What I Was Made For...

The Dogon

2011-03-09T13:12:00.001-05:00

This little boy was cracking me up with the way he was wearing his sunglasses on top of his cap. When I asked him to smile for me to take his picture, this is what he did.

The Dogon are people who live in a rocky region of Mali, and the desert region of Northern Burkina. If I understand their history correctly, as they came into this region of Mali, they displaced another people group called the Tellam who now live in northern Burkina.

The Tellam lived high in the cliffs in the areas where you see wholes and openings which are natural caves in the rock face. It is amazing to see this, because no one really understands how the Tellam climbed up the cliff face. They are also pygmys (my ancient ancestors). Most people think that they used rope ladders to accend and descend, but the Dogon say that they flew. In fact, the Dogon say that the Tellam still come to visit them in their villages although no one has ever seen them. They come as the wind whenever they make their sacrifices, but they leave just as quickly as they come.

Today, the Dogon use these cave entrances to bury their dead. They told me that when you enter one of these caves there are many rooms inside so many people can be buried in each cave. The ones that are closed, are the ones that they use for burials.

In these 2 pictures, you can see the "modern" Dogon houses built on the face of the rock. In the second picture, you see the Dogon houses below and the Tellam houses above.

The Dogon are also famous for the onions that they grow. It is about the only thing that they can get to grow on the rocks.

They still use traditional practices as well. This is a place for divining the future. When someone has a question, they meet the village elders here and ask for their wisdom and direction about future things. That night, they believe the fox comes and leaves the answer in the sand with his footprints.

The men of the village meet to discuss many matters under the toganaw (I know that I didn't spell that right). They stack their millet on top of the roof of the toganaw to show how traditional their village is. The taller the stack, the more traditional the village.

They live on the edge of the Sahara Desert. I was reminded many times as we drove of the song I sang as a child, "Don't build your house on the sand land....you better build your house upon the rock..." I thought that song seemed to be pretty fitting under the circumstances.

Start of the Sahara Desert

I have put together an album of pictures concerning the Dogon if you'd like to see more. It was altogether an amazing trip and I learned a lot about the people.

Dogon

The Pana People

2011-03-09T08:56:00.003-05:00

The Pana people live along the northern border between Mali and Burkina Faso. They are farmers and fishermen. There are approximately 5,000 Pana who live in Burkina and another 2,800 who live in Mali.

Research had been done in 2006 in Burkina on this group, but recently, a friend and I went there to see what work still needs to be done among them. We found that much had changed since the last researchers were there.

Amazingly, there are now 3 evangelical churches in 3 of the main villages where the Pana live and we found a Pana pastor working to see his own people reached. In fact on the day that we arrived, we interrupted the 2nd day of 3 days of fasting and prayer that the pastors in that region were observing. They were fasting and praying so that God would bless an evangelism effort that they were planning among the Pana people. They have chosen 5 villages to target for their evangelism effort. Several in Mali, and the rest in Burkina.

Please pray with these diligent national workers that the Lord would open the hearts of the Pana and all others who hear the gospel as they proclaim it to them in the weeks, months, and years to come. When we return there again, may we find numerous churches in these villages, not just the 3 we found this time.

Pana

Women's Conference

2010-12-29T10:52:00.001-05:00

One of the ladies who helped cook
during the weekend and her daughter.

In November, I was asked to be a part of a training in Ouagadougou to teach women different ways to share their faith. One of the other missionaries who works with our organization and a Brazilian missionary here worked hard to plan the event. It was a long but very productive weekend. The idea was that each association would send 2 women to attend the event, then these ladies would go back to their associations and plan an event to train the women from each of the churches in their own associations. Events like these are known as Training for Trainers because the nationals actually become the trainers after they have been trained. The point of this type of training is to multiply the work by having numerous trained people, and to train nationals to do the work so that it can continue without us being here.

During the first two days, the ladies learned two different ways to share their faith. The first was a presentation by the Brazilian missionary that used a blank piece of paper. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of this presentation. While sharing the good news, she folded the paper in different ways, then began tearing the paper so that as she finished sharing, the paper had become a cross. It was quite effective.

The second way of sharing that they learned was a color method that uses a beaded bracelet like ones we use in the states. The ladies memorized 5 verses of scripture to share this way. They were also taught that colors can be used in everyday conversation to bridge to the good news. For example, most people here use charcoal to cook their meals. Black on the bracelet signifies sin, so charcoal, because it's black, could be used to start a gospel presentation in the marketplace. The main points of this presentation were to get the ladies to start memorizing scripture to use in sharing, and to share with everyone you come into contact with.

Ladies working on their bracelets.

I finished the weekend with a teaching on how to continue to share with a person who is not yet a Christian but who wants to know more about the Bible and Christ. I taught the ladies to use the Bible chronologically, sharing stories and then asking questions after each story. I also taught them that they could use any story in the Bible to share the gospel and point to Christ. This is also a great way to disciple people so you actually are able to do 2 things at one time. At first, when I presented, the ladies said that the method I was teaching was too difficult for them to do, but when we had practiced it together, they agreed that it was simple enough that anyone could do it.

One of the ladies who gave her testimony.

The ladies seemed to have a wonderful time fellowshipping together, learning, practicing, and worshipping. We will be following up to make sure that they do their trainings all over the country and pray that their faithfulness to train others will result in many decisions to follow Christ. Below, I have included a video of the ladies practicing a song that they performed for the church we attended that Sunday morning.

Senufo Senara

2010-11-05T12:43:00.003-04:00

The Senufo Senara is a people group of 40,000 with approximately 50 Christians. They are located primarily in Southwestern Burkina Faso. Their religion is African traditional religion mixed with Islam. There are some churches located in several of the Senufo villages, however, these churches do not appear to be reaching out to the Senufo people and there are many villages still without a gospel witness. Work needs to be done in evangelism, but also in training and discipling those who are already believers.

Challenges in reaching the Senufo Senara:

Remote villages.
Lack of accessibility during rainy season (May-October) because of unpaved roads.
Lack of resources in their language, although many speak Jula too.

Opportunities in reaching the Senufo Senara:

Discipling and training new believers to reach out to other Senara people.
Evangelizing in areas where many have never heard the gospel before.

Senufo Senara

Click picture to view album

Western Karaboro

2010-11-05T11:39:00.007-04:00

The Western Karaboro is a people group of 16,000 with no known Christians. They live in 16 villages throughout southwestern Burkina Faso. Five of those villages have populations exceeding 1,000. Their language has two dialects, Syer and Tenyer, but most also speak Jula. Their primary religions are Islam and African traditional religion.

