there today Sherrie began to sing… Such an appropriate song: THERE IS POWER IN THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB!!! It makes me wonder what Paul and Silas sang… BUT GOD brought forth HIS wonder working power and all was fixed! Praise GOD!! All was done and the containers are now sent to their destinations. Today we unloaded at Harare and tomorrow the things will be delivered to both Kwe Kwe and Gweru.
We sang and saw GOD’s power at work. Praise through such few words… Praise through actions… How can we NOT PRAISE GOD?!?! Oh to see HIM work in such great and mighty ways…

PRICELESS!!!

2009-08-03T08:57:00.002-05:00

Adapter: $5.00 US
Iron: $15 US
Ironing Board: $121.00 US
Knowing that we just bought an ironing board for $121 American dollars… PRICELESS!!!
Immediately returning it for a full refund - insanely hilarious...
Who in their right mind would buy an ironing board for $121?!??!?
They price everything in Rand (South African money) and US dollars here. We use American money, as do many people here in Zim. Sometimes the prices make sense and seem to be reasonable. Petrol, gas, has cost us from $4.00 a gallon to about $7.00 a gallon. Some foods are much more expensive and others seem a little cheaper. But today we needed to buy an ironing board. Since we're living on a very limited Missionary budget we had to return the overpriced one and get back the $121! But do not worry while we were driving down the road we saw a man on the side of it selling ironing boards. We did buy one from him for US$15... BUT the first price he quoted was in Rand and was over 100. Sherrie asked him for a US price and he said 200!?!?! YIKES!!! She then offered him the $15 and he took it. Shopping can be very fun here in Zim and it is surely an adventure all of it's own.

PURE JOY!!!

2009-08-03T08:17:00.000-05:00

When was the last time you gave someone a gift and got to see pure joy in the face? It brings you such joy to see it in others. Being missionaries to Zimbabwe and doing all that GOD has put before us allows us to see that pure joy on an almost daily basis. We’ve seen it on so many faces of all different ages and every time we leave feeling as blessed as the people we’ve helped. I have such a better understanding of the old saying: ‘it is better to give than to receive.’ Truly it is so very much better to give. Our ability to give and share here is based solely on how GOD keeps blessing Bethany Ministries through all of you and the support you are for us.
One of our greatest joys comes from going into the hospitals and sharing with the staff the supplies we have brought. During one such visit we had about 45 pairs of ‘tackies’ that were sent from the states. ‘Tackies’ are tennis shoes here. Most of the shoes were adult ladies sizes and we’d talked about what to do with them and the best way to distribute them. As we’ve been here we’ve gotten to see firsthand the lack of even the simplest of things or the inability to purchase things due to cost. The staff at the hospitals live like everyone else and struggle with the financial situation the country is in too. This was not our biggest presentation to a hospital but the people who worked there were so appreciative. It was a standing room only audience and they were cram packed into the back of the board room where we meet. As Sherrie began to talk you could sense their eagerness upon learning that someone (you folks reading this blog) is out ‘there’ willing to help and we get to be blessed to deliver your gifts. The ‘tackies’ were given to the nursing students and some children in one of the wards in the hospital, and received with such gratitude as I’ve not seen ever over a pair of tennis shoes. The nursing students were even allowed to wear them as their ‘uniform’ shoes for the day. As we toured the rest of the hospital we were blessed to see their smiling faces in different wards as they modeled their new ‘tackies’ and told how nice, pretty, comfortable they were. FOLKS I am talking about tennis shoes that would not make a dent in most of our lives but for these ladies today they were gold, silver, and precious jewels.
JOY unspeakable and full of glory…. 1 Peter 1:8

Where In The World Is Carmen San Diego?

2009-07-30T05:36:00.000-05:00

My oldest niece used to really like to play the game “Where in the World is Carmen San Diego.” The premise behind the game is that Carmen is a detective who travels all over the world looking for the bad guys. We’re not detectives or hunting down bad guys but feel like we’re traveling all over the world, or at least all over the southern part of Africa.
Grab a map of Africa and follow along…
We arrived in Africa on May 14th and spent a night and day in Johannesburg before driving on to Botswana.
We left Bots on June 8th and moved to Zimbabwe to begin the work GOD was doing there.
On June 25 we made a trip to Bots to gather supplies and returned to Zim four days later.
Monday, June 29th we delivered some of the supplies from Bots and headed to Kwe Kwe. Wednesday of that week we traveled to Harare.
AND that Friday we left for Mozambique…
We were in Mozambique until that Tuesday when we got back in the truck and drove all the way to Harare in one day....
A few days in Harare and then back to Bulawayo to pick up Ricky Davis on July 13th when he joined us from the states.
To keep the dust from building up on the truck we took off a few days later for another trip to Bots for supplies and a six day stay there as they were celebrating a holiday and we had to be able to get in the stores when they were opened.
Today is July 30th and we should be back to Harare on Monday as the cargo should arrive any day now!!!
Sing with us, “On the road again…”
I know it was close to an 8000 mile flight from Houston to Jo'Burg and I think we may be getting close to covering that much distance on the ground. Over the next few weeks we'll be blessed with the job of distributing the supplies that are arriving in the containers that were packed in Kountze this past May. We'll be in hospitals in Harare, KweKwe, and Gweru. More miles, or kilometers will be put on the odomoter, and we'll sing and tell of GOD's love and all that HE is doing along the way.
You know I don't remember how the game 'Where in the World is Carmen SanDiego?' ended. I assume she caught the bad guy and then went on to the next 'mystery.' This summer is much the same... I don't know how it will 'end' but in a little over three weeks it will end. Our tickets have us arriving back in Houston on August 26th, but we will not completely leave Africa. Much more work lies ahead of us. The warehouse has more supplies in it. There are churches who have supported Bethany Ministries for years that we will be visiting and we are praying that GOD will allow us to enter new churches and lead us to new avenues of support. Plans have already begun for a return trip next summer and possibly in the winter for Sherrie and Ricky. Somehow I know the game 'Carmen SanDeigo' came to an end, but this is a full time ministry and a full time mission that will not end.
In a meeting a few weeks ago someone asked Sherrie when the Home Based ministry would end and she answered, "When Jesus Christ returns." That our dear friends is when this will end and we ask you to all pray with us that until then HE will led us to what HE would have us do.

Pray that we’ll be covered by GOD’s protection and guidance as we travel all over South Africa. Cover the cargo with prayers that it will clear and be able to get to the hospitals where it is so badly needed.
Thank you for all the steps you have taken with us here in Africa. Your shoes may not have African dirt on them but you have walked this road alongside us every step of the way. Thank you...

FOOD!

2009-07-30T05:25:00.000-05:00

My main food group is peanut butter. Yes I do view it as a food group all on its own. Some people are addicted to coffee and I am addicted to peanut butter. Several people were concerned about what I’d be eating here and my Dad loved me enough to pack a jar of peanut butter inside everyone of my suitcases… To my joy we eat peanut butter most mornings for breakfast in porridge. Yummy!!! Let me tell you that this is my favorite African dish. I just need to learn how to make it so I can fix it at home.

Really the food is not that different here. They do eat sadza as their staple food and serve it almost every night for supper, usually with some sort of greens or veggies and meat.

Sadza is a….

It’s….

Okay it’s hard to explain, but they say a picture is worth a thousand words so I'll just include a picture of a plate of sadza. It’s a blob of white stuff made from flour and water so it’s sort of like a biscuit but it’s boiled in a pot of water on the stove and not baked. It’s not the texture of dough though… You’ll just have to try it sometime. AND the porridge is made from the same mealie meal, white corn meal, but isn't cooked as long and I think it has more water in it.

Another treat we had with tea one night was sweet potatoes. Yes you read that right, we were served sweet potatoes as a treat. They were in place of cookies, which are called biscuits here. The potatoes were boiled and we sliced them as wide or narrow as we wanted. Wow!!! Another great treat. BUT there is one slight difference. Here the sweet potatoes are white and not the orange color of ours at home.

Speaking of different colored foods the pumpkins are all white that we’ve seen in the stores.

