storying

Who doesn't love a good story? We enjoy sitting and listening to stories. We enjoy sharing stories (I mean, isn't that what blogging is about?!). We enjoy watching TV and movies, both which tell a story. We enjoy reading a good book. Stories shape the world around us. Many of us grew up going to church and hearing stories from the Bible. Those stories stick with us throughout the years.

Being in Africa we've learned more about stories. Here many cultures are oral cultures. They did not have a writing system for many many years (and some still don't), so the way to share about their culture & history is through stories. In Ghana at our home stay, we were without power one night and sitting outside looking up at the stars. The husband of the house said that he remembers when he was a child sitting outside listening to his grandfather share stories. He looked forward to that every night.

One of our focuses while there was to share stories. We would learn a new Bible story everyday and then look for an opportunity to share it. I had the privilege of sharing the story of the Woman at the Well to a group of women in the market (John 4:1-30). At the end of the story they told me they had heard it before, since they go to the Catholic church. However, even though they knew the story, they said it blessed them that day. They sat and listened so attentively to what I had to share because it came from God's Word.

I wish I was like that. So often I hear a story from the Bible or even a sermon that I think I've "heard" before and I tune it out. If only I learned to listen more to those stories. I know God would use it to teach me every time.

Another thing I learned was something I already knew... but it really sunk it. I learned how relevant God's Word is to our lives. Often we'd ask women how we could pray for them and they would share with us a difficulty in their lives. I cannot tell you how many times God brought a story to my mind through their sharing and how many times I wanted to kick myself for not knowing the story well enough to share.

I left there challenged to learn more stories. I want to be able to encourage those around me through stories from the Bible. And I want to learn to do this while we're in the states as well. Because, like I said, we all love a good story.

opening my mouth

It's amazing what happens when we open our mouths. And it's sad that the Lord has to constantly remind me of what He will do will I'm obedient in opening my mouth. In scripture, He has called us to go and tell the world what He has done in our lives. He didn't tell us to go and make friendships with the people you'll meet. He knows that will happen. He didn't tell us to go and give them suggestions on how they can have a better life here on earth, teaching them "American ways." He didn't tell us to go and learn the language so that you can buy veggies in the market. He told us to go and tell, because there are people who have never heard the truth about Me.

While in Ghana in November during our training, we had a night time assignment. Part of the assignment was to see what the village was like during the evening hours... who was out and about, what you could buy, who you could talk to, etc. We were also challenged to share our testimony or Bible stories with people we met along the way. I went out that night with 2 other ladies and a translator. We first went to a house and another lady shared her testimony with the women in the compound. They were all very encouraged by her testimony and shared how they have chosen to follow the Lord. We asked how we could pray for them and did just that. And I enjoyed listening to Trisha share her testimony and learned ways to share mine more clearly.

We left and walked to a busy part of town, the "car park." This is where people can catch a taxi or bus to other parts of the country. They come in and rest for the night. There are women out cooking and selling food to the passer-throughs. We found a group of ladies and I asked if I could share a story with them. I began to share my testimony and shared how because of Christ I can be connected with God again. There were several women around, but I noticed 3 that were listening very intently. Now, let me just say I've shared my testimony a lot in my life. I've been a follower of Jesus for almost 20 years now and He's given me lots of opportunities to share. The next thing that happened should NOT have taken me by surprise, but it did. At the end of sharing my personal story, I asked if they had any questions. One of the three ladies asked, "How do I follow Jesus?" And here again, I'm amazed by Him. Along with the translator we walked through what it means to be a follower of Jesus. They asked some more questions and said they wanted to follow Him that night. We talked about it being a lifetime commitment and a change of their heart. At this point, one woman got upset and said she wanted nothing to do with this and left. That night I led them in a prayer to follow Christ. Only the Lord knows who made a true commitment to Him in that moment. I think about those women often, praying for the the ones who just listened to my story that the Lord will continue to bring it up in their minds. And I think about those 3 women who were listening so intently and had questions. I pray that the commitment they made that night was genuine and that one day I will see their faces in Heaven.

Like I said earlier, I've opened my mouth and shared my testimony many times before. And most of those times no one has responded, but He reminded me that evening that it's only my responsibility to speak. He'll do the rest. What a burden lifted. I cannot save anyone. I can only share about what He's done in my life.

