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!!