But so far the tastes have all been the same. We've not had McDonald's or even seen one since we left Johannesburg in May. They have 'Inns' here: Chicken Inn, Pizza Inn, Creamy Inn, so there is fast food. Oh and the pizza is so good. We'll not mention how amazing the ice cream was. SO we're not starving in Zim. We are eating much the same foods as we would at home plus we've gotten to enjoy many meals of sadza and porridge. Both of which have become comfort foods as they are home cooked and best enjoyed hot and with family or friends sharing the meal.

Simplify

2009-07-30T05:10:00.000-05:00

Some time back we looked at the idea of simplifying life. For most folks that means de-cluttering but for some of us it meant changing much of our life. When I simplified I didn’t just get rid of things and possessions but I tried to get rid of ‘extra’ activities and things that kept me from focusing on GOD. However in the last two and a half months I've seen many more 'things' that were in my life that I am learning to do without.
For the last week the town of Bulawayo has lived with an almost constant blackout. We were told there was a problem somewhere and they were working on it. Things seemed to get back to 'normal' yesterday. Normal here is scheduled blackouts. Sherrie fixed supper at six in the morning, before we even ate breakfast, so it would have time to cook and be done before Zesa left. That's not that odd here, to fix a meal 12 hours before it will be eaten, or to go to someone else's house to cook your dinner if your neighborhood doesn't have power. This past fall we were hit by 'Ike', not so much by the storm itself but by the winds that knocked out our electricity for a week. Life here seems to be a lot like "hurricane life" at home as we live with power coming and going, running water depends on electricity too, dinner is often eaten by candlelight, and everyone helps everyone else as much as they can. Life here is simplified and at the same time so full and rewarding, even without Zesa.

3:20

2009-07-30T04:44:00.000-05:00

Exceedingly... What a powerful and power-filled word.

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us. Ephesians 3:20

When was the last time GOD amazed you with HIS abundance? Better yet, when was the last time you recognized GOD’s abundance in your life and were amazed by it?

Right now we stand in awe of GOD’s provision and blessing yet at the same time we are seeking a ‘Holy Cow’ sale. We basically thought all the positions were filled with Bethany Home Based Care and then someone called and asked to be interviewed. But she was interested in a position we’ve not even created with the ministry. Mull that one over for a few seconds: someone called and requested an interview for a position that doesn’t even exist!?!? AND she came over to the office immediately… Shortly into the interview it was plainly visible that this was a GOD appointment as this lady began to tell us of things we ‘need’ done that she is qualified to do and then of others that we’d not thought of that she has recently be trained to do. Here’s the ‘Holy Cow’ part of it, we’d love to hire her now now but do not have the financial ability to do so. Over the last few days GOD has let us see some challenges in this new part of the ministry and HE has guided us to solutions that appear to be viable. Now HE is showing us a solution before the problems arise. That my dear friends is exceedingly, abundantly above all that we could ask, think, imagine, or dream.
To live life at 3:20. Ephesians 3:20 that is..

WALK Out Your Faith

2009-07-30T03:42:00.000-05:00

When we fly into Zim we carry 'extra' luggage with us in the form of 30 gallon rubbermaid containers. You would be shocked at how much stuff can be packed into those containers. Ricky Davis joined us a few weeks ago and brought three tubs with him. In one of those tubs he had packed ladies shoes that were donated by a church in Crockett, Texas. I was at the ladies banquet at that church when the shoes were on display. What a pleasant surprise a few days ago to help unpack the tub of shoes and recognize them and the Bibles that they sent too. What a mighty GOD we serve that HE could orchestrate some many seemingly small things into such a large picture and have us preparing to deliver those shoes and Bibles to ladies in a hospital in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, Africa.

Lean back with us into our Loving Father's hands as HE continues to amaze and bless us along the path before us. We serve a miracle working GOD as we just keep taking steps of faith in HIS love, grace, mercy and seek HIS will...

Seasons - WINTER

2009-07-24T06:34:00.001-05:00

Life is all about seasons. I have seen seasons in my life spiritually. This is a discussion we’ve had at home and one we’ve had here. Spiritually seasons are not as easy to explain as the ones we live through in the weather. For me spiritual seasons have a larger variance in length and are not always the same. Either way you look at it, my least favorite is winter. To me winter has always been a time without growth. It’s not pretty, in my eyes, and is a time when I tend to be lower mentally and emotionally. I much prefer spring and it’s beautiful colors and so many signs of life and new growth.
Right now we are in winter in Africa. It was very cold here and at the same time very sunny. The newspaper says the high will be in the 20’s, Celsius so I don’t know what the ‘real’ temp is but it is COLD. And windy… This morning actually seemed warmer than the last few because there was no wind. When you look out the window you see a beautiful clear blue sky and flowers of every color in the rainbow. It doesn’t look like winter through the window. Then you touch the glass and it is COLD. At home our winters are gray and bleak… The plants go dormant and well it’s just plain ugly outside with no flowers in bloom and no bright colors. Winter in Zim is surreal at times. That’s my word right now – surreal. So many things here seem to be almost dreamlike. When we drive down the road and see monkeys playing in the trees and running across in front of us. That’s surreal. When we’re leaving a hospital and saying goodbye to a friend only to look up and see a monkey on the roof. To then have the monkey make ‘eye contact’ and start posing as I take his pictures. That is surreal. To look out a window, knowing that it’s winter and see roses in full bloom. To walk down a garden path and count over two dozen different flowers in bloom. That is surreal. To wake up every morning and know that I am in Zimbabwe, Africa, doing whatever GOD has for the day. That is the most surreal of it all.
Surreal means fantastic and unbelievable. That is what this summer has been. Seeing GOD at work. To stand in this place and see HIM moving mountains that have blocked dreams for serving HIM. To watch HIM make introductions and allow us to see great opportunities to serve HIM here now and even greater ones for the future has been unbelievable. Serving GOD is surreal because who am I to even be doing this? BUT GOD… In the last few days as I saw June end and July begin I have been swamped with the idea that this is my first trip to Africa. This is my first time to jump in feet first and follow HIM, but this is not my last time. GOD willing I will ‘come this side’ next summer and much more to see all the seasons in Zim and all the colors HE paints the flowers here. I may just grow to love winter, in Zimbabwe.

Bethany Home Based Care

2009-07-24T06:15:00.000-05:00

I have been waiting since the beginning of June to write this blog. My wait was not as long as Sherrie’s as she has been waiting for and praying for this for several years.
We would like to introduce you to Bethany Home Based Care. Our office is Suite 400, Lancet House, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe and we even have a Zim land line! If you’re wondering how all this happened then find the blog about DOC & CARROT CAKE and you’ll be introduced to the very beginning of this part of the ministry. Our very first day in Zimbabwe we met a doctor who has been very helpful in this adventure. GOD continually opened doors so that we were able to have orientation yesterday with the Referral Specialist, nurse and two nurse aides who will be working for the ministry here. Blessed of all we ended the day singing praises to GOD. Oh what a day!!!
Please be praying for Bethany Ministries as GOD is moving here and we are beginning a whole new and long awaited step for the ministry. On July 27, 2009, Bethany Home Based Care will officially have its first day of business. Please pray for the nurses, aides and referral specialist, that they will be blessed by GOD and able to serve HIM through this ministry. Please pray for the patient they will be working with and taking care of. Please continue to pray for the four of us as we await the arrival of the containers and the time to distribute the supplies. Please PRAISE GOD with us as we sit in wonder and awe of all that HE is doing. So much more than we could ever ask or imagine.
Then the KING will say: For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’ “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ “And the KING will say, “I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to ME!” Matthew 25:35-40

Back "HOME"

2009-07-24T04:52:00.000-05:00

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder." I don't know who originally said that but it is so true. We were gone about two weeks to take care of the business for the containers in Harare and Beira. Before we left we made an appointment with the kids at the home where I have been going to come back today and bring Ricky with his guitar. Yesterday Ricky Davis joined us from the states and we are now a team of four and see him as such an asset. Today we went to the home and sang with the kids. OH such joy and what a glimpse into their hearts as we saw their beautiful smiles and learned that they were waiting for us.
Shepherd, their song leader was not there so they would not sing for us but I think it may have been part of their plan as they were telling me that we've got to come back with Ricky and his guitar so they can sing... Kids... Our very first visit into the home was started by them singing to us. Many of the days I was there had us singing at least part of the day. The kids love music and sing very well. Greater is their love for GOD. Today we got to hear three of them give testimonies of what GOD had done for them while we were gone. To sit there with them and sing "How Great is Our GOD" and to be able to see HIS greatness in their faces and lives. This is why I came to Africa...