2012: a look back

I cannot believe we are already in 2013! It’s been almost 8 years since I’ve graduated high school. If you asked me 8 years ago what I’d be doing with my life, I would have probably said married with children, but living in Africa would have not been on my radar. This last year has been a roller coaster to say the least. We have lived in 6 different cities, spent time in 8 different countries, Trey ran a marathon, got the surprise of a baby on the way, turned a quarter of a century, spent 6 months in training, and began to learn a new language. When I look back on 2012, I cannot believe all that we did in 1 year.

We started the year headed to Disney World for Trey to run the Disney Marathon. The best memory from that day: I saw Trey at mile 13 and he was doing great. He was still smiling and had energy. He waved and talked to me as he ran by, all with excitement. I saw him again at mile 23 and things were a little different. When he came by I asked him if he needed anything, since I had Gatorade & power bars in my backpack, and all he said was, “Do you have a gun?” Needless to say he completed it!

We then headed to a short vacay in Jamaica. There are so many things I love about Jamaica, but the best part of being there was relaxing by the pool :)

We returned home to spend time with family & friends and say some goodbyes before we headed to Virginia for 2 months.

While we were in Virginia, we spent time in classes & with others who have the same passions we do. It was a challenging time, but also an encouraging time. No doubt about it, the best part about being in Virginia is the friends we made. They have been lifesavers during difficult times, both during training and since we’ve arrived here.

We went back home for a week or so before heading to Vancouver, Canada. Neither of us had ever been to the West Coast or Canada. Vancouver has so much to offer. We continued to have class every day, but were able to put into practice what we were learning. We continued to grow closer to some of those friends from Virginia and make new ones. Being there was good since we were able to still feel like we were in America, but begin to spend time away from home. The best part about Canada was all that the city had to offer. We loved sight-seeing and spending time out & about in the city.

While in Canada, we welcomed a nephew to our family! We met sweet Owen via Skype and cannot wait to get home and actually play with him!

Finally, at the end of June we boarded a plane for Africa. We had a layover in London and decided to get another stamp in our passport :) The UK became our fourth country for the year. I would definitely love to go back and spend more time there!

We then landed in our now home country. Shortly after arriving, I celebrated my 25th birthday! Here we have had incredible times - like finding out we’re having a baby only 2 weeks after landing - and some difficult times - like living in 3 different cities out of suitcases while waiting for our house to be completed. It has been a learning experience. We have learned so much about ourselves, our relationship, and about another culture. We have had incredible support from our family, friends, and churches back in the US. The days that have been the hardest, we know they are praying for us and helping us stay here. We have learned to be completely dependent on the Lord. We know that He has sustained us through all of the good times and bad times.

28 weeks

23 weeks

26 weeks

In October & November, we spent time in Burkina Faso & Ghana for West Africa training. We spent time every day out in the community, meeting the people, learning about their culture, their struggles, and how we could encourage them. We also made some great friends here!

We returned home and moved into our HOME! We were thrilled to move and get settled. We began to make connections in our city, get our house set up, and find our way around town. After about a month in our home we boarded a flight to our final country of the year: Spain! We decided to take a Christmas vacation. Spain is beautiful! We stayed in 3 different cities and make day trips to yet more cities. Not only did we celebrate Christmas here, but we also celebrated Trey’s 25th birthday. We are so thankful to be able to get away for a bit.

We returned home on New Year’s day and began 2013 - another year full of changes.

Fatdi

This is a late, but still much needed post. The Lord has taught me a lot this past year and surprised me as well. I want to share with you one of the most difficult, but faithful times He’s given me. While we were in Burkina Faso we had “topics” to discuss every day with people in the community. One day was about death and how the community handles it. Our translator took us to her sister-in-law, Fatdi, who had recently lost her mom. I found out she was about my age and newly married. Already, there were so many similarities about our situations. 

We got to Fatdi’s place of business and she began to share with us about her experience. She shared how her mom had gotten sick and passed away just in the past few months. She went to the house to take care of the body and do the culturally appropriate things, but her family did not want her there since she is a Christian and they are all Muslim. Her aunts were very distraught and would not do any of the things that were appropriate for her mother. It was very difficult for Fatdi to watch the family disrespect both her and her mother.

She then began to talk about while her mother was sick how she had prayed for healing. She wanted so bad for her to be well. Their relationship was very close, even though the rest of the family had shunned Fatdi since becoming a Christian. She didn’t want to go through life without her mother. At this point, I completely understood everything she was thinking and feeling, yet could not even begin to comprehend being cut of from the rest of my family. I shared with her my story, and how the Lord had shown Himself even in such a difficult situation.

