Humbled before My Savior's Feet (Pictures)

The children all running up to greet us from getting off the bus.

Anxiously awaiting the "Muzungo's" arrival.

Young children holding children on their backs and carrying them.

Precious little one with a smile that could brighten up the darkest days.

God rescued me when I was dirty, broken, shattered, etc. He rescues the children who are broken, shattered, dirty, and tattered. Thank goodness for his grace!

Who could resist those adorable eyes? They are calling out for love!

Taking it all in...

My little friend has JOY :) She gave me the saddest puppy dog look to let me know that she wanted a sticker so badly. This is where she placed it :)

He was crying about something...not sure. The poor little one has no pants on and holes all in his shirt.

Holding little ones who never want to let go. Notice my hair is falling down from it being tugged on from pure amusement haha :)

Not sure why...but alot of them had keys around thier necks?

Precious little ones. (One has American flag on his shirt)

The slums of Africa at the Karimojong tribe.

Humbled before My Savior's Feet

 

April 27, 2012

Last night, I woke up so many times and just prayed for all the precious orphans. I could vividly see each of their faces in my mind as if they were right next to me.

This morning, I prepared by reading how Jesus feeds 4,000 and how he healed the paralytic. I also read Ephesians 6:10-20 (The Full Armor of God) to prepare myself and to be filled of the Spirit for today.

For breakfast, we ate toast with peanut butter, boiled eggs, fruit (pineapple, mango, and bananas), hot tea, and peanuts. It is the best fruit I have EVER tasted! I would go to extreme measures to have African pineapple again!

We are on the bus now to go to the Karimojong tribe. We will be sharing Bible stories with women and children. There are very few men in this tribe. The community shuns the Karimojong and sees them as useless because they are so poor. We will be sharing stories, worshipping to music, painting women’s nails, and playing with the children. I am so excited to be going into the “slums” of Africa. I’m really praying for God to change my perspective and see him more clearly. I want to be able to see God’s grace through and through and just how blessed we are. Most of all, I want to be humbled…humbled before my dear Lord and Savior. I am so undeserving and he chose me. Me out of all people. I am still amazed that he chose me to go to Africa and spread his gospel and WALK IN LOVE. Why me? The only explanation for this is the fact that I am a wretched sinner redeemed, restored, and renewed by the death of Christ.

WOW!!!!! We just loaded the bus and finished at the Karimojong tribe. I was not ready to leave….I just wanted more time to love and serve these beautiful people. The Karimojong is the same tribe where Katie Davis (author of Kisses from Katie), talks about and visits often. I just had the most amazing experience ever! Words cannot even begin to describe my emotions or how filled by the Holy Spirit I am. My heart beats for every second I spend in Africa. I wish I had more arms to hold children and more hands to hold their tiny hands and show them love. I wish I could take them ALL home with me. I want to show them Jesus and his truth and his everlasting love.

The kids immediately ran to the bus screaming, “Muzungo (aka white person! Haha).” Of course, I teared up but I had to stay strong for these kids. There were hundreds-no exaggeration- of kids waiting for us as we arrived. I pray that even my smile gives them the hope of Jesus and the warmth of his comfort. One girl from the start grabbed my hand and literally never left my side. Her smile was so beautiful and warm. She had beautiful white teeth and skin so beautiful and dark from the warm sun. Her eyes a yellowish tint yet gleaming the whole time. She was wearing pink, orange, and red paisley little dress and flip flops.

Well God quickly answered my prayer. Remember how I wanted God to humble me before his feet…well you talk about God answering above and beyond my prayers. This precious child of God was wiping my skirt and trying to brush off the dirt. Are you kidding me?! A child who is covered in dirt and tattered clothes is trying to wipe dirt off of my skirt. Typing this right now makes me flash back to this special memory. She was also so fascinated with my toes…probably because I am a Muzungo.  The children loved my hair…when I say loved, I mean they were pulling and tugging like they have never before. They wanted to take my hair off my head and probably wear it as a wig. It was hysterical! Blondes really do have more fun! They would run their fingers through my hair and have the most fascinating look on their faces. Oh how I miss the little things…

All of the girls on our team were rescuing the little ones off of the other children’s backs. Children who were not even 4 or 5 years old were carrying infants on their backs. The infants were held by this tiny cloth that was wrapped around the older Childs back and waist. The infant’s necks were not supported at all. Some infant’s necks dangled backwards while flies gathered in the corners of their mouths. I have never seen or experienced anything like this before. I mean this was a huge wakeup call. We were in the slums and all I could think about was how incredibly blessed I am! I don’t deserve this at all!