Absence

2009-07-14T05:46:00.000-05:00

Shepherd, their song leader was not there so they would not sing for us but I think it may have been part of their plan as they were telling me that we've got to come back with Ricky and his guitar so they can sing... Kids... Our very first visit into the home was started by them singing to us. Many of the days I was there had us singing at least part of the day. The kids love music and sing very well. Greater is their love for GOD. Today we got to hear three of them give testimonies of what GOD had done for them while we were gone. To sit there with them and sing "How Great is Our GOD" and to be able to see HIS greatness in their faces and lives. This is why I came to Africa...

Two Full Containers

2009-07-14T05:12:00.000-05:00

Someone asked me right before I left "why" I was headed to Africa in the first place. It's a long story but each of the four of us has a GOD calling that lead us to come 'this side' and join HIM in this team. If you are reading this blog then you are part of this team too. YOU ARE A MISSIONARY TO AFRICA!!! A huge way you can help right now is to cover the containers with prayer. On May 7th a part of the Bethany Ministries team meet at the warehouse in Kountze and had a packing party where we stuffed everything possible into two 40' sea containers as quickly as possible. Each container was timed and we only had two hours to pack them. GOD IS SO GOOD! Everything that had been set aside to get packed miraculously fit into the containers and is now HERE! Yes - for those of you who've been praying over the containers they have safely reached land and are in port in Beria, Mozambique. We are now waiting for them to clear and come by rail to Harare. Please be praying for these supplies that they will clear quickly. Pray that they will not sit in the rail yard but will quickly be placed on a train and shipped to Harare. Please also be praying for the hosptials that will be receiving the much needed supplies - especially that they will be good stewards of what GOD has sent this side. Pray for us that we'll be safe as we continue to travel here and seek GOD in all that we do. Thank you so much for joining Bethany Ministries... Oh and if you want to join us this side just let us know because there's always room for more.

13 X 5 = 85 Flights of Stairs and 3 very tired missionaries!!

2009-07-11T06:25:00.000-05:00

You want to get in shape and lose a little weight? Stay on the eleventh floor of a hotel with a broken lift (elevator). Even better yet stay in that hotel and carry your laptop backpack up and down those stairs three times. But pray that you are blessed enough to have a porter carry your heavy suitcases down the stairs…
In Mozambique we stayed in the gorgeous Hotel Mocambique. The outside was rough looking and not lovely at all but the interior was beautiful. Best of all we had free wireless internet! Now that is a HUGE plus these days.
All was grand in the hotel until our last night in it when the lift (elevator) broke. That meant we had to walk the stairs to and from our room. Sherrie had wanted with a nice view so we were on the 11th floor. However we did not know that the view was going to be not so lovely in the day light but extremely nice at night. We made five trips up and down those stairs before leaving.
In another building we’ve made numerous trips to the fourth floor. We’ve also gotten to hike up multiple flights of stairs in other buildings. We are getting in shape while serving the LORD here. We’ll call it the African workout program.

The Thinker

2009-07-11T06:22:00.000-05:00

As a teacher I’ve noticed that some children will behave differently if they think they are being watched. Some adults are the same way. I recently learned that monkeys are the same way.
At home I drive rural country roads most of the time and often see deer along the road. Around Kwe Kwe we saw monkeys. My oldest niece would love that area of Zim as it is teeming with the little creatures.
We dropped off three tubs of supplies to Kwe Kwe Hospital and were blessed with an amazing warm reception followed by a tour of the hospital. As we were leaving Sherrie pointed out a monkey on top of the building. I started taking photos of him and he started to pose for me?!?!

No Habla Portuguese and No Souvenirs

2009-07-06T14:29:00.000-05:00

Someday I would like to know how many languages are spoken in Africa. So far we've heard English, Setswana, Kalanga, Ndebele, Shona, Afrikaans, and Portuguese. There may have been others too but those I know we've heard.
Portuguese is THE language here in Mozambique and we quickly learned that Alicia can understand some of it but can't really talk back to them. Though she does better than Sherrie and I as she knows Spanish. We were also surprised to be told that French would be good to know here. Ooops... what happened to all that French that Mrs. Gerla taught me in high school. Guess we'll get some lessons before next year though as it is hard to get around in a town when you can't talk to most of the people you meet. We had two guides today and neither one of them spoke English so they basically pointed out which way Sherrie was supposed to turn and didn't talk to us at all. It worked though as we were able to get to the beach to play in the Indian Ocean and then later to a place that was supposed to have souvenirs.
How many of you have souvenirs from every state or place you've ever visited? Some of you may even be drinking a good cup of filtered coffee in a cup advertising some great vacation spot. We like souvenirs too and would like to pick something up here that says Mozambique. We'd like to - but haven't been able to yet and are leaving in the morning. There are venders all along the road and in a few places they take up the entire side roads. You can buy anything you like along the roads from fruit to clothing to appliances and furniture - BUT NO souvenirs... We were told of one more place to try and will give it a go as we head out of town in the morning. Souvenirs or not we do like Beira now and plan on coming back next time we bring in a shipment...
Tomorrow it's back to Zim.

The Indian Ocean

2009-07-06T14:02:00.000-05:00

Beira, Mozambique... What a town. It's one of those places that truely has to grow on you and that it did. We got here Sunday and needed to do some business today as the containers that were shipped from the US are due later this week. The town reminds Sherrie a lot of New Orleans but Alicia and I've not been there so we can't share in the comparison. It's not the prettiest town we've seen in Africa but today it grew on us.
When we got here GOD let us drive around town with no sign of the hotel that had been recommended to us. SO we saw a nice car and started following it thinking surely it would be headed to a nice part of town. The cop we asked for help couldn't speak English but we saw the driver get out of the car and we asked him for help. What a help he was too. First he showed us the business we needed to go to today and then he showed us two hotels to chose from. OH and as GOD would have it he works for a shipping company so one of our trips today was to his office to get some information. Someone that works with him even rode with us to give us directions to the Indian Ocean.
It's winter here - but Beira is on the coast so it's a warmer winter than we've been having in Zim. As a matter of fact we have the aircon on in our hotel room because it's hot and stuffy. We took a break this afternoon and played in the Indian Ocean for a bit. The most fun was chasing down Sherrie's shoes as the tide pushed them down the beach and listening to the people watching us laugh at three women in skirts chasing down a pair of flip flops! Never fear though we got back both of her shoes so all's well. Hope you enjoy this picture of the Indian Ocean.

Our Favorite Things

2009-07-05T13:32:00.000-05:00

Sherrie told us to bring along a few movies from home. I brought “The Sound of Music.” It is one of my all time favorites and I really like the song “My Favorite Things.” If you’re not familiar with the movie then find it and watch it… The song comes from Maria singing to calm the fears of the youngest child. We’ve got a few things to add to her list: electricity, warm and cold running water, a bedroom ‘inside’, filtered coffee, and internet… I feel certain that if Maria was a missionary here today she’d want the lyrics rewritten to include those things along with the whiskers on kittens that she sang about.
Please don’t misunderstand us. Every house we’ve been invited into has been filled with warmth and love of its own, but no central heat. We’ve never had to go without water, but a cold shower in the early morning hours of a cold winter day just isn’t the best way to get warm and going in the morning. We have spent quite a bit of time without electricity but it’s come back on everyday or else we’ve been able to spend part of the day somewhere that had it. We’ve stayed mostly in homes with families so our rooms are typically inside, but they get up early and open the windows and let all the COLD air in! Man is it COLD here in the winter! (Mom you cannot let this next part influence your decision to someday join us in Africa.) Filtered coffee is ‘real’ coffee, not instant, made in a coffee pot with a filter. It’s a good thing to have every day or at least a couple of times a week and only one family we’ve stayed with even had a coffee pot. Every few days we make a filtered coffee run… Internet. Okay you cannot knock us for this ‘luxury’ as you are sitting at your own computer right now reading something written on mine – via the internet! Odds are some of you even have a cup of filtered coffee sitting beside you on the desk.
So these are a few of our favorite things. Little things in life that seemed so normal at home but are such luxuries here. Little things that we enjoy so much when we do have them here…

WOW!

