Letter(s) of Hope - Part 2

Part of being a missionary is struggling with how to help people. This is especially hard for people who naturally love to help people. It is hard to see all the people struggling and in need and not be able to do something about it. The need is so great and my available resources are so little. 

In addition to their physical needs, there is an even greater need that must be met. Not only do people need food, shelter, and clothing...they also need something even greater. 

They need Jesus!!

 

 The bottom line is that being here has been overwhelming at times. I have sometimes found myself numb to the reality of what my eyes and heart were seeing. I began to feel like there was nothing I could do for them, so I just stopped thinking about it. I know that sounds awful, but that is the reality of being surrounded by it constantly. There were ALWAYS days and moments when I couldn't escape it. Moments where I couldn't help but give whatever I had on me to those sweet, dirty faces that relentlessly said "Madam...Madam...Madam"  The realization is that meeting that temporary need is the least of the issue.

They still needed Jesus!!

 

So you just pray that God will awaken them to their need for Him. You rest in the power of His pursuit and know that if He wants them...He will make a way.

However, God has allowed me to do more than that for one family. He has allowed me to invest in them and share Christ with them. It has been such an awesome opportunity to love them and be Jesus to them. While Berthine (the mom) claims to know Jesus, I am not sure how deep that knowledge is. 

As I mentioned in the first post, the language barrier makes communication so difficult. So I began to write letter to Berthine in hopes of connecting with her and ultimately pointing her to Jesus. I wrote my first letter to her and have had the blessing of getting to know this sweet family. They are struggling. They are poor...very poor. Circumstances in their lives are very hard. 

I found out they are actually a family of six. 4 daughters and the mom and dad. Her name is Berthine. She is beautiful and loves her girls. She works hard to put food on the table and keep them in school. Her husband has no job and her income is so low. She makes about 8 US Dollars a week. Yes..that is $32 dollars a month. Her kids have school fees that could equal around $12 dollars a month. They live in half of a tiny house and pay around $6-$8 dollars a month for it. That sounds so cheap...but it is so hard for them most months. They have 5 mouths to feed (the youngest is under a year and get her nutrients from her mommy :) ). They have ratty clothes and no running water. No toilet...no bedrooms...no fridge. They all sleep on a twin size bunk bed.  I could go on...but I think you understand. 

They are poor. 

 

That house I talked about....is no longer going to be a place for them to live soon. They got word from the landlord that the house was sold, and they would have to vacate as soon as the new owner took over. They have no where to go. In addition to this family, there are about 2 or 3 other families crammed into the other half of the house.  So there will be about 4 families without a house. 

I believe with all my heart that they were here outside my gate for a purpose. An eternal purpose. In one of my letters I asked her if she owned a Bible. She did not. She now has the Word of God in her own language. I marked several places to read and challenged her to read it daily. 

She has very little education. Somewhere between 3rd to 5th grade she was unable to attend school anymore. Her parents were poor as well and just couldn't afford it. So she just got married. The cycle continues. She has 4 children to put through school and it is a struggle just to pay the fees. If they don't pay the fees...they don't go to school. If they don't go to school...the cycle continues. The job that Berthine has is to clean a lady's house and wash her clothes. She also takes care of her yard and takes her garbage out. All of that for $8 dollars a week. She is unable to find another job because she has no education. The cycle. So apart from the desire for them to all know Christ. I want to make sure these girls get a good education. I want them to break the cycle. 

So I have exactly 7 days left to love on them and see them everyday. I have 7 days to figure out how I am going to make sure they have enough money to keep them in school. It is hard...so hard. They have such an overwhelming need and all that is in me wants to meet them all. I can buy them land and build them a house similar to what they have now for around $7,000. So little when compared to the states. However, I don't have $7,000 and won't be here to see that it is built. I want to make sure they have school fees but have no way of knowing how to make sure of that. I will be across the world from them. 

So I am praying that God will give wisdom and work out the details. I am praying that above all of these earthly possessions that they need....they will know and love the God who created them. I am praying that they will seek him for all their needs. I am praying for their marriage as it appears it is struggling. And I am asking you to pray with me! 

It is not just chance that this tiny village house is in the middle of a big house community. It is obvious it is out of place and the new owners are likely going to put a large house where this small house sits. I believe this tiny house and this precious family were there because God has big plans for them. I believe the purpose this house was "out of place" was so that I could really SEE them! Those babies have been a joy to see everyday. I have been able to see a look of fear across May's (their 3 year old) when I played with the,...to a huge smile and excitement when I interact with them. It makes my heart burst every time! 

Well...I think this post is long enough. :) Thank you once again for all the prayers and support for me while I am here. The next time I write will likely be as I prepare to leave. It is so crazy to think it is already time to go home. I am SOOOOO excited to see everyone...but part of my heart will be here in Mada. The life of a missionary is a hard one...but also the most rewarding one. So thankful God chose me to carry out this task on foreign soil. He is good!! Always good!!

See you soon :) 

Love Loves! <3 br="">

 

 

Ministry Update

I am so sorry it has taken me so long to write a new update! Things have been so busy and we have just been exhausted most days. We have now started to slow down a bit and begin preparing to leave. It is crazy to think we will be gone in exactly two weeks. In 14 days I will be packing the last of my things into my bags to head back to my home Country. While American is my "home" a piece of my heart will always be in Africa. I have had the amazing privilege to become friends with some great people here in Madagascar. I can't believe I have to leave them soon. However, I am so incredibly happy to see those I love so dearly on the other side of the world. What a bittersweet feeling. 

