“God’s Agenda”
By Denise:
I was a bit nervous this morning because it was “my day” to teach the women’s group “my” hygiene lesson.I started preparing Thanksgiving weekend with my mom, a few months ago for this moment, I had prayed for this moment, I had gone over the lessons with my mom 3 times and had two of the other team members join in the preparation 2 days before the trip.So, this morning I woke up and had my quiet time and read a few letters from home.God gave me this verse from 3 different people in the past 3 days– Psalm 73 “Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand.You guide me with your council….God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” This changed my heart, I was no longer to put on my “Hygiene Show” but rather be a vessel to serve along with the team and let the results be up to God.What a relief!The session went well and the women were a little taken aback when the team went around washing all of their feet.Giggles, smiles and a connection was forged after an initial cold start.And honestly, I wasn’t sure that it went that well, although the team assured me it was great.Then!I saw the ladies from the session at our “tippy-tap” testing out the new hygiene methods.I went over to take a picture and I was greeted with shouts of joy and one of the ladies mimed the picture of a boy pooping from the lesson – which we all had a great laugh over.My heart overflowed knowing that God had chosen to use me, supported by an amazing team to communicate to the women of Eburru.They invited us to teach more lessons at their next meeting– I am absolutely thrilled to see what else God has on His Agenda.
“The Lord’s Got it Covered”
By Angela:
Our relationships with the people of Eburru continue to grow and deepen as our time here progresses. What a blessing this has been! We have met so many interesting people and fun children. We continue to learn more Swahili as days go by, and now phrases like asanti sana (thank you very much) are a part of our vernacular. We have also adjusted to the much simpler & relaxed way of life here; where when you say that an event will start at 10, that really means 12; you only have electricity when the generator is turned on after dark, and the toilet facilities are nothing more than a hole in the ground! But what an amazing adventure this has been!
The activities that were planned today were probably some of the most challenging of the trip thus far. First, we were helping out at a medical clinic in the morning. As people waited for medical treatment, we took some time to talk to them, ask them about their lives and pray for them. Bible verses were shared, and praise songs sung. There were just a few people that came to the clinic today, but we are expecting many more tomorrow.
The medical clinic will certainly be an experience that will put us all to the test. As we talk with these people, God will surely obliterate our comfort zone and call each of us to be His voice, and most importantly, a conduit of His love. As we were praying and sharing this morning, I came across this verse:
“Thus says the Lord to you, Do not be afraid……..for the battle is not yours but God’s” –Paraphrase from 2 Chronicles 20:15
As we keep this in mind, I pray that we will find peace as we realize that all we need to do is be receptive to the Lord’s voice and allow Him to use us how He wants. I know sometimes our own expectations can trip us a bit.
Second, we ran a VBS for the area children. We started out with who I call the “usual suspects,” the kids who normally show up at our huts early in the morning and hang out with us for the better part of the day. We had Julius (affectionately called Pastor Julius), Janet, Rose, Joseph (the cutest kid in the entire world), and a few others. We talked about how Jesus wept and how he understands how it feels to be sad. Since he is able to sympathize with us, He tells us that He will listen when we pray. We did a few fun activities with the kids, including making “God’s Eyes” and playing the now famous clothespin game. After the VBS ended the kids stayed to hang out with us for over an hour, just coloring, talking, and of course, knocking each other over to get their picture taken!
I am looking forward to tomorrow, though I am admittedly a little nervous about talking with people and sharing my faith and asking about theirs. But, as the song “Hope Now” by Addison Road says: “If everything comes down to love, then just what am I afraid of?” ‘Nuff said! The Lord’s got it covered!