2009-07-05T12:28:00.000-05:00

I would like to see the Smokies when I get back in the states. Sherrie kept telling us how beautiful the mountians were around Mutare, Zim, but she'd never been in Mozambique before today so she did know what was on the other side of the mountians. For the last two days our word has been: WOW!! As we turned many curves in the road only to face a new amazing view of the mountians we all three took turns oohing and aahing over the beauty, majesty, and splendor. To think that GOD created all the different views HE allowed us to see.

Mutare was beatuiful, just as we'd been promised but I truly think the other side of the mountains were more amazing. As GOD would have it we drove into Mutare with no place to 'pitch up.' A town in Zim that Sherrie doesn't have friends in - yet... GOD did get an email to her yesterday though giving her the name of someone there from a friend back home who just 'happened' to meet a kid from Mutare, Zim, in the US this summer. Now how's that for GODLY timing? We didn't stay with the family but Sherrie did call and talk to the dad who just 'happens' to be a nurse and has a clinic. Don't you just love the GOD appointments all around?

Today we drove through the mountains on the Mozambique side. WOW! I took a bunch of pictures but they really don't show you how beautiful the mountains are.

July 4th

2009-07-04T04:18:00.000-05:00

Happy Fourth of July Ya'll...
We've not lost all our Texas English - yet.
Today is the fourth and I know many of you will be celebrating with big bar-b-ques, picnics, swimming, and fireworks. Here's a quick run down of how we'll be celebrating. First we started the morning in Harare, the capital of Zim, in a very nice suburb with no electricity, we only had it for a few hours one night of the three, and only cold running water that doesn't run a lot. The very nice hotel where we do internet has Zesa but not enough ink in their printers for Sherrie to print the pages she needs. Just a typical morning in Zim. Cold water, no Zesa, and Sherrie having to rely on International House instant coffee to get some caffeine to wake her up for the day ahead. Soon we will be on the road as we are heading into Mozambique for a few days. We'll get to see the Indian Ocean and no matter how cold it is I want to at least stick my toes in it for a second. On the drive we'll pass through some mountians that Sherrie says remind her of the Smokies at home so we'll once again be awed by the creative genius of our GOD.
Sadly we'll be leaving behind another family that took us in and instantly bonded with us. I know we'll see them again though so there is some joy in the parting. It amazes me how quickly GOD seems to bond us with the people here. Many of them are 'old' friends of Sherrie's from the time she lived here and previous mission trips but they are all so easily becoming 'our' friends and family. Only GOD could do such complete and thorough bonding. Please pray for all the famlies whose lives we interrupt as we travel through and stay here. They are so precious to us and we could not get across Zim without them. GOD has created such a tight network in this ministry and so much support and love. And to think that same GODLY bond of love is waiting our return across the ocean.
Enjoy your fourth and pray for this country and these people, pray for us all, no matter where we live, to have dependence on GOD that far outweighs all else in our lives.

5 Uses for Hot Hands

2009-07-01T08:59:00.000-05:00

If you're from East Texas and have a passion for hunting or football then you are already familiar with the power of a little thing called "Hot Hands." Otherwise let me give you a few quick pointers:
5 USES FOR HOT HANDS:
5- Put in socks, pockets, and miscellaneous places while sitting in a deer stand hunting.
4- Put in all those same places while sitting on a football bleacher cheering on your favorite team.
3- Use several in a really long sock and wrap around a stiff neck. Trust me it works as I've done this already while here and it loosened my stiff mucscles up rather nicely.
2- Sleep with them. Okay - this is Sherrie's field of expertise as she stays a little cool and needs them to help her sleep well at night.
1 - Give them to Zim Police at a road block!?!?!?! Yep - to the police...
We drove the two and a half hour drive today and meet 6 road blocks along the way. BUT we only had to stop at FOUR of them!!! At one the guy figured out Sherrie was an American and asked what goodie she had for him - instead of the ticket he was wanting to give or the fine he was thinking of.... It was still early in the morning and rather cold so Sherrie handed over a couple of Hot Hands and away we drove. Everyone was happy and the policemans hands were much warmer... The things you do in Zim...
Wonder what goodie she should carry in the summer?

**** WARNING: Don't try this at home.... Even if you got stopped by a really serious hunter or football fan...

Antelope Park

2009-07-01T08:32:00.000-05:00

A day off and then on the road again... Yesterday we took a day off and went to Antelope Park in Gweru. We got to see seven or eight different animals but no Antelope?! It was amazing. And yes - Alicia and I took tons of photos and video so we'll share when we get home. We even took a little time and got to pet and play with three 5 month old lion cubs! Now isn't that wild?!

Today is Wednesday, July 1st, and we are sitting in a hotel in Harare, Zimbabwe. We'll go anywhere to find good wireless... Not really, we're here waiting for a friend who is hosting us for a couple of days to get off work. Monday we went to Kwe Kwe hospital and delivered the few supplies that Sherrie brought via plane in her infamous rubbermaids. If you don't know about the rubbermaids then you need to be around the next time she packs to give her a hand. Everything that can gets squeezed into the rubbermaids and carried onto the plane. Want a workout? Then tag along and help carry things. Right now we are 'traveling light.' Each of us has a big suitcase, carry on, and our computer backpacks. No more rubbermaid containers and we left all of our 'extra' stuff in Bulawayo.

This is a rambling blog but many of my close friends will see the real me in this as I love to chase rabbits and get off topic. Our next big stop is supposed to be Beira, Mozambique. We'll get into our fourth African country and get to see the Indian Ocean. Way cool... Really way cold as it's winter and today's high is supposed to be a little less than 60 degrees.

Prayer coverage is still much needed for the cargo and for us as we drive. Also please be praying for Bethany Ministries as a team as we are seeing GOD work mightly here and see many doors falling open before us.

On the Road Again

2009-06-24T05:21:00.000-05:00

HUGE prayer request...
Please be flooding our DADDY with your prayers as we hit the road tomorrow and will be traveling for the next two and a half weeks or longer. We will first go to Bots and pick up some supplies and that will take the next four days. On Monday we'll head to Kwe Kwe and will then keep traveling through Zim until we go into Mozambique. Please pray that GOD will cover the road before us and bless us as we move about. Continue to pray over the cargo as we will be meeting it in Mozambique at the beginning of July. Pray especially that once it lands it will not sit on the ground long but will be loaded onto the train and sent quickly to Zim.
We cannot thank you all enough for the support you are to us. We love hearing from you via email and facebook. Greatest of all - we love you going to our DADDY on our behalf. You are such a vital part of Bethany Ministries, even if 'all' you are doing is praying... Pray without ceasing. And do know that we all three thank our Heavenly Father every time we remember you all and your support and love.
Updates will come as GOD allows internet access.

The Lost Boys

2009-06-23T08:59:00.000-05:00

As a teacher I try to read my class classic literature that they may not read on their own. One of my favorite books has always been "Peter Pan" by JM Barrie. As an intro to the book I share some information on Mr. Barrie and the fact that originally most of the money made from his book was to go to a home for boys in London. Now as I sit here in Zim in a living room with eleven 'street kids' I have fallen in love with Peter Pan in a whole new way.
Peter Pan, the boy who would never grow up... I feel that way at times, that I'll never fully grow up. Sherrie once had an older friend tell her not to grow up! It is important to keep that child like faith and love intact. These eleven children have experienced so much more of life than I can imagine and very honestly I do not want to know all that they saw and experienced while living on the streets. BUT GOD.... Oh the image of Christ holding and ministering to the children is so vivid in my heart as they sit around and talk to me. The day that Sherrie told them I am a teacher and would be coming to help them some they actually cheered! YES - they cheered about getting to do school work!?!?! Know that was a first for me. In twelve years of teaching I have never had a classroom cheer because they were about to get to do school work...
Peter Pan was missing one thing from his life - a mother... These kids have three Go-Gos, grandmas, who take care of them and a young 'auntie' who goes out to their house daily. What a joy to get to hear them sing about GOD and JESUS and to listen to them talk about HIS WORD and share what they have learned in it.
I do want to introduce you to them more, at a later date. Please be praying for the BP boys, in North End, as they seek GOD and as they desire to learn how to read and do more mathe and science... Pray for their Go Gos and all the adults involved in their precious and valuable lives.