As I am preparing to leave and begin thinking about my transition back to "normal" life....I begin to feel a small bit of anxiety. While I am so completely happy to see everyone...I still have worries and fears about what it will be like. I don't like the unknown...I don't like not knowing what it is going to be like. I hear people tell me that it is reverse culture shock and that it will take adjusting. There are all kinds of fears and what ifs that Satan loves to put in my head. But thankfully I have people in my life who constantly show me that I am in the hands of a God who will be with me every step. I am reminded as I type this of my first culture shock experience. I blogged about it here. I remember how God taught me to fully rely on Him and stop trusting in my ever failing self. I have a feeling...if I am ready and listening...He has something He wants me to learn from the other end of this culture shock thing. Such a humbling experience when God points out the constant need for Him! I am thankful He chooses to work in someone like me. 

Well...as I said..I planned to update everyone on our (Ashley and I's) ongoing ministry here in Mada. We are down to our last three sessions and will be done with our last on on May 23rd. It has been such a unique opportunity. In our short time here we have seen and been apart of so many different settings. We have had the great opportunity to go to some villages and share God's truth. I think those were our favorite ones. We also were able to go to many churches and reaffirm what so many of them knew...but struggle with. And we were able to go to many schools and universities. I must say those were probably our most challenging. Most of them were unbelievers and behaved as such. But we were always encouraged and reminded that God's truth was going forth...and most of the time...to hearts that were in great need of hearing it. I think I gave our total in one of my last updates when we were about halfway into our time here. It has been incredible to see how much more we have been able to do since then. We have now done 39 sessions, spoken to 2,414 young people, and had 1,674 commit. Not only did all these young people hear what God says about abstinence...they also heard the Gospel....which is the most important thing!! 

I am humbled and in awe that God would choose me to do such a task. I am thankful for this opportunity and look forward to the next step. Even though I will be in the States...my mission is just beginning. I can't wait to get back and tell everyone I see what a great God I live for!! 

For those wanting an update on the letter story...stay tuned!! I have been able to write a few letters back and forth and am praying for wisdom in how to best show Jesus to them. Please pray with me about that! The mom has said that she is a believer, but I am not sure to what extent. I am giving her a Bible as they don't have one. I will give more details soon...but for now just pray for them with me!! Thank you so much!!

Please pray for Ashley and I as we prepare to say goodbyes and hellos in a few weeks. We will leave here on May 28th and be in Johannesburg for a few days before heading home on the 31st and landing on the 1st. 

Thank you again for all your prayers and support!! It means the world to me!!

A Letter of Hope

As I stepped off the plane in Madagascar, I had a great expectation of sharing the Gospel with so many people. I was eager and ready to go. However, I was met with may challenges, and quickly realized it wasn't going to be that easy. The first few days here I was so anxious to begin learning the language so I could communicate with people. As we began our language studies I began to see how difficult it was going to be. You see, apparently it takes longer than two weeks to learn Malagasy. Who would have thought? :) So I began to get comfortable in the fact that I was going to have to be content with sharing the gospel in our presentations. We would share the gospel with easily 100 kids every week...sometime many more!! There was still that nagging in my heart that I could do more. 

Most of you probably remember the family I introduced to y'all shortly after I arrived here. I will never forget seeing them for the first time. I was so excited at the fact that there were little kids right outside my gate. We soon found out there were about three families living in that small hut. I had a big desire to share the gospel with them!! As soon as I had the chance I bought her a Malagasy Bible. As the days went by I began to see how difficult that would be. I could in no way communicate with her. I would leave our house and wave and say hello...everyday. All the while, my heart was saying..."She needs to hear about Jesus". I would just tell myself...There is no way I can tell her. And the Bible I bought her just sat on my bedside table.

It wasn't until a friend asked in an email if I had been able to share the gospel with them that I was faced with reality. I wanted so badly to tell her YES!! But I couldn't. The reality was..I had been here almost 3 months and hadn't shared the gospel with her at all. I had only given her kids suckers and played with them...smiled and waved hello and goodbye. I had already thought that before I left I would write her a letter. I would explain to her that I had wanted to talk to her but couldn't. Then it hit me!

I could write her a letter now and have it translated and share the gospel with her!! So that is what I did! I wrote her a letter...told her all the amazing things God has done in my life!! I had my friend translate it and I gave it to her. I also gave her a tract in Malagasy. She held the letter of hope in her hands!!

 I prayed as I wrote it...I prayed as I put it in the envelope...I prayed as I handed it to her and walked away. Perhaps for the first time, she will read the words that can give her more hope than anything in this world. She will read the gospel. The powerful, life-changing, heart penetrating gospel!!

So I am asking you to pray with me!! Pray for her and her husband!! Pray for the families that live with them!! Pray that Christ would invade that little hut!! It is my prayer and passion!!

I gave her extra paper an explained that she can write back if she has questions or anything!! So please pray God will work in her life and she will want to know more!!

I am excited and humbled at the work that God is going to do!! After all "..He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think..." ( Eph. 3:20)

Thank y'all for supporting me and uplifting me!! It means so much!! I will post a ministry update soon!! We have been bust with sessions!! :) God is so good!! 

Love Loves, Dani

The Cost...The Joy

 ^"So He said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life.”

Luke 18:29-30

This past weekend Ashley and I had to opportunity to be apart of the meeting of missionaries here. It was such a great time of fellowship!! I met so many new people who are serving God and making Him known where they serve. There were not only all the missionaries in Mada but also from another island and some from Mainland Africa! 

During the meeting each team had an opportunity to give an update on their ministry. Ashley and I shared about how our True Love Waits was going. Btw...we have shared the TLW message with about 1,125 young people and about 897 of them have committed to staying pure until marriage. We have had 17 sessions and have about 18 more booked with several more expressing interest. Glory to God!! 