Challenges in reaching the Western Karaboro:

The roads are not paved so during rainy season travel is difficult and in some areas impossible.
There are no known gospel resources in their language dialects.
Animism controls the lives of the W. Karaboro so spiritual oppression will be encountered.

Opportunities in reaching the Western Karaboro:

There are Christians among a nearby people group the Eastern Karaboro, however, the dialect differences pose difficulties in communication among the 2 groups. If the Christians among the Eastern Karaboro could be mobilized to reach the Western Karaboro, there is great potential to make a significant evangelistic impact.

Western Karaboro

Click picture to view album

The Crocodiles at Sabou

2010-10-21T03:14:00.003-04:00

In Burkina, there are several places where you can go to visit, pet, set on crocodiles. To me, this doesn't really sound very entertaining, but it does draw tourists. So, we took one of the groups who came recently to visit the crocodiles at Sabou.

In animistic religions, the people believe that spirits inhabit animals, trees, rocks, and many other things, thus those objects become sacred. The lake at Sabou houses around 100 crocodiles of varying sizes and the men who tend to the crocodiles can call them up out of the lake so that the tourists can see them and touch them. Every so often, the villages make sacrifices to the crocodiles (and the spirits) to keep them happy. This keeps the spirits close enough to protect the village, but also far enough away that the villagers haven't brought the wrath of the spirit on their village.

There is always a balance in animism on having a relationship with a god to provide protection, but not having an intimate relationship with a god. Their gods are always distant (in relationship), not close, and always wrathful, never loving or gentle. They live in constant fear of their god, never at peace.

These practices are common throughout West Africa. In Benin, there are villages where pythons are considered holy. They have temples where the pythons live and men who serve the pythons. They let them out at night to feed and they return to the temple to be taken care of. They are considered the protectors of the village, just as the crocodiles are in Burkina. When you visit the python temples in Benin, they place the pythons around your neck to have your pictures taken with them. No thank you! I am glad that we just have crocodiles to deal with here.

Because animisim has such a powerful traditional hold here, these practices often get mixed with other religions. It can be difficult to get people to understand how those traditions are not fruitful and that there is a way that is better. Please pray for strongholds to be broken and for animists to move from the bondage of fear into the peace that comes from trusting in Christ alone.

Engagement Team

2010-09-29T04:11:00.003-04:00

Many of you know that I joined a team called the Engagement Team and often I am asked, "So, what is your job?" I thought it might be good today to explain a bit about what I do now.

A simplified explanation is this--Our job as the Engagement Team is to research the people groups in our 9 country cluster in West Africa (Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Benin, Togo, Niger, Nigeria, N. Cameroon, and S. Chad). We have to know where each of the groups are located, whether they have any missionaries working with them, what their religion is, population, demographics, etc. Basically, we collect as much info about them as possible. In this way, we know which groups of people have yet to hear the gospel and what those groups are like.

The second part of our job is to publicize this information and begin working with churches in America to get them to come and bring the gospel to the people here who have never heard. We also work with national churches here who want to develop and send out their own missionaries.

Our goal in all of this is not just to get churches to come one time, or even churches here to make one trip to a village, but instead, it is to see a church planting movement started among the people groups. This requires years of work and much, much dedication. I always say, "Everything takes longer in Africa."

So, the question is.....are you and your church up for the challenge? Does your church want to make an impact on a people group that has never heard the gospel? Do want to see folks from every people group, nation, family, and tongue surrounding the throne of God? If so, contact me and I'll be happy to help you get started working in our area of the world.

In the next few weeks, I will begin to show different people groups that we have visited recently that have little to no gospel influence. Hopefully, this will put faces with names of groups for you. Even if you can't come, you can pray for these peoples to have the gospel reach them and even from your home, you can make an impact on eternity.

A few of my favorite things....

2010-06-17T04:28:00.005-04:00

So often the news broadcasts in America tell about the wars, famines, diseases and atrocities of Africa. Images on tv screens and newspapers show violence, death, hunger and starvation. People with AIDS and their imaciated bodies, orphans, machine guns, and more. Rarely, if ever, do you see the beauty of Africa displayed across the screen or in the paper. Headlines are generally not positive or encouraging, and travel companies almost never advertise to come and spend a week or two in Africa as a get away.

While these situations are true, I want to display some of the beauty of Africa to you. I hope that you see a small glimpse of what is here to be loved and cherished, and why my heart has fallen in love with this continent. Many people say that once you have come here, Africa gets in your blood. Let me show you why....

Vacation 2010

The Mara

Trip to Bobo-Dioulasso...

2010-05-16T14:50:00.003-04:00

Several people have complained that I keep moving to places that they cannot possibly pronounce. First, Bamako, then Ouagadougou, and now, possibly, Bobo-Dioulasso or Niamey or Cotonou. I guess you can take your pick figuring out which one is more difficult to say.

The purpose of my trip last week was to view the work that the Engagement team is doing in the southwestern part of Burkina Faso. I spent the week with the team leaders, David and Cindy Pope, who were not only wonderful hosts, but also have become wonderful friends. They took the week to show me around Bobo, and much of the surrounding area, introducing me to pastors, pastors wives, villages and explaining much of the work to me.

So far, since moving to Africa last October, I have lived in a city of 2 million people and now a city of 1.5 million. Visiting a city of 500,000 was a refreshing change. I have always enjoyed living in smaller towns and definitely enjoy working in villages. Bobo has a small town feel. Friendly people, fewer roads to learn and navigate, less traffic, and it is much more relaxed than the city. It's streets are tree lined which provides a great deal of shade and greenery. The temperature is about 5 degrees cooler than Ouaga, which makes the climate a bit better. They receive more rainfall so the landscape is pretty lush even in the villages. There are also lots of hills, small ponds, and streams. Overall, I would definitely say that it is an extremely inviting town for lots of reasons.

I have created an album from my trip and posted it on the side of the blog. If you'd like to see more of the town, villages and my trip please enjoy the album. I will be traveling to Niger next week and will post pics of that trip and my experiences there as well. Then, hopefully the week after that, I'll be posting the name of my new home!

