Macintosh's Story

Exactly a year ago day I shared a post about one of the greatest people I have ever met (seriously, Macintosh is amazing). Next month Macintosh has a wonderful opportunity to travel to the United States to share his story. He was abducted at age 11 to be a child soldier in a horrific war but what makes his story so amazing is what he made of his life after the war. I cannot even begin to imagine what he will think of this place and what it will look like through his eyes. I am so excited for him to experience this because he gives so much back to the community of West Point and truly lives a life with great purpose. This will be such a treat for him.

More Then Me has put out a video about Macintosh and his story. Please check it out below.




If you want to invite Macintosh to share at your school, church, or home party in November or December please Email Emily at emilyb@morethanme.org to set something up.

A Letter

I love notes, letters, cards- the good ol' snail mail. There is something about writing out what you want to say, I mean really writing it. It is wonderful to send these things to others and equally wonderful to receive them. A few weeks ago the founder of the organization I worked with in Zambia told me she was bringing back to the states with her a letter from one of the women to me. I immediately got excited. My expectation was something along the lines of "I had a great time with you and now miss you." Honestly, I did not expect too much.  

Last week I received the letter. Wow. Talk about exceeding my expectations.

Before I left Zambia my friend asked me how she could pray for me. This caught me a bit off guard. This women who had faced more hardships in her life then I could imagine was asking me how she could pray for me?! I said the first thing that came to my mind- a job. I have been searching for a while and haven't found that career job yet. She said "okay, I will begin praying for it this weekend on my church retreat." Just like that. Simple. 

I asked her the same question in return. She said she wanted to save enough money this year to buy her own sewing machine. I have thought of this woman often and have remembered her story, her struggle, and her joy but have I specifically prayed for this one thing she asked me to pray for? I am ashamed to say, no. I have not taken a few moments to bring this pray to our Lord on her behalf. Why? Have I been facing such awfulness in my own life to prevent me from thinking of her? No. Have I been so busy that I have not had a moment to pray for her? No. I have no reason;I just merely haven't. 

So what was in her letter? A prayer. A beautifully written page long prayer to our Lord about my life. She shared encouraging words as well as Bible verses. I was blown away. 

We never know how the Lord will use the relationships we make in life nor do we know how He will speak to us. On my last day with her when she shared her story with me I was impressed by her strength, by her persistence, and by her undying faith. All of those feeling flooded back and she showed all of that again. What am amazing person she is. I am so thankful to call this woman not only a friend but a sister in Christ. 

Walk to Educate a Child

Unfortunately, many children grow up wondering where their next meal is coming from, dreaming of going to school, and wanting someone to care for them. Outside of Nairobi, Kenya in a town called Roysambu there is an organization meeting these needs for abandoned babies. This wonderful place is Happy Life Children's Home.  
 

I had the wonderful opportunity to work with HLCH for four months back in 2009 and have since been back for a short visit. I fell in love with the children and grew close to the women who work with them. It is such an amazing place for children and a place that gives them a second chance at a life that didn't start off well for them. Most of the children come to the home as babies, often right from the hospital where their mothers walked out. The moms that work with these children are so caring, loving, and devoted to the children. 

Happy Life started in 2002 and has grown from small house to the addition of a four story building and now a second campus with a school and group homes. I love that HLCH is growing with the children they care for so that that do not get adopted will not have to leave the home but will continue to grow up with the only family they know.   

Every year HLCH puts on a fundraising walk to support the children. I was blessed to be a part of the walk in 2009 and we aren't talking a 5K stroll but a 12K walk with local communities to build awareness. One of ways this happens is by everyone sporting the same Happy Life shirt.  

This year the walk is happening this Saturday, September 21 with the theme Walk With Us To Educate A Childas as they are raising funds for their new campus and school. For those of us who won't be in Roysambu this weekend (dang it!) we can partner with them and sponsor a Kenyan who would like to participate but may be jobless or facing hardship and cannot afford the entry of $20. You can donate online at www.happylifechildrenshome.com or by sending a check to the co-director, Rev. Jim, at 140 Airport Road, Newcastle, DE 19720.

Thank you in advance for supporting these wonderful children and helping to bring them a brighter future.

Goodbye Zambia

A few days before we left Zambia the women of Clothed in Hope set up a shop for us to purchase some of the  items they have made. You can purchase their products and support the women at their on-line shop.

 

The scarf and clutch I bought both happened to be made by my friend Bridget. Now whenever I use these I will think of her, see her face, and laugh at our fun times together- how cool!

 

Our last day at the center was filled with singing and dancing... 

 

...and many goodbyes and pictures.

 

 

I will miss these women. I so enjoyed getting to hear about their lives, sharing in many moments of laughter, and learning about the Lord through them. I was honored to be a part of their lives for just a little while and to teach them just a little bit of what I know.

 

It has been a week and a half since I left Zambia. I have adjusted to home and life back in the states, but I daily think of the people I met and the experiences I had. I am so blessed to have gotten to serve the Lord this way and am forever thankful for the many people who made this trip possible. Each of you who contributed monetarily and prayed for myself and the team- you made this whole thing possible!

Seminars

Everyone has a specific area of interest, knowledge, career expertise, etc. Each of us on the trip took these areas and turned them into seminars for the women. This was a great opportunity to share something we are passionate about and teach the women something new.

 



I taught on group cohesion.

 

 

 



The women did a modified trust wall with each other.

They started off unsure and quickly got into it.

