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"