As each team shared...I found myself just absorbing all they were saying. There were times of great joy...rejoicing over all that God was doing. There were also time of great cost. The things that were given up...the weddings missed...the family and friends half way across the world....babies born...deaths. Sickness...setbacks...pain. Tears of joy and tears of heartache. Sitting there hearing all these stories made me feel like I was on a roller coaster. I felt God's call on my life confirmed over and over again and yet also felt the fear of what that meant. I want so desperately to be the Hands and Feet of Jesus! I want to tell everyone who doesn't know about The Jesus!! I want them to know My God!! At the same time...reality hit me smack in the face. I saw firsthand the cost of doing just that. I felt scared and inadequate. I was reminded of God's grace and saw it poured out on their lives. I know without a doubt that God will equip me for what He has called me to do. I know  He will give grace. I know all the right things in my head...but sometimes my heart forgets. And I need to be reminded. 

He will not leave me abandoned. He will not forget me. He WILL sustain me!

A Missionaries life is one filled with the greatest of joys this life can offer. It is also filled with some of the hardest sacrifices this world has to offer. 

After the stories of how hard it was at times. They were ALWAYS followed by a story of God's grace. He ALWAYS gives grace!!

I was reminded of this verse by my dear friend as I was sharing with her what was on my heart and mind. 

^"So He said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life.”

Luke 18:29-30

It was a much needed reminder. The impact of the Gospel going forth is far greater than the sacrifice it costs to do it. It will always require sacrifice. But how could we not rejoice to sacrifice for the ONE who sacrificed His life for us!! 

And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ isLord, to the glory of God the Father.

Phil. 2:8-11

Such a great reminder!! 

We are gearing up to have a busy month. We have more sessions booked in the next 6 weeks than we have had the whole time we have been here. We are excited to continue to share what God has laid on our hearts. We are also continuing to host our Ladies Bible Study in our home every week!!

Prayer Request:

-Pray for Ashley and I! Pray for our health and perseverance as we desire to finish strong!!

-Pray for the ones who we will be teaching! That hearts and ears would be open to what God has for them to hear!

-Pray for our Bible study and the girls we are discipling! Pray we would seek every opportunity to pour into their life!!

-Pray for all the missionaries around the world! Pray the sense God's grace and feel His presence!!

Thank you to everyone who is praying for me and supporting me! It means more than you know!!!

Love Loves!! :)

8 Sessions, A Radio Recording, and A Bible Study

Well...Since my last update we have had eight more TLW sessions. We have spoken at 2 different Universities with 3 sessions at one and two at the other. We have spoken to our biggest crowd yet at over 400 youth and we have also had a few village teachings. We also did a small session with a girls Cell Group (small group).

The Universities were a lot different than  the other sessions we have had. They were a lot older and more serious lol. It was great though!! They had a lot of questions and were grateful we came. They have asked us to come back and share something else with them. They are just hungry to hear more. It is a Christian University but there were a lot of Muslims there. So please pray we are able to reach them when we go back!! God is able!!

The other University was the big one here in Tana. We spoke to a great bunch there too! They also want us to come back and teach something else. It is awesome to see God at work in these people!!

The large youth group was awesome!! They were fun and lively and just had a good heart!! There were about 400 or more youth there and about 350 of them committed!! That is great!!

We have also spoken at a few villages!! Those are always different than the city sessions. They are more remote and the live differently. The average girl gets married at 13 or 14. Rape is prevalent and sex is common for such young kids. This message is so important for them!! 

We also did a small session at a girls Cell group. It's like a small Bible Study. There were several girl and they were so nice!! We had a good time!!

This message is so needed here in Madagascar. They haven't heard this concept taught much. They don't know anything else. They don't know that God has a bigger plan for them. For most they have never heard this message at all. Even the churches don't really teach it. It is so humbling that God has brought me here to teach this message to these precious young people. 

We also did a session that was recorded to be aired on the radio. I am not sure when it will air but it is my understanding that it will be broadcast all over the island. How cool is that?? I am going to get a copy of the broadcast!! :)

One of the University students couldn't believe that Americans were coming to tell them about purity. He thought that everyone in America had sex all the time. That's what they think of America. The media and news portray that kind of message to the rest of the world. The sad thing is...he isn't far from the truth. We are headed that way rather quickly. Oh that our Nation would wake up and realize the impact we could have on the world...in a good way. It has been a great reminder that even America needs to be reminded of the truths in the Scripture. God has given me a new sense of urgency to share with my Country what God's Word says about Purity. Not sure what that looks like yet...but I am determined!! 

We have also started a Bible Study in our home with several Malagasy girls. It has been such a blessing!! The girls are so sweet and I am going to miss them when I leave!! I look forward to every week with them!! 

Well we are gearing up for our IOI Meeting starting tomorrow (Wed)!! We will be able to meet all the M's in Madagascar and surrounding Islands!! I can't wait!! It will be refreshing time to see how God is working all over the Island!! 

We also had a great Easter!! We had a great Church service then had a Cookout at one of the M's house!! It was fun to get together with our Tana family!! :) 

Sorry there are no pics with this post...I will post some next update!! :)

Prayer Request:

Continue to pray for our sessions as we have about 6 weeks or so left of teaching.

Pray for the follow up sessions...that we would know what and how to share to them!

Please pray for our continued good health!

Please also pray for the people of Madagascar. That they would know there is more to life!! That they would know Jesus is their answer...not other people!

Praises:

We have had three Bible Studies so far in our home. We meet weekly and are so thankful for these girls!!

We have had such incredible opportunities to share God's truth with the young people of Madagascar!