Mali Neighborhood (20 photos), by Alice Jenkins

2010-03-23T05:08:00.001-04:00

I'd like to share my Snapfish photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share.
Click here to view photos

Men and Women...Husbands and Wives

2010-02-17T03:20:00.004-05:00

A while back, I had a conversation with my language teacher about the relationship between a husband and wife here. My language teacher also helps me learn about the culture here, and often asks questions about culture in the US. Of course, all of this conversing is done in French, which helps with my language acquisition.

Let me explain a little about the way an African household works, or maybe I should say a Muslim African household. The man takes care of the woman by providing for her physical needs--a place to live, clothes to wear, gives her money to buy the food she will prepare, and if they have children he provides for the children as well. It is the woman's responsibility to raise the children completely. They are to see that the children are educated and disciplined. Most of their time is spent taking care of the house and taking care of the children. The man does not spend time with the children (in general) nor does he get involved in disciplining them unless they are annoying him. It is the man's responsibility, however, to teach the boys how to be a man. This, of course, occurs a little later, as the boy grows up and is becoming a man.

This is also one of the main reasons that women are not formally educated here. The parents believe that because the woman will stay at home and raise the children and clean the house, she has no need to be able to read at all or speak various languages. Most of the women in the market here only speak Bambara because of their lack of education, while the men usually speak 3 languages and sometimes more.

In this particular conversation that I had with my teacher, about how husbands and wives relate to one another here, I learned some very interesting things. My question that started the discussion was, "Why is it ok for husbands to hit their wives here?"

My teacher explained that in African culture, the man takes a wife understanding that it is his responsibility to "train" her to behave appropriately in the home and in society. In general, most men here marry women who are much younger than them. It is not uncommon for a 17 year old girl to be living with, but not married to, a man who is 10+ years older than her. She does this, to be taken care of, but also to be "trained". Mind you, he is not teaching her how to clean the house or prepare food, that should have been done by her mother, but he is teaching her how to relate to him appropriately and how to make him look good in society.

So, if the woman does not do what is appropriate in the house, it is the man's responsibility to "train" her somewhat like a child. Here when children are disciplined, it is done through yelling and hitting. Not spanking...hitting. There is a very big difference between the two things. This idea of hitting for the purpose of "training" is carried over from African culture before Islam, but is condoned/encouraged by Islam in the Koran as well, according to my teacher who is Muslim.

Yesterday, as I taught my Bible study, a women came in who had a black eye. I found out during prayer time that it was her husband who had given it to her. Although, that situation is not common here, at least I haven't seen huge bruising and such, the thinking behind it is acceptable. There are many problems with marriages in the US, even in the church, although different than here, they have the same solution.

Ephesians 5:22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.

25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. (ESV)

My only hope, and the hope of the world

2010-02-16T08:06:00.006-05:00

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith." (Romans 1:16-17)

The past several weeks have been filled with lots of sharing of the gospel, and much disappointment and frustration. It has been difficult at times to not just give up and decide to walk away. Last year, a year ago last month to be exact, I sold my house in America, then my car and many of my earthly possessions and made various moves to come to a place where I knew many had never heard the gospel before. I did all of that because I truly believe that without faith in Christ, the punishment after death will be one of torment and anguish that I cannot begin to fathom, and I want to know that those who have never had the opportunity to believe at least have a chance to hear the good news.

I have become friends with a group of people in a neighborhood near my home. Truly these people have become my family and are very dear to me. One person in particular has always seemed to be very close to accepting Christ, but recently he told me that he cannot follow the Isa (Jesus) way because he would lose all of his family.

Many here eagerly listen to stories about Isa, and love the stories from God's Word. In fact, the people I speak with are always eager to hear more. However, when asked what they think about the Isa way or about Isa, they generally say, "He is a very good teacher, and a wonderful prophet, but really you just choose a path and follow it sincerely and you will be fine." Another woman in her 60's recently told me, "Christianity and Islam are the same. We serve the same God. It is all ok."

Hearing these words and seeing the faces of people that I love turning away has been increasingly painful and at times I have wanted to shake them and make them believe. At other times, I have wanted to throw up my hands, agreeing with the disciples when they said to Jesus, "Who then can be saved?" as the rich young ruler turned away from Christ. Jesus' response was very simple, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Matt. 19:25-26) I have been reminded by the Word, over and over again, that this has nothing to do with me. I cannot change a man's heart; I can't even change my own heart. It is all by grace, from first to last.

Jesus said, "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is of no avail. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe...This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father." (John 6:63-65) Jesus said of the Spirit, "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." (John 3:8)

At times, I want to control the Spirit, tell Him where to go, when to move, how to respond, but He cannot be controlled by me (which is a good thing by the way) and you never know when He might move in a mighty way. I do not know how this all works, it is a great mystery, but one thing is sure, I fully believe and stake my life on the fact that the gospel of Christ is the power of God for the salvation of all who believe. Without that, there is no hope.

One more scripture that I have been reminded of vividly recently is, "Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him." (Ps. 126:5-6) As you pray for the people here, pray for the work of the Spirit, and for diligence in sowing, trusting that God will do all He says He will do.

My carpenter

2009-12-19T03:48:00.011-05:00

Well, I call him "my" carpenter, but he's not really mine, he just makes all my stuff. The struggle to learn French continues, but weeks ago I needed to have a couple of tables made for my kitchen--shelves and counter top workspace really--so I decided to try a place I had seen on the side of the road. I knew that it would be difficult without a picture and with little French vocabulary in woodworking to describe in a foreign language exactly what I wanted. I prayed that the Lord would bring someone into my path who could help get me what I needed and He did exactly that.

After about 30 minutes of explaining and many gestures, I left. We had settled on a price and he said he understood, but I laughed the entire way home wondering what I would actually end up with when I returned to pick up my items. A day and a half later, when he called to tell me my tables were ready, I thought, "This could be a really great story. No matter what these look like, I can use them somewhere in the house." To my astonishment, when I pulled up to his workshop, these were sitting out front...

If I could have taken a picture of what was in my mind....this was it, exactly. So, thus began what has become for me, a beautiful relationship.

Since that time, my carpenter has made several other projects for me and they have all been great. My carpenter works with hand tools, no electric tools or sanders at all. Just regular, good old-fashioned hand tools. I've done some woodwork in the past and I know that electric tools make the job more efficient, more accurate and so much easier. To do good woodwork, takes time, patience and lots of hard work. My carpenter is always sweating when I see him, not because of the heat, but because of the energy he is expending. He always has a measuring tool with him as well--checking, rechecking and writing things down so he won't forget. And, no matter what I say, there is always something a little extra, some little detail of beauty that my carpenter adds to my pieces. Kinda nice to see, his own personal touch.