I held one boy who was so tiny that we had rescued from a child’s back. I mean the boy was literally bones with a protruding stomach. He was wearing a tiny little American flag t shirt and small shorts on. The hold time I held him he would lean his head on my shoulder. In this moment, I fell so in love with the Karimojong. The things I had seen in an hour and experienced and learned cannot begin to compare.

Another little girl stuck around with me the whole time as well. She is the one in the little pink/purple velvet dress. Oh my goodness how adorable is she!? Well, aren’t they all? We played the entire time. I took a ton of the pictures of the children. They also wanted to play with my camera and take pictures which was a scary thing b/c they were all tugging on it. I just had to relax and not be so uptight with my bratty American side.

During our time there, two team members played worship songs for the children. The other half of the group told a Bible story to the women and painted their nails. We were all dancing and singing along with the children. You could tell that they had heard these songs before from other Americans doing mission work there. We sang songs such as, “Jesus Loves Me” or “Jesus Loves the Little Children.” After singing and dancing, we decided to hand out stickers to all the children. BAD IDEA!! Haha This was funny yet scary. The children stampeded each other to get a sticker. I’m talking throwing punches and fighting each other over a sticker. Yet another humbling moment for me. A sticker…who know could mean so much to a child? Just goes to show how much we have yet I am so ungrateful.

Saying goodbye to the children at Karimojong was not easy. It was so hard to say bye because it seemed like we were there no time at all. Time flies when you are having fun…with Jesus! We kissed and hugged goodbye, got on the bus, and waved on the way out. We went back to eat lunch at Canaan’s Children’s Home in Jinja, Uganda where we were staying for the week. This was only half of the amazing day we had…To Be Continued with the next blog!

The main thing I learned from part one of today could best be summed up with this verse…

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” James 4:6

Be Filled With Joy...(Pictures)

The beautiful sunrise.

My first plane meal ever.

Taste of Africa.

The kids lining outside of the bus doors to greet us. I would give anything to experience this again.

Natalie grasping the hands of our new friends that await us outside of the bus.

Martha, me, Dorcus, Helen-Most amazing girls I have ever met.

My sweet sweet little Marvin.

Be Filled With Joy...

April 26, 2012

Heavenly Father, Your creation is so beautiful. Beautiful beyond words. I am so in awe by the sunrise I just witnessed on the plane. It is one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. Thank you for this glimpse of Heaven. I can only imagine what it will look/be like one day. 

We only have about an hour left on our long plane ride from America to Ethiopia. I am so excited to step off this plane and see Africa. I am tearing up at the mere thought of it. It’s 11:50 pm at home and it’s 6:50 am in Ethiopia.

Father, thank you for our sweet neighbor on the plane. Paul is from Kenya and such a godly man. You can just tell he has a passion for the Lord. He was trying to have us figure out some thing with longitude and hours of darkness on the plane. Apparently, he created a formula to figure this out. I literally had no idea the whole time what in the world he was talking about…BUT I just enjoyed hearing his accent and listen to him speaking.

Lord, thank you for our safe trip. I pray that you would continue to bless all of our travels. At this point, I am so ready to stand up because my feet are so fat! After sitting on a plane for 13 ½ hours, your feet begin to swell up. Every once in a while, I had to walk laps around the plane so my feet wouldn’t hurt so bad.

Lord, help me to feel your presence in Africa and draw nearer to you like I never have before. I pray that you would give my family, friends, and Adam a peace about my trip. I pray that you would fill me with your Spirit. I need you God. I am NOTHING without you. I need your hope, strength, love patience, gentleness, and so much more. Protect my heart and mind and help me to seek you always. Give me an open mindedness to go out of my comfort zone and a willingness to serve as Jesus did. Give me a real picture of the gospel and what it means to live this out. Help me and my team to show others this same truth. Lord, teach me your ways through your word so I can actively seek after you always.

Ephesians 6:10-18- The Armor of God

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people."

Lord, give me strength everyday to be more and more like you. Help me to stand with you against the devil with your armor. Remind me of the truth that sets me free, the righteousness we have because of your son, peace from the gospel, and readiness to walk and be your hands and feet, our dear salvation, and the sword of the Spirit which is your great word.

Colossians 2:6-23- I am alive because of Christ. He over took death on a cross for me. He has triumphed it all! Give me a mindset to view the gospel in this way.