Stand In the Gap and Build a Wall

2009-06-19T06:50:00.000-05:00

As we drive around Bulawayo I often look at the walls that surround the houses and businesses. They are built out of necessity, as protection, and not for beauty. However many of them are very beautiful and have intricate patterns in the brickwork or painted onto them. BUT they serve a great purpose as some also have razor wire, barbed wire, electricity, or glass on the top of them as further deterrents. I’ve been blessed and surprised by the beauty of the homes and yards behind some of them but I still wonder. See I grew up on a prison in Texas. My dad worked there and we lived in ‘Gooberville’ surrounded by other state employees and their families. There were fences with razor wire but they were around the prison itself not around where we lived. I always felt safe living on the prison, even with the convicts so close by. I feel very safe here too so please do not worry about us as you’re reading about the walls and security measures they’ve taken. Hey – they do the same thing in Texas just the yards aren’t always as beautiful and the people aren’t as beautiful either.
For the last several days, as I’ve looked at these walls I have thought of a Bible verse we discussed at church sometime back. When I went to study it I found two…
Ezekiel 13:5 You have not gone up into the gaps or built up the wall for the children of Israel to take your place in the fight in the day of the Lord.
Ezekiel 22:30 And I was looking for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before me for the land, so that I might not destroy it, but I found none.
Stand in the gap and build the wall… GOD keeps this idea in my mind as I look at these walls. My prayer is that when HE looks upon this land HE will find us standing in the gap and building the walls. As we meet with people and do every big and little thing I know that we are trying to build back up some of the walls that were damaged and filling as many gaps as we can. I did look at a commentary today too and fully understand the commentators view that the “grievous breach” is in the moral state and feeling of the people and that our standing in the gap is through exhortation and counsel and sound doctrine. Please join us in praying over these walls and gaps as we feel GOD leading us to fill and build as much as we can. We cannot do this without you though as you are our supports and are standing in the gap and building the walls for us. Thank you for that support as it is immeasurable and so valuable to us all.

ZESA!!

2009-06-19T06:49:00.000-05:00

“Zesa goes tomorrow at 4.”
“ Did Zesa come to you today?”
Zesa… Zesa… Zesa… The first word we learned in Zim isn’t Ndebele or Shona – it’s an acronym for the power company! AND it’s probably the most important word in Zim!! We don’t eat until eight some nights because “Zesa is gone.” We get up by five one day a week because “Zesa leaves at six!” Auntie Shelia took the laundry to be finished at someone else’s house when “Zesa left” in the middle of the wash. We were locked in a grocery store ready to pay for our food when “Zesa left” one day. Once we were even guests at a sweet couples home only to arrive to a sitter and their three children because Mercy, the mom, had gone to someone else’s house to finish cooking dinner when “Zesa went.” Zesa is very important as lives are planned around it’s coming and going.
Feel like you need something to pray about today? Pray for the people of Zim as they have daily outages. Pray for the hospitals, nursing homes, and schools as they lose Zesa like everyone else. Pray for us as we travel and minister with or without Zesa… GOD is good… All the time… Even without electricity.

Wireless, Tea, and an Art Gallery

2009-06-16T06:57:00.000-05:00

Praise GOD for wireless, tea, and an art gallery. While I was with the kids at the home I'm in Sherrie and Alicia found a wireless internet spot in an art gallery... WOW! Praise GOD we are back online... SO updates on the blog should be a little easier, Alicia can do her school work and maybe Sherrie can get her inbox below 300 new messages.
Oh and to sit here in the coffee spot and look at the amazing paintings by locals and of life here in Zim... Behind Sherrie is my absolute favorite in this room. It is of two women and two children. The moms backs are to the artist and the kids are talking and laughing behind them. You can see the joy and happiness in the kids faces and that's not something I've seen a lot of here. There is a pure joy in the kids when the smile and talk but there is also so much pain behind their eyes.
As we've sat here today working on our different computers I have had a thought from GOD on the kids I am working with. I sincerely ask you all to be praying for the three of us as we live Jabez's prayer and have our borders expanded.... May GOD bless you for your support of us as we stand in the gap and build the walls back up... Much love from your sistas in Zim - Sherrie, Alicia and Deb

BRIE!!!

2009-06-16T06:56:00.000-05:00

In East Texas that would be spelled BAR-B-QUE… This past week Auntie Shelia has been telling us that she was inviting some people over Sunday afternoon for BRIE. Kind of a welcome home party for Sherrie and a welcome to Zim party for Alicia and me. Let me tell you that this was a true east Texas bar-b-que with all the trimmings. Okay – so we may not serve sadza or rice at our bashes in Texas and we would have been drinking iced tea all day instead of ending the day with hot tea and milk but it was so much like home. That is where we truly are – at home – right here in Morningside, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Living on the corner of Kentmere and Corney. Alright go ahead and make some joke. If you are reading this then you know Sherrie, Alicia, or myself and you KNOW that any one of us belongs on a street named Corney! So Auntie Shelia invited a ‘few’ people over and if I counted right the total of adults and kids was close to 35!?! But it truly was a small family oriented gathering and we all three completely feel at home and part of this family. It’s nice to see how GOD is the same in Porter Springs, Texas, and in Bulawayo, Zim. Even greater is the feeling, the peace, the love, the blessing in entering into fellowship with HIS children here and feeling a part of it so completely.

What is ONE DAY?

2009-06-16T06:54:00.000-05:00

Today is exactly one week since we ‘came this side’ (to Zim) and one month since we landed in Jo’Burg (South Africa). I think I’ve written before about how much GOD has done in a day or a week but today GOD reminded me of a praise song I like a lot and the verse that it comes from.
Psalm 84:10 For ONE DAY in Your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
When I study I don’t always read the commentaries because I’d rather have GOD tell me something instead of relying solely on what HE has told others. This morning I read the commentaries and saw something in one of them that I’d never ‘thought’ of as I’ve studied this verse before. The commentator looked at the idea of ONE DAY as being a season. So often we’ve talked about things going on in and around us as being SEASONS. Yesterday I got a kick out of hearing a couple of kids talking to Alicia about the fact that we have four seasons at home, Texas, but they only have two here, summer and winter… Seems it’s either hot or cold. My mind started thinking about seasons. THEN GOD opened up a couple of words to me this morning and showed me that HE is the GOD of seasons. I know that I’ve gone through many different seasons in my life, as we all have. For this season HE has led me to be a doorkeeper in Africa. I learned something new about this verse today. I may not always be doing the same thing for GOD but the key is that I am always doing SOMETHING for GOD.
Before I’ve focused on being a doorkeeper –lowly positions that we don’t want to do, or for me it’s often something I don’t feel capable of doing. There have been lots of jobs that I didn’t want to do and I am sure there will be many more in my future. OR I looked at the location – to be in the house of GOD or in the tents of wickedness. Sadly I have spent far too long dwelling in those tents. At one time I even studied the permanence of GODs house over the temporary dwellings of tents. BUT ONE DAY… GOD wants me to know that my life is seasonal. I like the seasons at home but part of what I like best is the slow transition from one season to the next. MY GOD is that way with me. You know HE didn’t plop me down in Zim without working some things out in my heart and life first. HE has always given me some time and room for change, as long as I’ve been willing to go with HIS changes. ONE DAY in HIS courts is so much better than anything else I can imagine.

30 DAYS...

2009-06-16T06:52:00.000-05:00

I sit here typing this on June 13, 2009. We left Houston, Texas on May 13, so we have been on this journey for one month. Really we’ve been on this journey for much longer. Alicia and Sherrie first met almost two years ago and I met Sherrie almost a year ago. BUT we really didn’t get to know each other until we boarded that plane in Houston. From Houston to London to the whole continent of Africa. We joke that we’re going to see the whole continent on this trip. GOD just may do that too. We know that He’s going to keep us in Zim for most of it but we’ll go into Mozambique when the cargo comes in on the ship. Please be praying for the cargo, that it will continue to travel in safety. In the last thirty days we’ve lived in four houses and two countries. We’ve eaten more sadza and mealie meal porridge than I can keep count of and enjoyed ever bite of it. We’ve had numerous cups of tea and some really good fruit juices and flavored water. Oh and then there were Angela’s scones… I cannot begin to tell you how many people we’ve been introduced to and hands we’ve shaken. It’s truly been a whirlwind tour and GOD is just getting started. In the next thirty days I, Debbie, will be getting my feet and heart into a home for some boys who used to live on the streets of Bulawayo. I will be there to help with school work as they are trying to get caught up so they can attend school again. A couple of them have never been to school and the others are behind because they didn’t attend school while living on the streets. Sherrie and Alicia will be doing medical stuff and preparing for the containers to arrive. GOD is opening doors and providing opportunities for us to minister in Zim. The people are amazing. The land is amazing. OUR GOD IS AMAZING!!! Sherrie is so right – “We serve a miracle working GOD…”

Carrot Cake and a Doctor...