We have many more sessions yet to do!!

Thank y'all so much for your prayers and support!!

Love Loves!!

"Delight yourself also in the Lord...

...And He will give you the desires of your heart." Ps. 37:4

This verse is quite popular and used a lot. However, most of the time it is used it is referring to the second half of the verse. We tend to cling more to the "giving us our hearts desire" part. As humans we like to get what we want. Most of the time we feel entitled to whatever it is we want. So we see this verse and think...God is going to give me whatever my heart desires. So we begin praying for whatever it is we want. Most of the time...at least for me...it is a expectant prayer. I am praying expecting to get whatever I am asking for...after all..He says He will give it to me. We fail to really comprehend the first part of the verse. "Delight yourself in the Lord". If we fully understood that phrase...we wouldn't be so concerned with the second half of the verse. The beautiful thing is that God wants us to have desires...He gives us desires. When we truly delight in Him...He molds and shapes our desires to be about Him. So naturally He wants to grant us those desires. What a beautiful picture of who He is!! It's all about His glory!! We delight in Him...He gives us desires that glorify Him..and fulfills those desires. He ultimate motive is His glory!! And the greatest thing is that we get to be apart of it. We get to be apart of God glorifying God!! How incredible is that??

As I pursue Christ more and more I constantly find my desires changing. Some desires just fade away...while others become less of a priority. There is so much on my heart right now. So much I want to do and be apart of. So many dreams and desires. I just want them to be desires that God wants to use to glorify Himself with. My first and foremost desire is to live a life fully devoted to God. To fully surrender to all He has planned! I want to be His vessel!! So I as I follow Him and seek Him I see what I wanted for my life change. For the longest time all i wanted to do with my life was be a wife and mommy. I longed for God to bring me my husband and to start a family. I wanted the normal American life. I wanted the cute house and cute kids...cute husband too of course. :) I wanted to live a simple, normal life. I couldn't wait for the day when I began that journey. I dreamed of it...prayed for it...longed for it. But like I said...when you delight in the Lord...He begins to change your desires. So a couple of years ago God began changing my heart. As I sought Him He began telling me that while that may happen one day...it wasn't happening when I thought or wanted. So here I sit...still dreaming that dream and longing for it...but seeing God give me new dreams and desires. 

I have all these desires to make a difference. I just want to make a difference...even if it's just one person at a time. I want to be apart of all God is doing. I want to be so delighted in Him that I want His desires to be my desires!! I love people and love helping people! I have dreams to tell people who have never heard about Jesus that He loves them and wants a relationship with them!! I have a dream to start an orphanage in Africa!! I have dream to help the poor and show them the love of Jesus!! As I seek and delight in the Lord...He continues to mold and shape these desires to what He wants for my life!! I am so thankful He guides me!! There is such a peace when you just let God show you what to do and where to go!! What a loving and gracious Father!! 

Just wanted to share what was on my heart tonight!! :)

Love Loves!!

Rainforest Adventure!!

I am going to attempt to put in words the great time I had in the Rainforest last week. It was so great!! It is one thing to hear God working somewhere...but to actually go see it with your eyes is another story. I will give a little recap of what we did during our week with The Norton's in the rainforest. 

After a 9+ hour drive we made it to Ifanadiana. It was such a drastic difference from the busy streets of Tana to the quite small town of Ifanadiana. We settled at the house and spent some time getting to know the missionaries there we were going to be staying with that week. They were so sweet and had the cutest, sweetest kids!! I was excited to get my kid fix! :) 

We got up early the next morning to hike to the village we would stay the night in. Let me just say here...I have never really hiked before. I wasn't sure what to expect and was a little nervous. I told everyone up front that I was a clumsy person and would likely fall at some point on this hike. Well...I did not disappoint...I fell a total of at least 4 times. Thankfully it only resulted in a couple skinned knees and some bruises..nothing serious!!

So once we arrived at the village our schedule was to teach TLW to the students in the school there. However, in normal African fashion...they were taking a test and were not ready yet. So we decided we would go to the home of the first believer in the village. This experience was beyond refreshing. We hiked another good bit and finally arrived at Looloo's house. She was a gracious hostess and we were welcomed with open arms. As we sat in her hut I noticed two Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes up on a shelf. Of course that made me smile! :) She has 5 kids and the three youngest were there with her. They were unbelievably cute!! They stole my heart instantly and I hated to leave them. We played with them for a while and ate lunch with them. LooLoo was the first believer in this village. After she came to know Christ her husband did as well. Now there are several more who have trusted Christ as their Savior!! I am so thankful for the missionaries who continually pour out their lives into these precious people!!

Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes :)

This is Tsiki...Cutie!!

Mbola...sweet girl!!

Little Sureally :)

The three siblings :)

Looloo and two of her kids :)

Their home!!

So after we visited with Looloo and her precious family we hiked back down to where the school was. They were now ready for us to teach TLW! So we shared with them what it means to stay pure and also shared the Gospel with them! We had 4 out of about 20 commit. Compared to our other numbers...that may seem low. But considering where we were...it was a blessing!! One of the young men that committed had just been baptized the week before!! How awesome is that!?!?