Our friend and sweet plane neighbor, Paul, asked us in the morning to serve us pineapple juice. I am just already so in awe of how much the Lord is humbling me. He asked for 3 cups and the pineapple juice from the flight attendants. Something so simple yet so powerful. He barely knows us yet still wanted to serve us and even asked our permission before doing so. Wow! This is so much like Jesus and how God wants us to live. I pray that you would help me to humbly serve those around me with pure joy.

YAYY!!!!!!!!! Well friends….Our plane is about to touch down in AFRICA!!! J J

9:45pm (Africa Time)

We landed in Ethiopia and then had a layover before our flight from Ethiopia to Uganda. That plane ride was only an hour and a half. Then we had a 3 hour bus ride to Canaan’s Children’s Home where we were staying for the next week. The view from the bus was absolutely breathtaking. I have never seen such lush and green areas around me. Everyone was walking. There were bota bota’s everywhere (African taxis that are like mopeds.) We were driving on the other side of the road. The air was hot and thick. The dirt was the dark clay red. The smells were very different. Police men were carrying huge rifles. People were selling stuff everywhere out of markets. Kids were walking around without adults with them. Goats, goats, and more goats….everywhere you looked. Children were yelling, “Muzungo” (white person) every 10 seconds. Butchery’s were outside with flies swarming them. I saw very poor conditions. Woman were fetching water and carrying the buckets on their heads. The African people…were just so beautiful. Their dark skin was so beautiful and shiny. Their eyes so dark with a tint of yellow around them. Their teeth were perfectly straight and the whitest you have ever seen. They were simply just beautiful.  

Lord, thank you for the most amazing experience of my entire life. This does not even begin to describe what I just felt and experienced. We pulled up to Canaan’s after our bus ride, the children were running towards the bus, banging on it, reaching their hands in, and screaming for us. These children were screaming to see me…little ole me. Someone who is so little compared to our great and Almighty God who is over all. I immediately was so joyful I could barely stand it. I couldn’t help but tear up. It took everything in me to hold myself together and not ball my eyes out. It was finally my turn to get off the bus. I was anticipating this moment so much. These precious children were surrounding me so much that I couldn’t even take a step onto the next step down. Kids were reaching for my hands, touching my white skin, and loving all over me. I have never seen or felt any kind of emotion like this. I felt as if I did not have enough hands or enough love to spread around to them. I wanted more than anything in the world to scoop each of them off their feet and love them just as Christ has done for us.

I immediately met Helen, Martha, and Dorcus when I stepped off the Canaan’s bus. Helen is 11, Dorcus is 6, and Martha is 8. We sang songs and they showed me around their place. They have dogs, cows, and chickens that run around everywhere. Helen and Martha taught me a new song about having joy for Jesus.

I was so humbled today because Helen who literally has nothing, told me she would pray for me every day when I left and that she would miss me so much. She calls me “Rebecca” or “Auntie Rebecca,” and it is so beautiful the way she says it. Oh how I long to hear my name being called that way every day of my life. Helen has 4 brothers, 1 of which is at Canaan’s. Marvin is 4 and he is the most precious child I have ever met. We instantly became very close and made a special bond. He sat on my lap as we took silly pictures and he played with his toy car. His giggle and smile makes my heart melt and could light up a room.

After playing with the children and getting to know them, Canaan’s served us dinner. Mama Rebecca is Pastor Isaac’s wife who serves us our meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Pastor Isaac is in charge of Canaan’s Children’s home. For dinner, we had the best fruit I have ever had in my life. The fruit was watermelon, pineapple, and mango. We also ate rice, beans, chicken, and chapita’s (similar to a tortilla with butter.) It was very good especially after all of our plane meals we had been having! After we ate, we went to the guest home at Canaan’s where we stayed in our bunk beds. I stayed in the top bunk and every night clamped my mosquito net shut tight. It took us a while to get used to the time adjustment especially when everyone in our girls room had to go pee so bad we were going to wet our pants at random times of the night. The first night was rough for sleeping. All I could do was wake up and see vivid images of their faces. Clear pictures and dreams that came the days to come…

After not even a full day in Africa, I felt as if I was in another “home.” Everyone was so welcoming to us. The people are just so beautiful on the inside and out. They love God with everything in them and would literally die for him. They rely on him in every aspect of their life throughout every day. They are not perfect by any means but they are a perfect example of how we are supposed to walk with the Lord everyday and find all of our worth in him. They are so humbling and loving and serving. They are the most joy filled people I have ever met…especially when they don’t have anything…Anything meaning any of the materialistic possessions we think (in America) that make us happy. God is their pure joy and provider every day. I pray that God would fix my eyes only on him every day and that I would look to him and him only every day for my entire being.

"Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like you have loved me
Break my heart for what is yours
Everything I am for your kingdom's cause
As I walk from earth into eternity"

On the way to AFRICA!

April 25, 2012-On the way out of the country for the first time, to Africa I go...

I am a child of God. I am so privileged just to be able to speak these words. I am honored that God would want to adopt a sinner like me into his family. I am honored to be chosen to spread his word amongst other nations. I am in total awe of how faithful he is to me every day. I am overjoyed by how much my Heavenly Father loves me.

I am so blessed beyond belief. As I sit on this 13 ½ hour flight to Ethiopia (then more flights to Uganda), I think back to all the amazing ways you have provided for me to go on this trip. I cannot believe it…I am finally on my way to Africa!! The place I have always dreamed of. Thank you Lord for opening up this amazing opportunity for me to grow by trusting you, and to serve you and your precious children. I remember the day you spoke to me in my EDRD class and told me to check out the Visiting Orphans website. IT seems like yesterday when my parents gave me the “ok” to sign up for this mission trip. Forgive me Lord, for not trusting you always to provide for my trip. I have had doubts about going and doubts about financial issues. But you promised me that you would send me, and you of course, are always faithful. You did more than just provide the funds to go. You prepared my heart along with so many other blessings. Thank you for the amazing support, generosity, and love of my family and friends. Thank you for everyone’s prayers for me and my team members. Thank you for providing an abundance of donations for me to bring to those who need it. Thank you for the extra money to help their economy. Thank you for preparing my heart for this trip though your word, prayer, devotional, peoples love and encouragement, and Katie Davis’ book, “Kisses from Katie.” I truly thank you for all that you have blessed me with.

This morning, Brittany and I boarded our plane and left Columbia, SC very early. We boarded our plane from Columbia to DC at 6 am. It took us an hour before that to get our bags under 50 lbs each. Each team member was allowed 2, 50 lb suitcases. Most of us filled ½ of a bag with our clothes and the other 1 ½ with all donations for the children. Brittany and I had quite a struggle to get our suitcases down to the right weight. Our prayers were answered. Thankfully, God won that battle and we were able to take everything with us for the orphans who awaited our arrival. We arrived in DC at 7:07 am-Fast flight! We met up with our group, ate breakfast, and all tried to learn each other’s names. There were 23 people total on our team so it took a little while to get to know each other. We took off from DC to Ethiopia, Africa (straight flight) around 11:20 am. As I write, it is 6:00 pm our time and 1:00 am in Africa. We have a long rest of our flight ahead of us but I’m about to get a lot of sleep.

I cannot wait to be in Africa. I can’t wait to smell the air, see the Ugandan red dirt, and be in the midst of so many of God’s precious children. It makes me think of how I once was an orphan but our dear Father adopted me into his family. Thank you Jesus for saving a wretch like me, who is so undeserving. The moment I’m looking forward to the most is stepping off the bus into a place full of God’s children tugging on me.

Father, I pray that you would give me your love to love your children. I pray that I would learn on you and show these people your truth with boldness. I pray that you would fill me up with your Spirit so I am only alive because of you in me. My heart beats fast at the sound of Africa. I can barely stand it because I am so anxious to be there now. I pray that this would not be a onetime thing but would change me forever and I would get the chance to go back. My heart screams with joy as I see these children on the plane and think about how I am going to get to hold them, love, nurture, feed, bathe, play, and most of all, be a light in a world of darkness. I can’t wait to show them our Savior’s love. I pray that they devil would not come anywhere near me. I pray that you would protect my heart, mind, and soul against all evil. I pray that I would use these precious gifts you have given met to glorify you in all I do.

Mood change-Funny story…. Moral: Learn to laugh at the small things:

I went to the bathroom 2 times on the airplane before I could figure out how in the world to wash my hands. I mean I never knew something could be so complicated! I literally pushed every button in those tiny bathrooms that I could and eventually gave up. I settled by hand sanitizer that I had to dig out of the bottom of my book bag which by the way…was stuffed with baby wipes from my suitcases that I couldn’t fit. Well, Brittany informed me that you just put your hands under the sink and then the water comes on. I tried this out for myself…Sure enough, It does work! Wow! What century am I living in? I mean I guess I never thought that planes would be so tech savvy!

