The Miracle of Mason

Friday, we celebrated Robin and Christian's son, Mason's, first birthday!  As if a sweet baby turning one is not enough to celebrate, it was also a time for us to look back as a spiritual family on one of the biggest ways we've seen God's provision and intervention in this last year.  If you are looking for hope, for trust that God is big enough or in control, or if you just want a little look into a major stone of remembrance for us as a house church, take the time to click the picture below and listen to this podcast!

Praise God!  He is Gracious, Powerful, Sovereign and Compassionate.  He cares for those in need and He knows our hearts.

He knows everything inside and out... and He is good.  Isaiah 40.

We Want to See Jesus Lifted High

This is one of our house church's favorite songs... and it is the prayer in my heart right now!  Jesus is so good and faithful and in the midst of watching friends and loved ones transition and trying to transition myself, I can't help but be struck by God's faithfulness and sovereignty.  He is so gracious to let us know Him, and He really is our security!


Tuesday, we had the privilege of hearing from a few of our interns in chapel, and I'm so thankful for their boldness and willingness to share with the OMS community about what God has been teaching them this summer... whether it was His faithfulness, our frailty or His goodness in the midst of crisis, these women had open hearts and I'm so proud of them for their transparency and desire to let God grow and shape their hearts.


Thursday, we went to the Refuge, a local food and clothing shelter where the interns and I have been volunteering this summer.  It was so good!  What an encouragement to see the impact these women have made even in just this short few weeks they've had in Greenwood.  They are so great at jumping in and helping wherever and the staff at the Refuge so appreciates them.


Heather, one of the client's I met during a previous visit, dropped by to pick up some school supplies for her daughter, and I was so thankful to see her.  We talked until the staff turned the lights out on us and then we prayed.  She is a beautiful woman in need of boundaries and security in her life.  Would you pray for wisdom for her and for Jesus to open her heart to Him?  Would you pray for me that God would root me more deeply in His Gospel and that I would know and communicate His character for what it really is and not just what I want it to be?


Our house church has started meeting in a hotel that has become a home to a lot of low-income families that are without a place to live.  It has been a beautiful opportunity to get to know the people there and eat, pray and cry with them and love on their kids.  Sunday, I had the huge blessing of praying and listening while my friend Christian shared the Gospel with a sweet family, Pete, Courtney and Skyla who had just arrived at the hotel a few days ago... and I just found myself wanting to know Jesus more and be equipped more to share who He is.  Would you pray for Pete and Courtney, whom we'll be seeing again tonight?


Throughout this week, I've been thinking about old blogposts and times I've asked you to pray in the last few months for my restlessness and processing how the things God had been teaching me could fit into action here, this week was such a beautiful answer to prayer and so nourishing-- thank you for praying!


Finally, I just want to thank you so much for your prayers for our intern program.  It is only because of Jesus and your prayers that there has been fruit from this program.  Thank you for praying for them-- God is so faithful and good.  It has been hard to say goodbye to them and other dear friends this week, but I know the tears are really just an answer to our prayers for deep community during their time here.


This weekend, I'll be sharing at retreat for high school girls in Bloomington!  Would you pray over their time Friday and Saturday?  Would you pray for me as I prepare for the session I'm leading on Saturday?


We want to see Jesus lifted high!

Unexpected Blessings

I arrived in Mozambique late last night after flying from Burundi- it took 12 hours with all my stops and layovers! I'm really thankful for a safe trip and that I met up with my contact at the airport. I am feeling so cared for by the Lord.

I just feel like God knew in what ways I had been getting tired and that He has been so gracious to give me a break from some things even when I expected this part of the trip to be rougher than Burundi. I really enjoyed being in Burundi-- while things were a lot different than the U.S., I didn't feel overwhelmed by the conditions or like I really needed a break, but I guess God just knew I could use this day of rest and would appreciate these things:

1. After spending all day traveling and being constantly crammed next to lots of people, I had an empty seat next to me during the last three hours of my flight last night.

2. During this last leg of my flight, I overheard the men behind me talking and I turned around and asked them if they were talking about Jesus. Peter and John are pastors from Canada, and they were just overflowing with joy about God. They really encouraged me, and had I not had the empty seat next to me, I couldn't have been turned around talking to them.