The school in the village :)

After we spoke to the children in the village we set up our tent and rested for a little while. While we were teaching the missionary (Tim) had hiked up another trail with some of the locals. They were trying to hunt down these pheasant type birds that the locals have been trying to kill. They were successful in killing a bird...however...on the way back to the village...Tim fell and hurt his ankle. He said he heard it pop...it was so swollen by the time he got back to the village. We weren't quite sure how we were going to get back to the house considering it was a long and narrow trail. We decided he would see how he would feel in the morning. So we ate dinner then got some sleep. When morning came...his foot was really bad. The locals insisted on carrying him out on a chair contraption they made.  It was quite scary to see them carrying him down this trail on top of the shoulders in a chair with two poles. But...Praise the Lord...we made it back down!! :)

The next day we got up bright and early to teach at a high school not far from the house. We had about 67 students. It was great! I will mention...that when we got there we noticed a student sweeping up these little black things off the floor. As we walked in we smelled the aroma of urine...only to hear bats in the ceiling. As I was standing waiting for us to begin, I looked up.....and there they were...bats! I could see them!! I had to totally do mind over matter so I wouldn't freak out!! lol!! Out of those 67 students about 42 committed!! We feel most of them were really sincere and genuine!!

We had the opportunity to go back and teach two more times at that school that day. Three different groups in all!! The second group was about 61 students and 42 of them committed as well! The third group was around 35 students and all 35 committed!! It was a great experience and I feel God is working among those people!!

We rested Friday morning and started the drive back around lunch time. We made it to Antsirabe and stayed the night there! It was a gorgeous hotel and we were in a little bit of culture shock...lol!! It was nice!! We finished the rest of our journey on Saturday!! 

Thank y'all SO much for all the prayers!! They mean so much to me!!

Please continue to pray for these people who have committed!! Pray that they seek after God and follow Him!! Pray that if they have questions they will know where to go and who to ask!!

I will update again about this weekend and week soon!!

Love Love Loves!!

Prayer Requests!!

Hello Everyone!!!

I have some prayer requests for y'all!!

1.) Please pray for us as we visit and minister to a village tomorrow. We are excited for this opportunity

and are praying the Lord speaks through us! We are teaching the young kids a Bible story as well as

the youth the True Love Waits. Please pray their hearts will be open and the hear what God is saying to them!!

2.) On Sunday we are teaching at another Church. We have attended this church several times and love the people there. We are excited at this opportunity. Please, once again, pray for open hearts!!

3.) We leave Monday morning to travel 9 hours to a rainforest. We will be teaching 4 different times there. On Tuesday we will be hiking to a village and teaching and ministering to the people there. We will stay the night in tents (Oh boy!!) and hiking back the next morning. We will then teach to a school with about 50 kids. The next day we will teach two times to a total of 300 kids!! WOW!! We are excited!! We will be traveling back half way on Friday afternoon and the rest on Saturday afternoon. Please pray for safe travels as these roads are not the greatest. :) Also pray for open hearts!!

4.) A personal prayer request is that I stay humble. I want to always be aware that it is God speaking through me and not myself. We teach the same material over and over again and it is easy to think we can do it. When we begin to think we got it..we fail to humble ourselves before God. I want to stay humble. 

5.) Another personal prayer request is for me to stay focused on what God has before me. I tend to be a future thinker. I want to stay present here and want to be ALL here. I want my joy to come from Jesus!! I want to recognize His will in my life and live in it!! 

6.) One last thing I want to ask you to lift up is a couple new ministries we are beginning. On Wednesdays we will be starting an English club at the University here. We are using English as a way to talk about the Lord. The university prohibits Bible lesson or clubs. So as we are teaching them English we will be using Scripture and Bible stories. We are also starting a Bible study with some Malagasy girls. We had our first meeting Thursday and it went great! We are praying God continues to grow it! We also ask you pray that we would be able to mentor/disciple these girls!! 

THANK Y'ALL SO MUCH FOR THE PRAYERS!!!

I seriously would not be where I am if it were not for your prayers and support!!

So thank y'all so much!!

I hope to update again soon!! 

Love Loves!!

Wait on the Lord

Waiting....what a foreign concept to us humans....well Americans really. One thing I have noticed here in Africa is that they don't mind waiting. They take their time with everything and when they get there...they get there. :)

We have become so rushed with everything that waiting for anything becomes so difficult. It is especially hard when you like to plan things...or when decisions are needing to be made, and you don't know what to do. 

Waiting on the Lord is especially hard for me sometimes. I know all the right answers in my head. However, sometimes my heart fails to listen. I need to be reminded that the Lord is in control. There are so many accounts in Scripture where we are instructed to wait. 

Psalms 25:5 Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.

Psalms 27:14 Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.

Psalms 37:7a Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him:

Psalms 130:5 I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.

Psalms 62:5 My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.

Psalms 39:7 “And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You."

Isaiah 40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. 

I am going to honest. I do not like waiting. I like to plan everything out...I like to know what is going on. There are times I get a "hint" of what I think God is doing, and I somehow think I can handle things from there. I take that hint and run with it. I began planning everything out. So finally I have a plan. That's the problem... I have the plan. So I am learning. I am learning to stop trying to take control of everything. I am learning to allow God to full work His plan for me. While it is so difficult at times relinquish that control it is so freeing once I do. Afterall...I can't control my future...only God controls my future. The testimonies of complete trust and surrender from these verses are so humbling. The promises given in the last verse are more than we deserve. While we are waiting for Him to work an amazing plan in our life, our strength will be renewed. Not just ordinary strength...the strength to fly like eagles, run and not be weary, and walk and not be faint. How incredibly undeserving is that?? 

I am so thankful that He is in control and not me. I am thankful He continues to show me how to be more like Him. What an amazing God we serve!!

Here is a quote by John Piper that I liked.