2009-06-16T06:46:00.000-05:00

On our first full day in Zimbabwe we went to look around town. We then ran errands around Bulawayo and stopped at a restaurant to pick up a late lunch. While we were standing in Papa’s we began to look at the cake slices they had for sale. I love how GOD can take and use the simplest things – today it was a piece of cake. Alicia and I were looking at it when a guy leaned over and recommended the carrot cake. He told us it was messy but too good to pass up. As we began to thank him he heard our accents and asked where we are from. Seems we can’t hide our accents here! BUT GOD – the man who recommended the carrot cake is a local doctor. WOW!!! Sherrie started talking to him and they set up an appointment for us to all meet on Wednesday. We did and asked some questions about the medical needs in the area and how we can best serve the people of Bulawayo and set up a meeting for Thursday with him and with a doctor in charge of the local hospital. From a slice of carrot cake Sherrie got a contact in Mpilo that she didn’t have before. What GOD did over a little slice of carrot cake. Oh – and if you’re wondering… the cake was delicious but I liked the chocolate one better. Please keep praying for us.

Abandoned baby House-

2009-06-16T06:45:00.000-05:00

Our second day in Zim led us to the abandoned baby house. You do not know how hard it is to pick up and hold a baby and know that they don’t have any family to love them. There are volunteers who go into the house and take care of the babies. They feed them, hold them, change their nappies (diapers), and take care of them every day. But these babies stay at the house until they get adopted or move onto a house for older orphans. One precious baby that I picked up today was named Samuel. Remember him from the Bible – for this child I prayed… As I held 7 day old Samuel I did pray. I prayed for GOD to draw families out to open their homes, love and adopt some of these babies. I prayed for little Samuel and all the other babies to grow up knowing that GOD loves them. I may be getting to love them a lot in the next few weeks as part of the plan for me is to go there in the mornings and to a home for older kids in the afternoons. There are three other homes here in Bulawayo, two for 3-9 year olds and one for boys who used to live on the streets. We are now waiting to see where GOD puts me in these homes. “Let them come as a little child... Train up a child… Let the little children come to ME and do not stop them!”

Internet Cafe'-

2009-06-16T06:44:00.002-05:00

Life can be rough for a missionary in Africa. We don’t have ready access to internet so we have to go to an internet café. That doesn’t mean we can actually get online! Our first visit to one here in Zim meant we spent an hour and between the three of us I believe we were able to respond to and send about three emails… Surely isn’t high speed – more like no speed if you really want to know. But we do have some internet access and I am thankful that we’ll still be able to email and stay in touch - some. Bear with us though as it is very limited… That means Sherrie won’t be able to check her emails until she’s got a couple hundred new ones in her inbox. Alicia is really chasing deadlines on her assignments for school. And me - - well I can’t get to the blog as much as I’d like. How did they do it in the old days when there was no internet and they only had snail mail?!?! I’m reading a devo by Amy Carmichael and as I’ve looked at our ‘problems’ with the internet and only having one cell phone between the three of us I’ve been more than humbled. At home I’ve got a cell, a house phone, and easy quick internet access. Here I’ve got my laptop, my cell is turned off, and I’ve got access to a house phone – but no reason to use it. In this age of communication I felt withdrawals for a few days when the café didn’t work for us. And then GOD reminded me of Amy Carmichael. She was a missionary to India in the early 1900’s. A woman from my area was a missionary to Africa, to lepers, many years back. I don’t think Mrs. Estella Brown got to talk to her family back home very often and I know Amy Carmichael didn’t. SO why should I complain? Ouch… It’s like when you’re on a very strict diet and come off it and get to eat some of the foods that caused you to need to diet in the first place. They are still good – but not as enjoyable as they originally were. Guess we’re fasting from the internet. Now Lord help us to do so and give that time back to YOU in whatever way YOU can use it. A whole new look at living life ‘unplugged.’

How Great is OUR GOD...

2009-06-16T06:44:00.001-05:00

When was the last time you SAW GOD in all HIS GREATNESS? Mine was tonight in a living room in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. They have a Bible study in this house every week and since we are part of the family we joined them tonight for their time with GOD. Where two or three are gathered in MY Name there I am in the midst of them…Matthew 18:20 Tonight I was joined to GOD with my two mission sisters, two couples, and another man. It was such a blessing to have CHURCH with this extended family of GOD, my new brothers and sisters. GOD came into our midst and I saw once again how GREAT HE is… I love it when GOD just shows up in such a dynamic way. To know that HE is always there and always shows up but I am not looking or not recognizing HIM at work in my life. How great is OUR GOD? Sing with me how great, how great is our GOD?!?! Great is not the right word to describe GOD. I am not sure how we got it simplified to the word great. But as I sit here typing I am trying to think of synonyms for the word great: amazing, marvelous, wonderful, fantastic, glorious, magnificent, splendid… BUT for now in my heart I want to know HOW GREAT IS MY GOD

Go....

2009-06-16T06:43:00.001-05:00

The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and GO to the land I will show you. Genesis 12:1
When GOD created the three of us HE knew how HE could work in and through us… BUT now the question is where LORD? Our prayer request for the moment is that GOD will show us the plans HE has for us and for the ministry in this area. There are some very definite things that GOD is showing us. There are some needs HE has blessed us with the ability to meet. Our collective question now LORD is where… As we sat today and talked, planned, and shared with each other what we can see GOD doing HE brought back to my mind the story of Abram. Abram heard from GOD and GOD told him to go… I feel that is a conversation we’ve all three already had with GOD because we do feel HE has led us to Zimbabwe. Of course I never envisioned that HE would lead me to Africa. AND never, ever, ever would I have thought that HE would be drawing me into a medical mission. I like to joke and tell Sherrie that when things get rolling I’m going to look at her and quote the line from Gone with the Wind: “Honest Ms Sherrie, I don’t know nothin ‘bout birthin no babies!” Well – that may be changed while I am here and I may learn much more than I thought possible… GOD show us YOUR plans… Please be praying for us that HE will make the way clear and plain before us. The two goals for Bethany Ministry are to share Christ with people and to do so with medicine. Please be praying that HE will open the doors that we need to follow HIM through so that we can share HIM with others and use medicine to do so. Pray that we will GO through the doors HE opens and will not pursue our plans and dreams but HIS plans that are intended not to harm us.

Entangled...

2009-06-16T06:42:00.000-05:00

Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs – he wants to please his Commanding Officer. 2 Timothy 2:3-4
My “word for the day” was entangled… Remember on Sesame Street when they ended with: Brought to you today by the letter ‘N’ and the number ‘5?’ That’s how I feel my days are going right now. So many mornings GOD wakes me with a word and my day is brought to me by that word. Today it was entangled. There’s a spider web outside my window and I like the intricacy of the weaving in it. There’s a tapestry on the living room wall here and today I was looking at it and thinking about the weave work done to make it. Then as we drove around F’town I noticed a couple of signs for an actual weaving business here in town. To think there are still people just down the street who weave… What came to mind though as I stared at the tapestry is that if you cut or pull a string out it will weaken the whole picture. Kind of like the body of believers… GOD’s Word tells us that we each have a job and we must do our job for the body to be fully functioning. Also if you cut some strings in the tapestry – not remove them – just cut them. Then the picture will have weak spots that are more liable to tear or fray. Back to us as GOD’s body on earth – we are susceptible to damage and getting frayed. BUT GOD will refresh us as we seek Him. After all HE is our COMMANDING OFFICER. There’s a military training facility near by. The first morning here I got up early and as I was reading my Bible I heard a trumpet… NOW you want to talk about looking to the East! I had no idea where the east was so I just started looking all around. I’ve heard the trumpet a few times since that morning and don’t look to see where it’s coming from any more. Ouch – more than a little bite with that one because I sometimes get that lackadaisical with My God and don’t look for HIM as hard as I once did. I become ‘involved with civilian affairs.’ BUT GOD – HE still loves me when I am not focused on Him. So are you entangled? Look for spider webs and tapestries and for that trumpet in the east…

Take Your Baby To Work Day

2009-06-07T16:14:00.000-05:00

Okay so I’ve heard of ‘take your daughter/son to work day’ but here it’s an every day occurrence. As we drive around town or run errands we’ll see dozens of women carrying their babies on their backs. Tied up neatly and seemingly content. Let me introduce you to Nina and Prince. It is neat to watch her do everything from sweeping, laundry, washing dishes, you name it and little Prince is just along for the ride. He's a pretty big boy, about 10 months I think. In town we've seen some very small babies and some toddlers who are more than big enough to walk.