This morning, as I was reading about the death and resurrection of C, I started thinking about his life before ministry, as a carpenter. I know that His carpentry workshop must have been similar to that of my carpenter--no power tools, just good hand tools. The smell of lumber and sawdust, and the sound of sawing and hammering. And I wondered, almost pictured, C measuring his lumber and remeasuring, then cutting and constructing perfectly made furniture with his own little touch of beauty and creativity added to each piece to make it His own. I wondered about the sweat across His brow in the heat of the Israel (similar to the heat here) and His pride when He finished His work and another piece of furniture was done. What patience He must have learned; the value of hard work and the joy of finishing a project to witness the final results. All of these things are a picture to me of what He accomplished on the cross and what He is accomplishing in each of His children.

Scripture says, "looking to J, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of G." When C finished that work, although it was more difficult than I could ever imagine and I know I will never understand it fully, He sat down at the right hand of the Father, with great joy. That work was greater than any that had been done and any that ever will be done. It was done with great patience, lots of sweat and tears, and even, I think, some measuring (Mk 14:36). It was not an easy task, but it was one that He did thinking about what the outcome would be--perfect masterpieces with His own touch added to each one.

As I reflect on all this today, in preparation for the celebration of His birth, I do so in a culture dominated by Isl_m. A religion where G is not personal at all...in fact to think you can approach him at all is almost considered blasphemy. There is no thought of transformation by His working in you, but a constant striving to be good enough, so that at one's death, one will be allowed to enter paradise. I am thankful that I know the true G, the One who worked on our behalf to secure for us a way to Himself and works in us to make us pleasing to Himself. A perfect masterpiece, with His own touch of beauty added to each piece for a display of His magnificent glory. Remember Him this season!

Thanksgiving....almost

2009-11-19T06:27:00.004-05:00

With Thanksgiving just right around the corner, I started to think about what I am thankful for so far here in Mali. So, I thought I might write this week about some of my favorite things and I also wanted to write about some things that have happened to me or that I see here that I think are funny and you might too.

My tire started going flat last week so I drove to a place where I know they patch tires to get it fixed. This "place" that I am talking about is just a little stand on the side of the road with some tires laying next to it and some guys either sitting around talking or fixing tires. The funny part of this experience was that in order for them to fix the flat, I had to tell them where to put the jack, put it together, and show them how to use it.

Some of you might know that I have had problems getting my thyroid medication here (still working on that problem). I was worried about that so the second week I was here I went to the Pharmacist to see what I could get locally. After talking with the Pharmacist, he said, "Let me go and look something up on the computer. I'll be back in a few minutes." Completely reasonable so we sat down and waited for him to return. In a few minutes, he was back with papers in hand that he had printed off the internet. He handed the papers to me and explained, "If you ever need to know if two medications are the same, all you have to do is Google (pronounced Goo-gell) them." Then he proceeded to explain how to use Google to me. This was very sweet and he was being so nice and helpful that I never told him that I knew how to use Google already. It was only when we got in the vehicle that I started laughing. Now, at any opportunity possible, we reference that something can be looked up on Goo-gell.

I love the fact that I can get almost anything that I need at a store within walking distance from my home. A few weeks ago, Judy and I needed to buy minutes for our phones. We had forgotten, but as we stopped at a stop sign a man thrust some at our car window. We were so thankful that we were reminded to buy the cards and we didn't even have to leave our vehicle to do it. You can also order fruit and veggies from you car at the side of the road too. It gives a whole new meaning to "fast food".

I love that I can wear sandals year round. I love that the temperature is not in the 30's, or even the 40's or 50's. I get cold in the 60's so the nights are perfect right now. I am dreading April and May though when the temps get super high and stay there, but I'm thankful for not having goosebumps and static electricity in my hair.

I love that I have national friends who call me part of their family and miss me when I don't come to visit them. And I'm thankful for M friends who come to check on me when I'm sick and make me soup and stay with me to make sure that I'm ok.

I love the example of nationals who use and reuse everything that they can and are creative in doing it. For nationals who are thankful for food, and who are helpful in language learning and forgiving when I make cultural mistakes. Who spend hours helping and are not frustrated by my slowness in catching on.

I love the children who flock to me on the street wherever I go and their curious smiles as they greet me and shake my hand. I am thankful for the kindness of the people I have met here and burdened for them to know the reason why I have come. I am thankful that the language is coming slowly but surely in hopes that one day soon, I will be able to proclaim fully and completely the message I was sent to bear.

I am thankful for a family who was willing to let me go and able to put the desire of our Father above the desires of their hearts. I am thankful for technology that has allowed me to see my nephew without his two front teeth and my neice's pumpkin that she decorated with a picture of Africa for Halloween. That is amazing to me and makes this much easier. That same technology allows me to stay connected with the lives of friends who have encouraged me more than they know.

But most importantly, this year, I am thankful for the One who sent me and the message that He gave me to bring. I hope that I will be able to proclaim Him the way He deserves to be proclaimed so that those here might be thankful that I came.

Hairdo and Friends

2009-11-03T11:36:00.009-05:00

So, many of you asked me what I was going to do about getting my hair cut here in Mali. In fact, there were many of you who were worried about that for me. So, I wanted to show you what I had done to my hair yesterday. The market lady that I have been meeting with was so excited about doing my hair that I finally agreed to let her do it. She had been working on it for about an hour when one of her friends came by...we were on the street, by the way, when she was doing this. Her friend said a few things to her in Bambara and then took over working on my hair. They took everything out and started over again. So, 5 hours later this is what I looked like....

Is that not crazy??!!!! I have never had my hair braided before (like this) and wasn't really sure what it would look like, but that's actually pretty scary. I agreed to get it done for the sake of the good news and I would have kept it that way for a while just to appease, had my guard not looked so scared when I got home. So, you know where I am going...my hair did not look that way today. Sorry to all those who are disappointed in me. At least I tried it.

I also wanted you to see the group of kids (it always seems to grow) who greet me outside of my house and walk with me for a portion of the way to wherever I am going each day. They were so excited when I took their pictures today. I need to find a place where I can print them out so that they can have some of these. They always want to carry my things for me and if anyone gets left out of carrying something they cry. So usually I have to pull things out of bags to make sure that each child has a little something to carry. Oh, and I have taught them my name so that when they see me, instead of screaming out white person, they now scream out my name. I like that much better!