To wait on God means to pause and soberly consider our own inadequacy and the Lord’s all-sufficiency, and to seek counsel and help from the Lord, and to hope in Him (Psm. 33:20-22; Isa. 8:17)… The folly of not waiting for God is that we forfeit the blessing of having God work for us. The evil of not waiting on God is that we oppose God’s will to exalt Himself in mercy.- John Piper

In other news...we had two session this weekend. They both went very well!! Praising the Lord for all the opportunities that we have here! We are also going to do a radio program so please be praying for that! It will be March 23rd. Another big prayer request is that we are heading to a rain forest from March 11th (this monday) till March 16th. On the 12th we will be hiking to a village and staying the night. Please pray for us as we minister to the people here. We are excited about this opportunity and can't wait to share how it goes!! 

Thank you so much for your love, prayers, and support. It means so much to me!!!

Love, Loves!

One Month, A Remote Village, and the Sovereignty of God

Well, Saturday was one month that I've been here in Madagascar. It really is crazy to think I've been here a month. There are times I feel as new to this city as the first day. There are other times I feel like I've been here or years. This month has been filled with unexpected moments, joy beyond measure, and grace....lots of God's grace. I started this journey with a mental image of what the next 4 months of my life would look like. While some of those images proved to be true...others were far from what the reality is.  God has shown me time and time again that He is in complete control. I have learned so many times just to trust HIM! There have been times where the culture was more than I could bear. When I literally wanted to stay in my house all day and not go anywhere. We can now look back and get a good laugh at those moments. For a while it seemed every time we left our house...something happened to us. We have had moments of uncontrollable laughter mixed with those "why am I here" moments. In every second of those days I knew one thing was for certain. God was with me...and He had a purpose for me in Madagascar. It has been so sweet to full rely on Him and no one else. I have been reading through the Old Testament and am just struck with how many times it says "I am the Lord your God" He wants us to ALWAYS know and reflect on who He is. Not only is He THE Lord...the rest says He is MY God!! What a precious thought!! 

We had the amazing opportunity to leave the city and travel around 3 hours to a remote village. It was the most beautiful ride. Such a contrast to the city we live in. There were wide open fields, mountains, creeks, and Cows...lol. It was just so pretty. We arrived to the village with a huge greeting party. 

There were so many precious kids waiting anxiously for our arrival!! I was elated to see their sweet faces. If you know me...you know how much I love lil ones!! We didn't get to spend much time with the smaller ones because we only had a limited of time there. We got right to teaching our lessons to the older kids. They seem to receive it well. It was a bit different than teaching in the city, but I think they understood everything. There is an organization called  The Grain of Wheat. They sponsor this village and have equipped ladies to teach there. Because of what they have done...the kids are able to go to school. It was very humbling to see how they live. They have no plumbing, no electricity. They are very poor...yet they are so happy and so full of joy. They blessed my heart!!

I was reminded of a very important truth this week. I learned that what I have planned...is not always what God has planned. On Monday Ashley and I were so excited that we were going to visit with some children. We had heard about this organization I mentioned earlier, called the Grain of Wheat. We thought it was a "children's home" type place. (A lot of details can get lost in the language barrier) We asked if we could visit the place and they graciously said yes! Well....as we began our way to the place we find out it isn't quite what we expected. We were just going to visit the headquarters. Which means...the office...which also means no children. :( So we were a little sad but thought it would still be cool to see how they run things. We found out that they have weekly meetings for the kids in the area. They come and hear Bible stories and have snacks and play games and such. While we were there the secretary went to talk to the school next to the office. Before we knew it...we were sitting in the principals office scheduling TLW for their school. We totally didn't plan to meet with anyone to plan anything. It just happened. He ended up booking 3 fridays!! Then we walk back over to another man waiting to speak with us. He had heard that we taught the True Love Waits and felt that God had brought him there for a purpose. He went on to say he had an organization of young people who had a desire to change Mada! He wanted us to come speak to them. So right there in the director's office we had a meeting with him. He booked us for this Saturday!! God just showed me loud and clear....He is in control. Not me!! So thankful!! If we would have known it was just the offices...we may not would have asked to go. God is in every detail!!!

Well, I guess this is long enough!! :) 

Love Loves!! 

A Pure Heart!

A Pure Heart

That's what we desire the youth of Madagascar to pursue!! We want so strongly for them to seek to honor God with their lives. We want them to be a generation that rises up and makes an impact on Madagascar!! We want them to live a life of purity!!

One thing that God has reminded me of is that He has a people! He is always at work and He is making Himself known! He doesn't need me to do His work....He just chooses to use me!! I am not coming here to start a work. He is always at work. I am just here to be used in the work He is already doing!!We have the privilege to work as a team of 4. Ashley and I, and 2 Malagasy people. The two Malagasy people not only translate for us, but they also teach with us. It has been such a joy to get to know them and serve with them! They are so godly and have such a passion to make Christ known here. They have lived out the example of what they teach. They encourage us and sharpen us every time we are with them!! We are blessed to be able to serve with them!!

Sunday was our first teaching sessions at a CEIM church here in Tana. CEIM is a Malagasy denomination that is pretty much Baptist. We had such a great time at that church. The people were so welcoming and friendly. We we unsure of what to expect from the youth and prepared for whatever God had in store. We gave our presentation, which took a couple hours. They were so attentive and respectful. They were bold and genuine. We had a time for Q&A at the end, and they asked heartfelt questions. I could tell they were very sincere. We had a time where we asked them if they wanted to commit to a life of purity. Out of the 60 or 70 that were there...just about all of them committed! It was such a blessing to see them desire to follow God in purity. We encouraged them and prayed over them!! We are going back for a follow-up session in a few weeks to see how they are doing!! 

I am so excited at what God is doing here in Madagascar!! We have been asked to speak in a village and at a Children's Home called Grain of Wheat! I am so excited about these opportunities. We will also be going to the Rainforest in March for 5 days to share with the remote villages there. How exciting to know that God's Word is going forth!! 