Fatdi then shared her testimony of coming to the Lord. She began to seek and went to a church that wrapped their arms around her and welcomed her. They helped her to understand Truth. Once she let her family know she had become a Christian her father threw her out. She stayed with her aunt and then with her grandmother before she could be on her own. Even though both of them did not agree with her, they wanted to support her. Her mother felt the same way, she continued to follow Islam, but did everything she could for her daughter. She began to sneak Fatdi’s personal items out of the house so Fatdi could have them. Eventually her father found out and said because it was her mother, there was nothing he could do. Later Fatdi decided to marry another Christian. Again, her father did not support her and even said that God would not bless her marriage since she was not following Islam. In the culture, the bride’s family has certain things to provide for the wedding. Her mother was forbidden to give her anything, against her will, of course. Fatdi’s church family reached out and provided everything the bride’s family was supposed to. Fatdi’s family attended her wedding and were shocked at the fact that she had everything she needed for the wedding. They left without even eating because of their astonishment. 

Fatdi shared with us story after story of how the Lord had provided for her. These stories are what has made her faith so strong. Her church family has become like real family to her. With everything that has been great, she still has the burden of being cut off from her blood family. One of the greatest struggles since her mother has passed away is not being able to bear a child. This is so important in her culture. The conversations she has had recently with her father have not been helpful either. He has told her that because she is a Christian she cannot get pregnant, but if she were to return to Islam she would have a child. She told us how she knew this wasn’t true and she was trusting the Lord to provide so that she could be a witness to her family.

During a difficult time in high school, the Lord showed me a passage in 2 Corinithians 1: 3-4 that says, " Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort which we ourselves are comforted by God." Any time I go through a difficult situation this passage comes to mind. I know that I may not understand why something is happening, but I know He’s faithful to provide an opportunity to be able to comfort someone else. This day, I was about to see His faithfulness. One of the greatest things Fatdi said to me that day was that she was encouraged because she had no idea that people from America go through difficult times. I sat there and thought about how losing my mom was difficult, but I never went through being shunned from my family. Her strong faith encouraged me so much.

Urban Church

While we were in our "urban" African training, we attended church with Trey's translator and then ate lunch with his family. We've been to what we would consider "urban" churches and village churches in our home country. This church, even being in a city, had more of a village feel. It's a church plant in a neighborhood and pretty small. We walk into the compound and see a small office "building" on the right, and in front of us 3 walls with a tin roof for the church building and plastic chairs for seating. We've been to "urban" churches here before, but this was nice since it was a new church. We enjoyed the time there. We had some worship with just our voices, a drum set, & a djembe. During the worship time, the children from the surrounding community came into the compound and had a good 'ole time dancing & singing. They told us later they had been able to form a children's ministry through this. Next, we had a time of testimony where Trey shared his testimony, and others shared about how the Lord is working in their lives. During the testimony time, we also enjoyed a song from a lady in the church - not necessarily on key, but the was definitely joy in her worship. And it ended with 2 songs by the children - maybe one of these days our internet will be decent enough to upload the video :) We then had a short sermon and closed out the service.

After the service, we walked to Trey's translator's house for lunch with him & his family. The food we ate was good - traditional African food. We had seasoned rice, spinach, and meat that's a little too tough to chew. We also had some delicious lime juice & bissap juice (google it, maybe there's an American version). So, you know we all have things that are scary and intimidating when doing something new. I was a little afraid I wouldn't like the food and would have a hard time pretending like I did. I didn't have that problem, however, I did encounter another problem.

Remember how I said that meat was a little too tough to chew?? Well, it's also a little too tough to cut, especially when the only utensil we had was a spoon. I was doing pretty good getting small enough bites and chew long enough to eventually swallow it. And then I had a problem... I got a piece that was a little too big and a little too tough. I had been chewing on this piece for what seemed like forever, tried to swallow, and it didn't go in my favor. I begin to choke on the meat as it's stuck in my throat. Trey is trying to talk to me to help me and then jumps up and gets ready to preform the heimlich maneuver. The wife of the household jumps up to get a bowl to help me and next thing I know, I'm beginning to throw up! Oh, what a nightmare! The bowl came at the perfect time, and I was completely fine. This was one of those moments when I was thankful that I could blame things on my pregnancy and she would understand, since she's had three kids. I was soooo embarrassed and felt absolutely horrible. After that, I tried to not stop complimenting how delicious the food was. They were really nice and understanding. And of course, after it was all over and I was ok, Trey was excited to have a good story to share :) He definitely has a funny version of the experience, sound effects and all. My lesson learned, no more big bites with tough meat.