Learning French and New Friends

2009-10-30T18:44:00.004-04:00

Although I have had 3 years of French in high school and 1 year of French in college, that was about 20 years ago, somewhere in the recesses of my mind, and I have studied Swahili since then. Learning a language in class and actually speaking a language are two totally different things. I knew that it would be difficult to pick up my French again, but had been encouraged by many people that it would come back. Well, it is coming back, little by little thankfully, but I have so far to go. My main goal in learning French is to be able to communicate the good news to those I come into contact with, not an easy task. The trouble with learning French in Bamako is that even though this is the capital city, not many people here speak French so finding people to practice with, which is necessary to learn to speak the language, is difficult to do.

This week, Judy M. who knows about my struggle, met a lady in the market who spoke French. She told her about me and asked her if it would be possible for her to come to our house so that I could take her home and practice with her. She agreed. I have met with her 3 times now and will go again in the morning to her home to speak with her and the others who live in her compound.

When we met her, we had no idea that this woman lives in the same compound as a man who teaches English at a high school and his conversational English is excellent. Each time I go, we schedule our time so that the English teacher is there. We sit in the courtyard and all speak French with each other. There are usually 4 of us who sit together and chat. Myself, the teacher, the market lady and a truck driver from Burkina Faso. An interesting combination, but I have grown in a very short time to love them.

The conversations vary and each of us have a different level of French, which makes it interesting. I have been pr*ying that I would have the opportunity to tell my new friends more about why I am here and tonight I had that opportunity. As we were talking, the English teacher asked what I had done before coming here. My reply was that I was an English teacher and a teller of stories. He asked, "Stories about what?" My reply, "Stories from the B*bl*, about G*d and J*s*s." The conversation went from there. I found out that my friend has a B*bl* in French, and had gone to ch*rch often growing up with some believing friends. His favorite part of the B*bl* is the book of John.

Suddenly he began quoting the first verse of the first chapter of John and I began translating in English. In the beginning, was the Word, and the Word was with G and the W is G. Amazing! We talked about what that meant and then he said, there is a passage that no one has been able to explain to me and maybe you can. (Does this sound like any other stories from G's word? Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch?) So, he turned to the end of John 15 and asked, "Who is this talking about?" In this passage, J is telling His followers that the HS reveals the truth about G and J and that He will send the HS to the world after He leaves. Try explaining the trinity in two languages to a non-believing, folk M*sl*m. Not an easy task.

The teacher and I talked for a good while about many things and he finished by saying, "I am not a M*usl*m and I'm not a C, but of the two books (the K*r**n and the B*bl*) I'd have to say that the B makes more sense to me and I believe it."

As I was leaving tonight, after they fed me my first Malian meal, they asked me why I was 34 and not married. I am going in the morning to answer that question. In Mali, well in African society, being my age and not married makes no sense at all. This provides great opportunity for G to display His glory and grace in an amazing way.

Please pr*y for these wonderful people that I am meeting with, that the Father would open their eyes to see Him as King and worthy of w*rsh*p. Pr*y that the HS that the teacher and I spoke about, would come to him and the others and reveal to them the truth about the Father and about His S*n.

Meeting with followers of the Way

2009-10-14T10:04:00.005-04:00

I went to my first meeting on Sunday morning where there was a gathering of followers of the Way. The men sat on the left, women and children on the right. We started with pryr, much pryr and singing of a variety of songs. Sometimes we stood but often we sat even while singing. The meeting was in 2 languages, French and Bambara. Since there were many American guests, and a visiting speaker from Niger, the message was translated into English. We were thankful to be able to gain some understanding from the meeting which lasted about 2 1/2 hours.

The building we met in was concrete with open windows and doors so that air could circulate well. There were ceiling fans to help give a breeze (it was only in the mid-90's), and wooden benches for us to sit on. The speakers and musicians used microphones with a sound system turned up very loud. The noise attracted children on the street who came and stood at the door to watch, listen and wave at the strange looking visitors (that would be us).

We were greeted warmly by all who attended and welcomed to come again. It's amazing to know that our Father has called people to Himself from all people groups, tribes, tongues and nations and it is even more amazing to see and experience it firsthand. Just a small part of what we will experience around the throne one day.

A new home

2009-10-10T10:20:00.015-04:00

I left Louisville about 3:30 on Wed, Oct 7 and arrived in Mali sometime after 8 pm on Thurs, Oct 8. We (a group of 5 of us traveling together from the States) each went separate directions getting settled into our new homes. For one in our group it's his temporary home, he'll be traveling on Monday to his new home in a village about 3 hours from here.

It has been a whirlwind since our arrival. Friday morning the 4 of us staying in Bamako began our orientation. We started with basic knowledge about our supervisors and Bamako, then went out to a grocery store and to a birthday party that evening where we were able to meet other folks working in our company.

Saturday morning we started out by going to the market to buy some veggies and fruit and practing French and Bambara greetings. Sights, smells, and sounds found at African markets cannot be replicated. It is a world of dirt floors, open sky, tables set one next to the other, colorful clothing, small children running, fruits, veggies, and other items lying everywhere just waiting to be bought by someone.

Greetings are the primary part of market life and are heard on every side..."How is your morning?" "How is your family?" "How is your day?" From the greetings, friendships blossom. Friendships that hopefully will result in the sharing of the good news, the most important news that we can share.

I am thankful to be settling in and getting to know more about my new home.

Training--Week #4

2009-08-24T20:11:00.004-04:00

This past week was full of fun things. Last weekend we went without electricity so that we could go ahead and begin to prepare for what is sure to be a regular occurrence in each of our lives. Third world countries are notorious for shutting down power at random and unannounced times to conserve electricity because they cannot produce enough for everyone. We got very used to reading, showering and using the bathroom by flashlight. That's just how the week started.

We have been having these lunches called "cultural meals". Everyone is required to eat them because there purpose is to teach us to be gracious recipients of what is put in front of us. That truly is a great lesson. We had our 3rd cultural meal this week. They really have all been wonderful and easy to eat, except for one of them--beet soup. I can honestly say that meal was not my favorite, but I ate it and was thankful for it.

We also started our shots this week. Many of us have to have multiple shots to go to our locations so they spread out giving them to us in multiple clinics. The first of those was this week. I got 3 shots, not so bad. This week I will get 4 more and then at the final clinic I think I'll get 3 more. I'd rather be safe than sorry. Glad to report that we had no fatalities and no one passed out, although I did see a little girl get away from her parents and make a run for the door. She almost made it out, but they caught her. Needless to say, this is a pretty traumatic time for kids around here.