Important Scripture I read before entering Africa

Ephesians 6:10-18

2 Corinthians 10:1-6

2 Kings 6

Numbers 22:22-35

Ephesians 2:11

1 John 3:18

 I prayed all of these prayers but especially 1 John 3:18: “Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” I pray this scripture for Africa. I pray God, that all my actions would show how alive you are in me. I pray that I would learn to serve you because your truth and to teach others as well. This is our purpose in life.

Isaiah 55:8-9-My thoughts and ways are nothing of you because you are so perfect. You are so much higher, bigger, and more powerful that I give you credit for. I pray that you would help me to think and do things the way Jesus did.

The journal entry above was the very first journal entry in my new journal. I wrote in this a bunch on my long plane ride to Africa. As I type my blog, please know that my thoughts and prayers on this page are very real. I am in no way, shape, or form in any position to give myself credit for the things I was able to see and do in Africa. Everything….and I mean everything was because of the Lord. Please know as I type this that I am just as much a sinner as everyone around me. I strive everyday to follow the Lord but I still sin. Thank goodness God sent Jesus to die for my sins! I thank him for saving me and forgiving me when I did not have to do anything but accept him. I have a few more journal entries from the plane ride before I get to the really good stories and incredible works of God from my Africa trip. I tried to document as much of every detail as I could. Thank yall for being patient with me through my adjusting and wanting to hear about my experience. I am thrilled that people want to read to see how God is using me and can use each of you in His own way as well.

To Him Who Paid it All,

Becca J

Official Blogger Status

Hey Blogger World! Yay! This is my first blog post ever! I want to start off by giving all credit from my blog to my Precious Heavenly Father. He put this on my heart to start a blog. He gave me the idea of what to call it. He gave my blog title meaning. He has taught me so much that I desire to share with others. He challenged me to blog about my experiences from Africa. He has blessed me beyond belief. He has blessed me with a future husband that seeks Him. My Savior, He is my Everything.
He has chosen me to go out and be bold and proclaim his name. So here goes nothing....

Meaning Behind My Title (The ABC's Of Life)
A.B.C. is the title of my blog for many reasons. The number one reason stands for Adopted.By.Christ. This explains how my precious Lord and Savior has adopted me in his family when I am so undeserving. This adoption was out of everlasting love and grace that He pours out onto me every day. The verse that reflects the meaning is Galatians 4:4-7. "But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir."

The second reason for my ABC title is marriage that is in my near future. It stands for Adam.Becca.(soon to be) Curtis. Adam is my amazing and godly fiance. He is my highschool sweetheart and love of my life. We will be getting married June 1, 2013. We are so excited for what the Lord has in store for us during the next year of our engagement. We are thrilled to be getting married! I hope that this blog will reflect how much Adam and I love the Lord and strive to put Christ as the center of our relationship everyday. The verse that describes this theme is Song of Solomon 3:4. "I have found the one whom my soul loves."
The third reason for my title of ABC is because of my passion for teaching children. The Lord has blessed me with a desire and love for all His precious little ones. I am currently studying Early Childhood Education at the University of South Carolina where I want to further my career to one day teach. God has blessed me with this amazing talent and I want to use this to further his name. I am so blesed that the Lord has given me these talents and I get to use them to serve his children. The verses that describe this theme are Matthew 10:8: "Freely you have received, freely give." and 1 Peter 4:10: "Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms."
The fourth reason for ABC is for my love of Africa. This stands for Africa. Beautiful. Creation. After my first mission trip and first time out of the country, I went to Uganda and Ethiopia for 2 weeks. God totally wrecked my heart and taught me so much in such a short amount of time. My heart will always and forever be with the precious orphans with whom I was able to show God's love to. I hope so badly to return one day very soon. The joy the Lord showed me there is the most wonderful experience where the Lord is so present. I pray that my blog would reflect how powerful our God really is and how he is totally in control of our lives. I want my posts about Africa to only proclaim his name and his name only. Please know that this blog cannot even begin to describe acurately the experiences I had there because I am still having trouble putting it into words. But, I must try my best because this is what the Lord has called me to do. The two verses I have used for this theme are James 1:27: "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." and Isaiah 61.

Well the reasons above explain the name for my ABC title! I hope to start blogging soon about my experiences from Africa and then updates on my life now with wedding planning, work, etc. And if anyone was wondering...As I was finishing my last sentence, my watch alarm went off. My watch goes off every night at 11:55 pm because the precious little ones in Africa set it on accident. Although its late, I can't bring myself to turn it off b/c it's such a sweet little reminder. Every night I hear it I say a prayer for those on the other side of the world...
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. I hope that God can use this blog in many ways.

xoxo,
Becca :)