3. They stuck around with me until I found my ride at the airport in Maputo. I had emailed my contact in Mozambique on Sunday, asking for any special last minute instructions about the airport, who would be picking me up and for a description of them if I didn't know them. Well, turns out I didn't have internet after this for me to get his reply, so after unsuccessfully trying to track down his number, I found myself flying into Maputo with no clue who I was looking for (not even whether they would be Mozambican or International) and without any contact phone numbers.

So, here's an example of the type of thing you've been praying over in terms of my travel and me meeting up with people. Praise God, Aimee (an OMS missionary, whom I recognized) found me right as Peter, John and I were trying to call OMS or someone in the States.

4. It's already been great to get to know Aimee. She has been such a great hostess and I'm looking forward to learning more about her ministry here!

5. The chance to stay put for a while. I stayed three different places during the five days I was in Burundi, and I will be in this house for all seven days in Mozambique- this is so great!

6. Part of staying put means I can do some laundry. I was really looking forward to the chance to wash some things even though I thought it would need to be by hand. What a nice surprise that there's a washing machine!!! My things are already washed and out on the line.

I could go on and on, but a few other great things are... having a bed to myself, an air conditioner unit in the room (which means, I didn't have to use a mosquito net last night), a bigger & cleaner bathroom, lots and lots of clean water to drink, a CLEAN house opposed to the guest house (translation: dirty hotel) I came from, and an afternoon to myself to rest, do laundry and catch up with you while Aimee's taking a language exam.

These things are all pretty superficial, but I wanted to write about them, because I just feel so unexpectedly blessed with the ability to relax a little more before another busy week of learning and writing!

I'm really excited about the week lined up for me here! You could be praying that God would show me what to share at the CAM school (Christian Academy in Mozambique) Friday. I just learned I'll be speaking at chapel for 15 minutes to grades K-12. I know that's not that long, but I also know it turns out better if God leads me in what to share. I have no clue what I'll do- let alone what would be relevant to such a wide age range.

If only I could hold them all...

(Oh my goodness! I'm so excited this loaded!!! We've had limited internet access and what we have had has been so slow that replying to your blog comments has not even but working, but I am getting them and am so encouraged! Thanks for being such a great team of supporters and friends.)

My heart is so happy and broken at the same time… Happy to have been able to be with these children, broken to be learning more about the depth of their needs each day that I’m here.

My first day in Burundi, I was picked up by four African OMS workers. Boopolo (the Village Church Planting supervisor), Pastor John, Pastor Peter and his wife, Fidelite. We drove for about an hour to visit two village church plants. It was a Thursday, so the churches had called special meetings to meet us.

The picture above was at the first church plant, which is only six weeks old. There were 48 children there, and they sang to us! It was so great! The pastor had special places for us to sit up front facing the congregation of kids. I just wanted to be sitting right in the middle of them, but I knew that the chairs they had set out for us were a gift of honor and that it was important to accept that. It took everything in me to stay put while listening to a few of them cry, only to be comforted or scolded by other small children. Besides the pastors, there were only three women with these kids.

Two of these women had testimonies of healing. The first had intense leg pain that forced her to go to the hospital every six months and kept her from walking more than 1 kilometer at a time. Since Pastor John prayed over her during his visit two weeks ago, she has been healed. Now, she doesn't have pain and can walk more than two kilometers. I found myself processing later that night just how much it must have impacted her life to not be able to walk a mile. Most people here have to walk more than 30 minutes to get water-- and that water isn't even clean. This was a major thing for her, and yet how many people in the U.S. can't walk 2 kilometers just because of their choice not to try?

We visited a second church plant, where about 15 adults had gathered to meet with us. The highlight of that visit for me was to be able to pray for them before we left, because honestly, I found myself asking what do I have to offer? At both churches, I was unexpectedly asked to give greetings and a brief word... I felt like, I know it's true that God is good, but what right do I have to even say that to these people who have experienced so much more suffering than I have? I felt completely challenged to be looking for the "holes in my gospel" and to ask God where I am selling Him short.

At each of these churches, I copied down testimonies and interviewed who I could, but the OMS workers who had brought me kept rushing us to move along. I learned at dinner that their plan had been: see now, talk later... more on that dinner meeting later.

So much to process, so much to be thankful for, so much to learn... I'm glad to have the chance to be here and at least get started!