Since I typed the word walk let me also explain that that is how most people get around here. Every time we're doing something we will see dozens and dozens of people who are walking to where they are headed. I've noticed that the kids who are out walking with the adults don't complain constantly about having to walk or them being tired or hungry or the amount of dust and dirt that is in abundance here. I was watching people walk past me in a shopping area and was awestruck by one little girl who didn't look to be even two yet but was toddling along side her mom with a bag in her hands. The mom had something in hers, a small baby strapped on her back and a bag of something on her head. As they passed the mom very politely said, "Dumela," their greeting and I responded. Then the little girl spoke up and stuck out her hands for me to shake them. After they had passed I thought of taking their picture but they were already gone. Instead I would like to share Nina and Prince with you. And yes, Alicia gave it a go and had Prince strapped on her back for a bit.

Counted Blessings

2009-06-07T15:57:00.000-05:00

I remember as a small child singing the song “Count Your Blessings” at church. Okay – what I really remember was one lady in the church who was tone deaf but sang with all her heart and love for GOD. To this day I can still ‘hear’ her whenever I hear that song. She sang with her whole being and I can assure you that in all her off key notes it was a beautiful and glorious noise to my LORD. She was a blessing from my childhood.
GOD saw my need for a physical family and blessed me with one that's stretched out across Texas, Alabama, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington. HE also tied my brother-in-laws family into mine and so gave me some 'spare' neices and nephews.

GOD saw my spiritual need and gave me a beautiful church home that I truly belong with. My sisters and brothers there are incredibly important to me. HE has even opened a couple of other churches to Sherrie, Alicia, and me and allowed us to be part of them and feel HIS love through HIS servants in those churches.

HE doubled and tripled my blessing over the last few weeks as HE created a family here in Africa with my new sisters, Sherrie, Alicia, Kristin, and Kim. Guess you could say HE quadrupled my blessings when HE drew us together.
Tomorrow we will be going to Zimbabwe. Kristin and Kim will stay here in Bots and the three of us will be stepping out of the boat. You know the water may get our feet wet - BUT GOD is right there in front of us and as our rear guard and I know the water will be fine. Okay - for those of you who think we'll be actually in the water go read about Peter... You can't get anywhere if you stay where you are. GOD has opened some big doors and done some things I did not think would ever be possible in my life. Tomorrow HE will begin to write a new chapter. As I can I will share that chapter with you.
Please keep praying for us as we step out with GOD. Thank you so much for taking this journey with us by prayers and support.

With much love from Botswana, Africa -
Debbie, Sherrie, and Alicia

Doin' Laundry

2009-06-05T01:09:00.000-05:00

Sorry folks, but I don’t have a picture for this one, just words. I can tell you how it looks in action in the village. They don’t have washing machines or dryers so laundry is washed in the bath tub or in a large wash tub and then hung out on the fence or a line to dry. Not that odd, especially if you’re from where I grew up and you see lots of laundry hung outside on pretty days. As a kid I can remember getting in lots of trouble for running through and playing under the clothes hung up in ours and our neighbors backyards.
Early this morning a simple word came to me. I was not quite sleeping nor was I fully awake but all the same the word refresh came to my mind. It woke me up and as it did so I thought to myself that I don’t need that word right now because being able to be at the Buckley’s has been so refreshing. Boy was I wrong… In case some of you are needing a little crispness of your own I’ll share what came to me this morning as I sat and talked with GOD about doing my laundry.
Like the coolness of snow at harvest time is a trustworthy messenger to those who send him, he refreshes the spirit of his masters. Proverbs 25:13
Again today I looked up two words. Trustworthy or faithful means to build up or support, to be permanent, assurance, and to foster as a parent or nurse. Many of you already may have heard from one of us how tight we’ve become as a family in the last 23 days. This morning I see it in the word trustworthy. We have been able to build up, support, assure, and foster or nurture each other and it is amazing to be involved in such a time as this.
My study Bible also gives a footnote about this verse teaching us to faithfully serve those we are working with. GOD is moving things along in such a way that more needs are being met than were even noticed or voiced prior to three weeks ago. In our trio HE has planted a nurse with a heart for salvation through medicine, a public health major with a heart to just serve – somehow with a desire to use medicine to do so, and an elementary teacher!?!?! Yeah that last one still sounds odd to me even though I am that teacher. BUT GOD did something in my heart and mind in an English classroom over 25 years ago when HE blessed me with a desire to write. We are living out this verse by all three trying to be trustworthy messengers for THE ONE who is sending us…
The second word for the day is refresh. Its meaning that stood out the most this morning was: ‘to return to the starting point.’ It made me smile as the Buckley house was our starting point in Bots and we have returned here to a time of refreshment as we’ve done all the small odd and end things that need to be done before we leave on Monday. We will return to here over the summer as things will require us to be back in Bots and I feel deep inside me that those trips will also be refreshing.
Oh to be awakened with a word and even more blessed to find that word in such an applicable verse in GOD’s Word. But even greater is to know that GOD is ironing it out in my heart, mind, soul, body and daily living. Today I am refreshed! Bear with me for a second as I pull out a bit of English. RE – is a prefix that means to do again, repeat, bring back. Refresh – to make fresh again…Whenever I want to freshen something one of the first things I do is clean it up or wash it. Clothing gets dirty, stained, and picks up odors. With soap, water, stain remover and some agitation in the water my clothes are cleaned. I love the idea of agitation in the water… I can put water in a bucket then add soap and my clothes but that won’t clean them. To truly clean them some action must take place. The water may even need to be heated. They cannot be left to simply sit stagnate in the water but must be moved, stirred, agitated with enough friction or force to work the dirt out. But if I don’t rinse them with clean water then they still will not be truly clean. You wouldn’t want to wash something only to rinse it with dirty water. Where am I at with GOD? Am I like the pile of dirty clothes, getting larger, dirtier, and smellier and of no immediate use? Have I dropped in the water but not been scrubbed yet? Has the water around me been heated and agitated so that the dirt is drawn out of me? Have I been rinsed, free of all traces of dirt that I had in me?
You know after I wash my clothes I wear them again. Am I ready like that most comfortable shirt, to be put on and used again? GOD has done all the work inside me. HE does it every time I need to be made fresh again. I don’t hang out my dirty laundry to dry. I hang out my clean laundry to soak up the heat and energy from the sun until it is crisp, dry and has the warmth and smell of basking in the sun. GOD does the same with me. As HE refreshes me HE lets me ‘hang out with the SON,’ soaking up HIS warmth and energy until I am thoroughly dried, crisp and have within me the glorious scent of being refreshed by GOD. That pleasant aroma to my GOD. Do some ‘laundry’