Please pray for us as we continue to seek God for wisdom and guidance!! We want to be used in any way He wants to use us!! We want to be humble and give Him all they glory! Please pray for these young people who made this commitment and the ones who will in the future meetings!! Pray that we continue to have many opportunities to share Christ among the Malagasy people!!

I am going to introduce our team!! :) 

Meet the team:

Mirana is a woman from Antsirabe, Madagascar which is about 3 south of Tana (where I am). She also was our language teacher for our first two weeks here. She has a heart for God and is a Missionary here  in Madagascar. She has worked all over the country and is just a great example to me!! I have loved getting to know her!! Please pray for her and she obeys what God calls her to do! She fully rely's on Him for all her support and trust Him completely!! 

Mandimby is a man from here in Tana and He is just great! His dad is the Pastor of a local church that we love to attend!! He often preaches at his dads church and loves to work with the youth! He is such an encouragement to me and such a light here!! He also is very involved in Missions and is passionate about Christ being exalted here!! He has plans to attend Northwestern Seminary in TX Next semester! Please pray for him as he prepares to further his studies!!

Ashley is from North Carolina and attends Southeastern Seminary! She is passionate about missions and has a huge heart! She loves youth and has a desire to reach them for Christ!! She is such a sweet person and is my closest teammate!! After all...we are buddies. :) It has been a joy to serve with her so far, and I know it will continue to be! I am so thankful for the kindred heart we share and our common desire to see Christ exalted!! God has been so good to us!! Please pray for her as she is away from her family! Pray that we would continue to work well together! Pray that we will be a team for His glory!!

Of course you know who I am!! :) Please pray for me as I figure out what God wants me to do when I get back from Mada! Pray that He will open doors and shut doors! Pray that while I am here I can focus on my task at hand! Pray that Christ would continue to humble me and use me!!

Thank you so much for your prayers and support!! I am so blessed and thankful for all of you!! If you have any specific questions or anything feel free to ask in comment below or on facebook. :)

Love Loves!! <3 p="">

Culture shock or God's way of bringing us to the end of ourself??

Deuteronomy 31:6 - "Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you."

How very true those words are! This week I have clung to them. I have reminded myself over and over that my God is there...He is always there! This week has been a time of learning and growing. It's been a week of dependence and trust. It's been a time of weakness and strength.

As I sat on my bed a few nights ago...I began to feel that sense of inadequacy. I began to feel useless and to be honest...I was longing for home. I wanted my comforts back. I wanted my security back. During that time of loneliness and longing, I realized my security was in the wrong place. I realized that I had began to trust in myself and my own strength. I let a guard down and became "confident" in my own abilities instead of totally depending on God. You see...when I came to Madagascar, I set out to learn a lesson of independence and dependence. I wanted to really learn to be independent from people and things and to be fully dependent on God, and all He is for me!! I knew it was going to be hard. I knew it was going to be challenging, but I knew that I desperately needed it. 

In our week of orientation we were "warned" about culture shock. We were told that we would go through these phases where we would feel great and excited about all the new things. We would love the culture and feel so peaceful and great! Then we would probably go through a time where we had culture shock. We would be ready to go home...we would feel overwhelmed with everything. The  newness would fade away and we would face reality. We would realize that 4.5 months is a lot longer than it seems. But we also learned that we would come back up and get settled back in and remember why we were there. 

Like I said...I realized I was right in the middle of the culture shock cycle. However, as I began to pray and seek God, I realized something. It is so much more than a culture shock that we go through during that time. I think it's more Gods way of bring us to the place of total dependence on Him. You see I had become comfortable. I felt somewhat confident in my abilities to get around the city. I felt good about being here. I felt good about what we were going to be doing here. I felt too good...too confident. So God began breaking me down and taking "me" out of the equation. It was all for His purpose...for my good. I was reminded by my sweet friend and mentor that God had a purpose for me here. She reminded me that In my weakness...I am strong...because His strength is made perfect in my weakness!! What a blessing it is to have good..honest people to speak into your life!!

So I sit here tonight...amazed at His grace! I am totally amazed that He cares so much about me. That He wants to use me. That He wants to mold me into who He wants me to be.

Today was our first day speaking about True Love Waits to the youth at a church here in Tana. It went so good and was so encouraging! I plan to blog about it in the next few days. I have been working on this post for a couple days and haven't been able to finish it. :)


Sorry it's so long :) More on the TLW later!!

Love Loves!!

Weekend fun! :)

Just thought I would post a quick update sharing how our weekend went. :) 

We had a great weekend!!

We began by sleeping in...I love sleep!! :) So it was great! We also decided we were going to fast for the day to spend time praying for our mission that we have here and the opportunities that are before us. It was just a sweet time of prayer and reflection on who God is!!

We then took our friend at the dumpster food...we also gave him a tract! We are praying God speaks to him through the truth he now has!! Please pray God stirs his heart!!

I think I mentioned before that we have a family that lives in a house across from ours...it really just a square mud shack. It has been so humbling to see how they live. How joyful they are when they have hardly anything. We decided we were going to try and play and talk with the kids. So I got some crackers we had and some water (the water here is non drinkable...so clean water is hard to get or expensive for them) so we just sat with them. 

There was a 12 year old girl named Rosa

A 3 year old girl named Majon (May for short :) )

And this 6 month old lil guy name Fola (Fula)

They were so precious!!!   I am so excited at the relationships we are going to be able to build with this precious family!! While we were sitting with them the mom came home from the store. She invited us into her home! The small building we thought was their home was even smaller than we knew. There are two families that live in it. It is two houses in one building. So half of the small building was their house. It was about the size of my bedroom in the house I am staying here. 

