A year later.....

Hello All,

Yes...it has been SO long since my last post, and SO much has happened in my life since then. I have had the most exciting, craziest, scariest, unpredictable, amazing year ever! I have learned so much this year about who I am and who God is. I have grown more than I thought possible and have been shown where I still need growth. 

My time in Madagascar and the other parts of Africa was incredible. It is still hard to think that I lived there. The 11th will be one year since I stepped foot on a plane and left behind everyone and everything I knew for what was completely out of my comfort zone. I had no idea what to expect and the little I did "know" was really nothing. I began a journey of independence and dependence. That was my goal. I wanted to learn to be independent from people and things and be totally dependent on God. I learned that and so much more. God has and is continuing to show me that He is ALL I need and will EVER need!! Wow....what a relief and peace that thought brings. I no longer have to find and look for things or people and rely on man to bring me what Christ has and will freely give me. I miss Africa....I can't wait for the day I will return. I find myself remembering certain people or memories that I experienced. So many amazing memories!! I was blessed with a good transition back into the states the first several weeks and I am so grateful!!

The rest of my year was unlike any other time in my life. I went to Haiti, had a bizarre "seizure" scare that ended up being nothing what it appeared. God brought me through it and I am amazed at His hand over that situation. After all that, my car blew up and I was left searching for a "new" one. He once again blessed me with a "new to me" vehicle. It has been incredible watching God work out every detail and continuing to show me more of who He is! I would go through it all again just to grow closer to Jesus!! 

I began school and things are going good with that! God is providing and I am thankful!!

So as I look at this new year...I think about what I want to learn, what I want to accomplish. There are many things that seem are going to take place but God's will is always my desire. However, as I sat in church today and Chapel at Ft. Rucker, I was blessed to hear two convicting and encouraging messages. The two major take-aways I got from them was 1. To really take a look at my prayer life and ask myself....am I a person of prayer? My pastor here challenged us to log our prayer time. Write down every time you pray and see if you really are a person of prayer. What a sobering thought. 2. It's time to wake up. This world is not my home and it is quickly fading. I am not promised tomorrow and it's time to stop living for myself and what I can and can not do. I simply want to live for Jesus. 

More than anything, this year, I want to have a deeper hunger for the Word, a more compassionate heart for the lost, a eagerness to share the Gospel, and a purer and deeper love for my Jesus. I want this year to be a year where I grow even more into the person He wants me to be. I look forward to what this year holds and can't wait to see what God does!! 

God is so good!!

Love Loves, Dani :)

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!!