VOWS to KEEP

2009-06-04T11:02:00.000-05:00

Genesis 28:20-22 - 20Then Jacob made a vow, saying, If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go and will give me food to eat and clothing to wear, 21So that I may come again to my father's house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God; 22And this stone which I have set up as a pillar (monument) shall be God's house [a sacred place to me], and of all [the increase of possessions] that You give me I will give the tenth to You. Amplified
Two words that jump out at me from this passage are vowed and keep. Vowed was the verb that describes what Jacob did and keep is the verb telling us what GOD did. Remember that verbs are action words so this set of verses tells of actions that we are to do and that GOD will do in turn.
Vowed means to promise, to do, or give something to GOD. Simply put Jacob’s promise was to give back to GOD and the verse says a tenth. If I did the math right then a tenth of the day is like two and a half hours. Forget the financial aspect – my GOD owns the cattle on a thousand hills and trust me – HE will provide the funds as HE sees the need for them. Tithe to me is not always money. This summer I am living a tithe as are Alicia and Sherrie. We are giving back to GOD what seems like a small portion of our lives. I believe Jacob was promising to GIVE back to GOD with all that he possessed, money, time, self, everything. A living sacrifice… What am I truly willing to give to GOD? What will be my gift back to HIM?
KEEP is such an amazing word here… Keep means to hedge about as with thorns, guard, protect, attend, save, and preserve. The one that stood out to me the most was the idea of the thorns. You should see the thorn bushes here. They line the sides of the road and can be really huge. As we walked around in the village I saw a few that were as tall as me. As we’re learning how to drive Sherrie keeps warning us to avoid the side of the road because if we drive over the thorns they could puncture the tires. These thorns are some serious business. IF GOD was to put a thorn bush around you then I can guarantee that you would be safe. Isn’t that just like our GOD – to describe HIS protection in such a real way. We took a walk down the road from the Buckley home and I couldn’t help but to snap a few pictures of GOD’s thorn bush. Its thorns are ominous looking and something I truly don’t want to get any closer to. BUT GOD --- just as with Jacob is providing more than protection for us. HE is providing our daily bread, or sadza. HE is providing our house and everything that we need. I love HIS provisions that come at unexpected times and in unexpected ways.
We will keep you up dated as GOD continues to KEEP us and as we live out our promises to HIM.

Take Me To Your Leader

2009-06-04T08:45:00.000-05:00

My musical taste is not so typical... I may listen to loud rock one minute and quiet praise and worship the next. The beat may be different but the lyrics I enjoy most talk about our Amazing God! I really like the Newsboys song - Take Me To Your Leader. If your not familiar with it then I'll just summarize to say that it's about people not knowing GOD and how we're supposed to take them to our LEADER... Here's part of the song:

I don't know why you care I don't know what's out there I don't know how it's done just take me to your leader, son I see you've got the joy I've seen you live it, boy It's real, it's free, it's fun, so take me to your leader , son They don't know why we care They don't know what's out there They don't know how it's done Let's Take `Em To Our Leader's Son They see we've got the joy They see us live it, oi it's real, it's free, it's fun, Let's Take `Em To Our Leader's Son

Our job is to take those in our lives to our LEADER. As GOD would have it we are all working together to show those we encounter God in our lives. Over the last ten months I've gotten to know someone very well who tries her hardest to take everyone she meets to her LEADER! For those of you that don't know her then let me introduce you to our fearless leader.

Everyone needs a cheerleader in their lives. Ours is a little fireball of a leader and many of you know that already. Sherrie has been spending a lot of time the last few days teaching Alicia and I how to drive a stick shift. I’ve read about the miracles in the Bible and can tell you that when she is through teaching us it will be recorded as another great miracle of GOD. Sherrie has gone out of her way to help us get into the swing of things here in Africa and help us get through culture shock. As we are learning to drive Sherrie is being so encouraging and is constantly cheering us on. Even if we’re not doing so good she still tells us how good we are doing instead of pointing out the bad she so emphasizes the good. (And trust me, when I’m driving that’s a stretch.) I do thank my GOD every time I remember her. I also ask you all to be praying for us as get ready next week to head into Zimbabwe. So many things Our GOD has been up to and is doing around us right now.
Of course she will probably be talking in her sleep for the next few weeks saying: “Easy on the clutch.” “Don’t let the clutch up too fast.” “You’re doing sooo good.” “You go girl.” And we love her for every minute of her support. What a love for GOD and so much desire for all to know HIM...

My Momma said fix me some dessert...

2009-06-03T08:35:00.000-05:00

We are getting more than a little spoiled living with the Buckleys’. To have such hearts for ministry. Part of that spoiling comes in the form of them freely giving of their time, home, and resources to us, the new additions to the family. Kristin fixed an amazing dinner for us one night and Alicia absolutely loved the dessert. Truly she did… GOD created each of us so individually and my ‘little sister’ is such an amazing creation. Did I have that much energy at 23? Surely not… But if so, then were in the world did it all go? This chick saw a man teaching a child how to dance through the window and wanted to go join him… Sher said ‘no’ though as it might not have been the safest idea. SO Alicia danced around the kitchen trying her best to imitate him and doing a very good job too. This was the same night the neighbors had a baby shower. I’ve never in all my life heard such noise!!! It started at 4 in the afternoon and was still going on Sunday when we got home from church. They partied for close to 24 hours – maybe even longer! They played one song repeatedly and it’s now Alicia’s ‘theme song.’ She adds a spark to the ‘family.’
After dinner the other night she asked about dessert. (It was a really good dessert that Kris fixed!) And one of the boys told her 'NO!' SO being the 'baby' sister Alicia got online and instant messaged her mom... Why? To get her Momma to 'make' the Madison and Anderson fix dessert!?!? It worked too - sort of... We had ice cream and she got to put the left over sauce from Kristin's dessert on it so she was happy. Today makes it exactly three weeks since we left Houston and in that time we've truly become a family. It's nice to have this gift from GOD to live and work with as we head into Zim soon.

Simple Pleasures

2009-06-03T08:22:00.000-05:00

What would be the hardest thing to go without? You know they don’t have Reeces Peanut Butter cups here. That’s like missing a whole food group in itself. My main food group is peanut butter so my dad kindly packed a jar in every one of my suitcases… Yep – I had 4 jars of peanut butter from home – but we already ate one… It was one of those ‘things’ that I just didn’t want to have to do ‘without.’ What I’ve realized though is that I would be fine without it. Without most of the things I thought were necessities. BUT what has come through as more important than ever is the people GOD has put in my life. Today we did a personality profile – but Sherrie had already pegged both of us… It is neat to see our differences and similarities, strengths and weakness, and to know that GOD made us and we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Even greater is to know that HE can use every bit of us to will and to do His good pleasure. What a simple pleasure – to spend the afternoon just hanging out with my new ‘sisters’ and learn not only something new about me but more about them and how we all tick individually and as a team. To quote Sherrie: “GO GOD!!”

ALL SMILES

2009-06-03T07:02:00.000-05:00

What a blessing to be able to work and serve with someone so closely. Today, June 3, was our first day to actually all work together in ministry. We've been together and done many things but this was the first time we've gotten to actually server together as a team. Kristin invited us to join her at the school today and we not only went but shared. Sherrie led the staff in a devo, I shared something with the kids, and Alicia taught them how to brush their teeth… What beautiful smiles and faces that OUR GOD made. They each got a toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste when we were done. As I was putting the tube in one little boys pocket he asked, “Is it all mine?” A small travel size toothpaste made his beautiful face light up… True joy both in the giving and the receiving. When was the last time you gave someone a toothbrush and toothpaste and saw such joy?! They were an amazing audience too. They sat quietly and listened with such interest. There is such hunger here, not always physical, but a hunger to see and hear and to share and receive. When you brush your teeth please pray for these precious children and for the adults who are so devoted to their spiritual education and their classroom education.

Funny Money

2009-06-03T06:37:00.000-05:00

Since I am a math teacher then let me give you a quick math lesson.
300 = 2100
That’s it… 300 = 2100. Now don’t you want me to help your kids with their math homework?!
Really though we had to do something a few days ago and need $300 –US dollars – so we went to an atm (YES they have atm machines in Africa) and took out $2100 Pula. Pula is the Bots dollar and that day we withdrew $2100 in hundreds!?!?! YIKES - - what an exchange rate.
Then there the toilet paper… I love to walk down the aisles in the grocery store and give a good look to the prices. Today Kristin and I went to Pick and Pay and got a few groceries. The sticker under the toilet paper was TOO funny. It says 50.80. NOW in my American mind that’s $50.80 but it’s really not dollars but Pula so it’s only about $7.82. Okay – I like paying for things here too – a milk shake cost almost 20 and the book I bought was over 100!?!?! I really don’t know how much anything is really going to cost me but just smile and hand over the money…