On Saturday night at 3:30 am our fire alarm went off so our building, which consists of myself, my roommate, and 3 other families quickly evacuated and waited to see what was going on. After a half hour, security determined it was an electrical malfunction and let us go back in. They said that they would disconnect it and get it fixed. On Sunday afternoon because we were all exhausted from the lack of sleep the night before, we all laid down to take naps. Of course, the alarm went off again, and yet again, so we all pretty well gave up. Then Sunday night, hurricane Bill hit and woke us all up. Needless to say, our building was very tired today during class. I'm hoping that we all have an uneventful night's sleep tonight.

On a more serious note, this past week's training was probably the most convicting of our entire time here. We spent 2 days learning about the persecuted church and hearing stories about the suffering of our brothers and sisters around the world, how to partner with nationals, how to start churches and how to NOT harm the work being done. I wish that I could pour out to you all that the Lord is teaching me through that training, but honestly it will probably take me months to process through what I heard just in those 2 days. I will say, that in a room of 250 people, after the first session finished you could hear a pin drop, and it took a very long time for anyone to move.

Once again, I am praying that the Lord would guard my steps so that I would not harm the work He wants to accomplish, that I would not be unwise in what I do, and that He would put in my mouth the words that He would have me to declare among the africans I will be working with. I pray that He will accomplish all that He wants to accomplish through me.

Training--Week #3

2009-08-14T16:29:00.002-04:00

First of all let me say that I can't believe I am already finished with week three of training. It has gone by very quickly in lots of ways. I am almost halfway finished. Thank goodness!

This week we have focused primarily on worldviews where we will be going and church planting methods. We looked at the model in scripture first and then looked at how that model can be fleshed out in different ways around the world in a variety of settings using many different tools. I am amazed at how God is working among people groups all over the world using so many different talents and gifts. The diversity of the way that He works is amazing.

At the same time, thinking about learning someone's worldview and trying to share the gospel with them in a way that is meaningful to them culturally and is Biblically grounded in their language is overwhelming to comprehend. I have been left thinking at various times this week, "Lord, this is an impossible task. How can I do this well and not mess everything up?"

The answer that I got back was, "It is an impossible task...for you. It is not impossible for me." I was reminded of the story of the rich young ruler in Matt 19:16-30. Salvation is an impossible task for any of us, but it is not an impossible task for God. He alone is able to bring life to the sinners heart and change him. The task seems very overwhelming, and in fact, it is overwhelming, but I cling to the fact that God is able and that is where I take my stand.

How comforting it is to know that it's not up to me. Although I need to do my best to be culturally relevant and to present the gospel as clearly as I can in the people's heart language, ultimately I rest in the fact that God has bought for Himself people from every tribe, every language, and every nation on earth and one day we will all worship HIM around the throne. Thank you God that YOU have done it!

Training--Week #2

2009-08-09T20:08:00.007-04:00

This past week we focused mainly on spiritual warfare and the battle that is around us. I know that is something that I forget, and need to be reminded of daily. Ephesians 6:12 says, "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm." (ESV)

At the end of the week, the emphasis was on sexual purity both for married couples and singles. In adjusting to a different culture, most people do not realize how difficult it is to stay focused and to not give in to our enemies attacks. It, I'm sure, was not by coincidence that we had both of these trainings this week. The President of our organization said in his talk earlier this week that in the time that he has been president (I think since 1993) he has sat through 96 board meetings and at each of those meetings they have had to let a worker go because of moral failure of some sort. At times, multiple workers. Please let that sink in.

The battle that we face as believers to stand firm in purity is a real one and it is one that must be won for the sake of the gospel of Christ. Our enemy takes no greater joy than to cause us to fall in this area because the gospel is displayed so dramatically in this area. Please pray for workers not just on foreign fields, but for pastors and leaders all over America to remain pure in their message and in their conduct. So that, the gospel of Christ will be honored and not dishonored among those who do not know Christ. This one issue alone should bring us to our knees and keep us there.

Training--Week #1

2009-08-01T10:44:00.004-04:00

I arrived at my training on Tuesday of this week and will be here until the end of September. So far, so good. I'll have to admit having come to training before, I was not really excited about having to come again. However, it has been good to get to meet other folks going to the same city and country as me, as well as people going all over Africa and the world. This is the 4th largest training group sent out in the history of our organization--approximately 350 total including kids.

Yesterday, we had a spiritual retreat and then a time of sharing afterwards. There were many convicting and encouraging things that were said, but the most compelling thing shared was by a lady of Asian descent who talked about what had happened to her during the time she was waiting for her house to sell. She said that 3 times she fasted during the year of waiting. The 3rd time she fasted, the Lord asked her, "Are you willing to die for me?" Her answer was, "I love you Lord so yes." Yesterday, she said, "Now I don't know if I will have to die, but I think in that day, the Lord will take care of it."

Those statements put fully into perspective what all of us are facing. We do not know what is around the bend, but we trust, that in that day, the Lord will take care of it. We are given the grace to handle what is before us on the day that we need it.

I pray that this time here will be a time of surrender and preparation to all that is before and I'm glad to be here.

Visiting Friends

2009-06-19T15:31:00.003-04:00

For the past 2 months one thing and one thing alone has consumed my mind...packing. You can probably tell that since every post except for the first one has included something about that. It's frustrating because during this time what I really want to be doing is not packing, but spending time with friends and family and making the most of the time that I have left nearby.

So, last Thursday, I took a break and traveled to Louisville to visit folks I hadn't seen in a while and wanted to make sure I saw before I left the country. It was a funfilled, jampacked 4 days and well worth it. I felt encouraged and refreshed as I returned home and hope the folks I got to visit felt encouraged by the visit to. Here is just a quick recap of what the Lord is doing in the lives of folks who are living and serving in Louisville.

Annie and Eli Brainard who are expecting a child within the next month, were gracious enough to let me stay with them. Eli even made breakfast for me 2 days--pancakes, eggs, muffins, and bacon. Let me just say, it was pretty good. They are wonderful friends and it was great to spend some time with them. Annie was in charge of graduation at the school that she works at and is 8 months pregnant right now. Talk about a trooper to have a visitor during that crazy time!