Their house

 

It was so humbling to see how they live. They were so happy and full of joy and have so little! Material possessions didn't matter to them. I learned so much that day. Things I already knew...but needed to be reminded of. Even here...in Africa...in Madagascar...I am still faced with the human desires for more and better. I am so human. I can be so selfish at times. I am thankful God placed a great reminder right outside the gate to my house that the things of this world are rubbish. One day they will all pass away and all I will have is Jesus...He is enough!! 

He will always be enough.

Even on the days I feel I need more...on the days I lose sight of what my existence is for. 

He will be enough.

I am so thankful for this time God is changing me and growing me. He is so amazing that He would chose to not only use me here in Mada...but change me...to be more like Him! I am humbled!!

I saw trash....he saw food

We have all heard the phrase... "One man's trash is another man's treasure." but what if that were true about you? What if what someone else considered to be garbage...you longed for?? 

I crossed paths with a man who did just that. He longed for my garbage. He treasured it. 

As I turned the corner around a dumpster to put my garbage in it, I noticed something strange. There was a man sitting in the middle of the dumpster. Right in the middle of all the trash. As we put our bags of trash in the dumpster....I saw it....His face! I looked in his eyes. I saw the look of desperation across his face. I saw the remnants of garbage caked on his face. I saw the pile of garbage he was picking through in front of him. I saw him hurry to get our bags after we set them down. I saw him in the dumpster. He was real. He wasn't a statistic...he was a man. 

What we considered garbage....he longed for. 

As I walked away from him the tears flowed from my eyes. I couldn't believe what I just saw. I couldn't forget about him. I sat and thought...what if my next meal depended on the next person to bring their garbage by. What if my bed was the ground under the edge of it. What if the dumpster was my home. What if I smelled so bad that I was covered in flies because I had no where to bathe. What if no one wanted me because I wasn't normal. I thought about this man for days. Ashley (my partner) decided to bring him food and place a tract in it. We did take him food but he was asleep and I'm pretty sure someone else took it from him. We plan to continue to minister to him and share the gospel with him in any way we can. Please pray for him along with us!! 

Also pray that God will awaken your heart to the need for Him all over the world. There is such a great need. Not only physical needs..but more importantly...Spiritual needs! Also I want to challenge you to pray that God would show you just how much He has blessed you with all you have!! 

We met with about 20 pastors and leaders today and scheduled most of our events. God blessed us to be pretty booked up! I am humbled at the fact He would chose me to be used in this place. He is so good! Our first meeting is February 17th. I will try and update more about that later. We finished our language studies this week and we are so grateful for the opportunity to learn some Malagasy. :) 

Thank you so much for your prayers and support for me here in Madagascar!! I feel them everyday!!

More later! Love Loves!!

The need is great...

We often hear the words unengaged and unreached. We hear them but do we really understand what it means. We see statistics and look at numbers and try to ponder what they represent. It's hard. It's hard to really feel the depth of those words until you are face to face with the reality of them. 

When a place is unengaged it not only means there is no one sharing Christ with them, but they have also never heard the gospel. Can you imagine for one second, living your life and never hearing the gospel??? They have never heard the name of Christ uttered from anyone. That should break your heart in two. People often hear of places and never imagine how dark it can be. 

When I came to Madagascar, I came with the mindset of teaching them True Love Waits. I was focused on that and prepared for that. During orientation week we had amazing opportunities to share the gospel with many people. They were moments I will never forget. I have never had experiences like before. As I made my way to my destination of Mada I had a different mindset. While I knew my main purpose for being here was to teach them TLW, I also knew there was a greater need. However, I didn't fully understand that need till I sat at a table in the missionaries house and was given the stats for Madagascar. God is working here...and in great and mighty ways. However, there is still such a need for him, and there is so much darkness. I know God has placed me here for a purpose and I want to be involved in everything He is doing!! Below is a map that shows the specifics of Mada.

As you can see from the Map the dark red are people groups who are unengaged and unreached. Which means that they have never heard the gospel and no one is currently working among them to share it with them. They currently have no knowledge they have a need for a Savior.

The Orange groups indicate the engaged unreached people groups. This means that there is someone working in that area but less then %2 person of the people are evangelical christians. This can mean that in the whole area there may only be one missionary family....or there could be three missionary families. There is still however a great need!!

The grey areas are places where the gospel has taken root, and local people have began to see the need and take action. We praise God for bringing up Malagasy missionaries to share Christ with their country.

Please pray for these places and the people to whom God will send there. Please pray that there will be a great awakening and Christ will be known!! Pray for the families who are already here with a heart and desire to see the Malagasy know Jesus. Pray for the Malagasy people...that they will see their need for Jesus...and run to the Cross!!


Thank you for your support and prayers!! It means so much to me!! Continue to pray for us as we are learning the language!! I will update again when I can!!

Love loves!!

Hello Everyone!!!!

HI!!!

Just thought I would send out a little update to let ya'll know what's going on here in the world of Madagascar!! :) We are still getting settled in and getting everything we need! Today we went to the markets and a few stores and got some things for our house! :) That was fun! We just have to set it all up. We also had a chance to meet with a family that just moved here and is going to be working with us some!! They were so precious!! I am excited to see what God does!!

Today for lunch we ate at an indian restaurant!! Who knew my first time eating Indian food would be in Madagascar! :) On our way there...we were able to see a lot of the city. I am going to post some pics so you can see what we are seeing! :)

We start language school on Monday so please be praying for that!! We are excited to be able to communicate some with people here!! :)

Love Loves!!!

People drying there rice on the sidewalks in the heat!!!!

 Flying into Madagascar!!

 Rice Fields!!