I got to have breakfast with Matt, Megan and Simms McDougal and see their new church and hear about the work God is doing in their community. Simms is not a baby anymore, he is a little boy! It was a great joy to get to see them and spend time with them. They are sweet servants and I appreciate all they do.

Maryem Smith and I had supper together and got caught up on everything going on with one another. It was a joy to hear about God's plan for her and Nathan's life and how that vision is coming together for them.

Drew, Amanda, and baby Calvin Krutza had to spend lots of time with me. We ate several meals together and got to hang out one afternoon. I worshipped with them on Sunday morning and got to see Drew lead worship and Amanda be a mom. I got to see Calvin go to his first worship service, which he slept through by the way. I think we have become fast friends! It's always great to see the Lord use people in the areas that He has called them to and it was a great blessing to watch them as a family serving the Lord together.

I got to see Mary Ellen Moody who is one of my favorite all time people in the world and I've traveled a lot so I think that's saying a lot. It is always a great joy to talk with Mary Ellen, her passion for the Lord is evident in all that she does and her servant heart is a great challenge to me. I am so thankful for her!

I had breakfast with Whitney York who also shares a passion for the unreached of West Africa with me and has traveled twice to work with the Bambara the people group our church adopted. She is always a ball of energy and joy. I am excited about her upcoming marriage and can't wait to see how the Lord will use her and her husband to be, Tommy, here and on the mission field.

Ben, Amanda and baby Eleanor Brainard also stopped by for a visit one evening. I hadn't gotten to see Eleanor yet except in pictures...she is a true beauty. Ben and Amanda have been serving at a church in Louisville for the past several years and have been great servants to a community that is in need. I love to see people who are willing to move into a needy community to plant their lives there, not just visit once a week. I know that they are having an impact on their neighbors and their community with their presence.

The memories of this past weekend will be what I will take with me during difficult times in Africa. The support of family and friends is such a major part of ministry life overseas. Many of these people that I listed will be part of my prayer support network, along with their churches and their encouragement to me is priceless. I am thankful that I had the time and took the time to visit and I am thankful for their friendships and their example of faithfulness to me.

I hope to spend time with many more of you all in the next month before I leave. So, if you have some time...give me a call. I'd love to see you!

Mama said there'd be days like this...

2009-05-25T20:14:00.005-04:00

I'll spare you the pictures, but I will tell the story.

I can't tell you the number of times that I have moved things and worked with my dad lifting items over the years so we tend to do pretty well together, no injuries that I can think of, until today. Mom and Dad arrived and we went into the garage. Dad got out his dolley and we talked about a plan. The first item we wanted to move was the dresser, but instead of taking out all of the drawers which are packed with my pots and pans and other kitchen items, we decided we could move it packed with the help of the dolley. That was the first mistake.

The second mistake was that I had on flip flops. Again in all of my moves and years of doing things, in general, I like to wear sandals or flip flops. I learned a hearty lesson today...never move large heavy objects with flip flops on.

Dad was on one end and I was on the other, him with the dolley and me pulling back to lift, when all of the sudden it happened. The heavy dresser slipped, and off came the toe nail on my big toe. Surprisingly it really didn't hurt that bad. My mom ran from the garage (wish I had pictures of that) and my dad was horrified. I just stood there looking down saying something like, "It just popped right off. I never knew toenails would do that!" The truth of the matter is, it was still attached by one small corner so I put it back on my toe and began to apply pressure. With Dad at my side apologizing profusely and mom somewhere behind us, I went to the edge of the bathtub and began to run water over it half to numb it and half to remove the blood. It had pretty well stopped bleeding so we put on a bandaid and I wrapped it with gauze and said, "Ok. What's next?"

Dad and mom both said that I needed to go to the ER, but I refused and we went back to the garage to work. Sometime early afternoon, after lunch, my parents convinced me that it had to be pulled off the rest of the way and a doctor needed to give me a prescription so that it didn't develop an infection. So off we went to Urgent Care. I refused to go to the ER.

Mom insisted on going back with me for support, that's important. The doctor assessed the situation and got ready to give me a shot to numb the toe in preparation to remove the nail. I made it clear to the doctor that needle would go no where near my foot until he explained to me where he was putting it. After explaining the procedure, I allowed him to continue. The plan was to put 2 shots on either side of my toe, allow it to get numb and then take off the nail. Pretty simple plan. Mom is facing me sitting in a chair in the corner of the room. As the doctor is giving me the shots, mom is sitting there making groaning noises and looking like she's about to pass out. I will admit the shots hurt and were actually the worst part of the whole thing.

Then, when he actually began to work on the foot, mom is grabbing her head and groaning and breathing hard. I'm just sitting there asking questions and talking with the doc. My foot at that point didn't feel like part of my body so I didn't care what he was doing to it. He decided that even though it was barely hanging on, he would try to reattach it by laying it back down and stitching it with 2 stitches on each side at the top. So, I got 2 stitches (again a groaning mom) and I got to keep my nail. I also got an excuse for 10 days off from work, the amount of time that I'll have to have the stitches. I won't be out that whole time, but I definitely plan on being out for some of it.

The funny thing is that it doesn't look like anything happened to it at all since he stitched it back down, but I definitely know it's gonna hurt tomorrow. So, if you see me in a boot, that's what happened.

Crating

2009-05-21T16:28:00.003-04:00

When I moved into the mission house at the end of April, I honestly thought 2 months to crate would be plenty of time. I would have time to relax and take it easy for the time I was here, spending time with friends and making final preparations. It just hasn't quite worked out that way. From the never ceasing rain, to traveling home to be with my family, to working full time still at the church, I have fallen way behind on my schedule.

The IMB has given me 300 cubic feet to pack in. I have no idea what that means. Let me put it another way. I have approximately 7 ft by 7 ft by almost 4 ft. Someone told me to compare it to packing in a walk-in closet. I think that's a pretty appropriate comparison. I also asked several missionaries what to pack and for tips on packing. One that I appreciated the most was, "Pack like you're a drug dealer." I have. It's amazing what you can get to fit inside something if you have to.

Another great thing about crating is that you have to list every item that goes into your crate and not just every item, but specifically what box each item is in. So by the end of my crating experience, I will have an itemized list by box of everything that I have packed. Then my crate will be shipped off to stay in a port here until released, then off to a foreign port and finally to wherever I end up. Round trip approximately a year and a half or longer. In all of this, I have to think about what I need immediately to take with me and what I can live without for a year and a half.

The picture that I've attached is of the garage at the mission house where I am living. Not all of the stuff in the picture is mine there are some missionaries storing things at the mission house, but most of it in the middle actually is my stuff. Yes, 7 x7 x4 are the crating dimensions.

Oh, my. I have lots of work to do and little time to do it. I'll keep you posted.

Moving

2009-05-04T07:44:00.002-04:00

I moved last week from my home of 5 1/2 years into Living Hope's Mission home. What a blessing it is to have this home to move into. I feel so honored to be able to live here and well taken care of by a church that isn't even my own. What an amazing blessing that I cannot say enough about!

I anticipated the move being emotional. Yeah, I know, I'm not usually an emotional person, but I have loved my home and treasured it as a gift from the Lord. I also see this as the first real major step in actually leaving. So, Sunday night before the move last Monday, I thought a lot about it being the last night in my house and what Monday would be like. I thought that seeing the house empty would be sad and somewhat painful. Instead, I got up early to enjoy some coffee (as usual) and sat on my couch with the windows open listening to the birds singing and enjoyed the quiet and my time alone. Then, as the people who had volunteered to help arrived, there was joy and peace and good fellowship. I was thankful for the help that made the move go smoothly and quickly. We were done in 2 hours! As we arrived at the mission house, I felt excitement and more peace. I can't explain what a gift from the Lord this is. I will go through lots of transitions over the next several years so having this one go smoothly has been such a blessing.

Now, I am feeling a bit overwhelmed. I thought that moving out of my house and pairing everything down to just what I am taking with me would give me these next two months to rest, spend time with people and prepare more. Instead, I have realized I have to get rid of more of my things and the packing process will probably take most of the next two months to do. I am thankful for the 2 months and looking forward to what is ahead.

Packing and preparing

2009-04-17T18:40:00.005-04:00

I'm sure that not very many people realize how much preparation takes place when someone decides to go overseas as a career m. I definitely knew it was a lot of work, but it's even more than I thought it would be.

For the past month I have been starting the packing process so I thought I'd share it with you. I've meant to get a lot more done than I have, honestly. I am moving out on April 27 from my house and by this point wanted to have most of my stuff packed up. I have had a pretty crazy month with lots of extra things to do so I got behind. Going into today, I have to admit I felt a little overwhelmed. But I made a lot of progress today and I'm feeling good about the space that I have to work with in my crate. I'm actually thinking that I might be ready to move by next weekend.

Here are some pics from my house and the packing that I'm doing. Enjoy!

Musings on how I got to this point...

2009-03-12T19:35:00.012-04:00

My primary purpose for starting this blog is so that you all can pr*y for me and keep up with all that the Father is doing while I am living in Africa, but I thought it might be important to know how I actually came to make this decision. So, here we go...

I probably would say that my first awareness of a love for Africa started at age 4. I somehow found the Africa section of the library and there began the obsession with a continent that I have grown to love. The affection has changed over the years and progressed in different stages of my life. It started with a simple fascination at age 4 with people who lived in grass huts, something very different from my life here, and an interest in animals like giraffe, lions, zebra, etc that I thought were beautiful.

It progressed by high school to a general interest in travelling abroad, a desire to go on safari, and concern for people who didn't know Chr*st. I grew up watching the Ethiopian famine (early to mid 1980's over a million people died) and South African apartheid on the evening news. So seeing suffering in the world and racial discrimination and trying to make some sense of it, I began to question why the L*rd had made me a white American middle class girl. In my frustration and search for an answer to that question, He lead me to Acts 17:26 "And He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek G*d, in the hope that they might feel their way toward Him and find Him." I no longer felt guilty that I had been given so much, but instead felt great responsibility in all I had been given. I still fully trust that the L*rd had purpose in the time He placed me in within history, where I lived and grew up, the color of my skin, my early exposure to the gospel with a Chr*st*an family, and all other factors in my life. Each aspect, controlled completely by my Creator, with great purpose.

In college my desire morphed once again into a pr*y*rf*l knowledge that I would go, but an uncertainty as to when it would happen. By this time, going on safari wasn't even on the radar screen, my whole desire for going was to share the g*sp*l with people who had never heard. Although, I have to admit, a safari would have been a nice bonus. So, I went after my junior year to Lome, Togo to work with multiple people groups. While there we were able to travel up country to a small village near Benin to teach scripture to new believers. I will never forget the day we taught on John 1 and the believers responded with joy, "Today, for the first time we know that J*s*s is G*d."

I returned home to finish school and then left for Kenya to work for 2 years as a teacher. I had done so much discipleship work, I was asked to transfer to western Kenya to establish work with the Navigators at several high schools and a university. I had never worked with university students before in ministry, but it completely changed the direction of my life. After returning to the states, I thought the L*rd would use me to help university students prepare for ministry and missions and to instill in them the need to share Chr*st even to the most remote places on earth, and had grown content that this was what He had called me to do. Then in the fall of 2006, I began to sense a shift and discomfort in where the L*rd had me. I committed to pray for the entire year of 2007 to see where the L*rd might be leading me, and by October, the intensity of moving from the L*rd had grown so strong, I could no longer delay, I had to at least see what doors were open for me overseas.

Our ch*rch was considering a partnership with an unreached people group in West Africa and Sharla Martinez and I were sent to check out what our options were and try to lead the ch*rch toward one particular group. As providence goes, the m's that I had served under during my time in West Africa as a summer m were at that conference. I hadn't seen them in 10 years, and they were now the regional directors for West Africa. After a long and productive conversation, the decision was made that I should return to West Africa to disciple women who convert to Chr*st**n*ty. I was asked to wait to make the decision about which people group to work with until I finished my training on the field so that they could sense where the greatest need was at that time.

I agreed to go in November of 2007 and after several delays for various reasons, I finally have everything in order to begin this next phase of my life. There are lots of unknowns, but one thing is certain...this is what I was made for, to serve and honor my G*d no matter where or when He calls. I am amazed and excited that I am able to use the gifts He has given me to serve, at least for this period of my life, in a place He has been preparing me for all of my life. What a great G*d we serve, who has concern for those who have heard the gospel all of their lives and those who have never heard.

I am asked often, "Why are you going?" My answer is simply this, I was born a middle class American girl exposed to the gospel at an early age and raised in a Chr*st**n home, but if I were in their shoes, I would hope someone would care enough to come and tell me the news that could change my eternity and bring hope to my life. How can I say no?