 

Beth taught on biblical beauty.

 

 



Ian taught on marketing and business cards as the women will soon be developing their own.

 

 

 

The women took notes and listened intently at each lesson.

 

Muchochoma Village

One of the awesome things about Clothed in Hope is that the women have started a partnership with a group of women in a village about 1.5 hours outside of town. We had the great pleasure of visiting them on Monday.

We sang and danced together. One of the visiting women shared some encouragement with a biblical message. The hosting women put on skits teaching about tithing and loving your neighbors. A member of our team taught about HIV/AIDS. We shared in lunch together (very American- PB& J sandwiches). And we took lots of pictures! I have shared a few of them below.

We were packed 19 deep riding out on a dirt road to the village in a mini-bus (van).

I loved singing and dancing with the women of Muchochoma.

 

Some of the women from Ng'ombe hanging out during lunch.

 

 This 64-year-old woman is so beautiful (and funny)! I was so happy to chat with her for a little bit thanks to someone voluntarily coming over and translating for us.

This is Emma, one of the women in CiH in Ng'ombe.

 

Chikondi means love in Nyanja and is a term that goes hand in hand with CiH.

 

Chaos with Kids

Aside from working with the women of Clothed in Hope we were asked to put on a children's program. Kelly, Ian, and I were assigned this job while the other three team members did a biblical study with the women. We were totally unsure of what this was going to look like. Kelly offered up her knowledge of vacation bible school and wrote out a lesson for each day with plans for songs, games, crafts, memory verses, a bible story, and a time to share. We were ready to take on this task even though we still were unclear on how many children we would have, what the age they would be, where it would take place, etc. etc. 
 
Then we got to day one.
 
We had hoped the women's children would come but we were unsure on who attended morning school and who attended afternoon school. Well... only one showed up. We looked at each other and then went for the gate to the center and literally called in children from outside asking if they wanted to come play. Now we were rolling. We had 20+ kids and we were ready to go. It wasn't long before we found out the women's class inside couldn't hear anything over us, and we were asked to move outside the center's gate. We began to play in a small area in the pathway and a small area beside the building. This had quickly become a street ministry. 
 
It wasn't but a few minutes in that we realized our "schedule" would become completely disregarded. That first day was absolute chaos. The children couldn't understand what we were trying to do, we didn't know what games they were trying to play (one looked like dodgeball yet only two people could throw, the other was netball with no nets). We pushed through. Our fearless leader, Kelly, never backed down when there was clear anxiety on Ian and my faces. We rallied them in from games, sang a few songs, talked about Job, and taught them a memory verse- Romans 8:39 (that we went over at least 12 times so something had to have stuck... right?). Have I mentioned the language/accent barrier? We have no idea how much of what we said they really understood!
 
We had made it through a grueling hour and a half.
 
Today was day two. As we walked out of the center and onto the path to see what children wanted to come hang out with the three crazy mzungu we decided to ditch most of the plans we had made and more of less see where the afternoon took us. We decided to start off with bubbles we had brought because all kids will love bubbles... right? Yes! It was a hit. They loved getting a turn blowing the bubbles; they loved chasing after and popping the bubbles others had blown. Today was going to be a better day.
 
And it was! The children were taking in everything we gave them. We organized some relay races, sang more songs, reviewed our verse, learned a new one (1 John 4:11), and shared another bible story. It was a success!
 
The best part is that older youth came today asking if we had something for them... most of them being males, We are talking teenage-to-early-twenties males asking for someone to pour into them... What an opportunity! Tomorrow Ian will be hanging out with them, sharing God's love with them, and talking to them about being Godly men toward women. This is a heavy load but an opportunity that must be taken.

It is so wonderful to see God working in this group, in these women, and in their families. We pray for more opportunities to serve and for the relationships we have begun to build all in hope of sharing the Lord's love as it is so abundantly amazing.

"It all began with feeling timid..."

As I shared in my last post, we have a group blog that I posted to today. It was wonderful to process the first day with the ladies through this writing. Please check out "It all began with feeling timid..."  to read about my first time meeting the women and getting to worship with them.

Made it to Zambia

After 30+ hours of riding in airplanes and hanging out in airports we have arrived safely and with no problems in Zambia. I have found that traveling with people is a lot more fun than traveling alone and that I can no longer sleep on airplanes (I was quite tired upon arrival!).

I have been pleasantly surprised to the similarities I have found with Zambia and Kenya so far. It has made the transition very easy for me and kind of comforting. The children even yell out "how are you?" as we pass by on the street (something that has always made me laugh yet smile a bit too).

Our first day was spent settling into our house, taking a trip to the store for food, and catching up on our sleep! Today we went to the center to meet the women, their children, and be welcomed with a celebration. I will be writing more about this on our group's blog tomorrow. It was originally set up to share information as we prepared (such as this post I wrote with random Zambia facts). Now we will be using it to share with our supporters about this experience. Please check it out and get perspective from everyone in the group throughout the trip. For now, I will keep it short and look forward to sharing more on the group blog tomorrow.

Girl Rising

We spent the whole day outside with family; we were tired and covered with sunscreen and sweat. As my mom, my cousin and I got into the hotel room we sank onto the couch and turned on the television, ready to zone out for a little bit. Instead of zoning out to something inconsequential, however, we watched something that mattered.

CNN came on the screen and I was intrigued as a show about a young girl in an impoverished, developing area was playing. Turns out it was the documentary "Girl Rising." I had been wanting to see this and was very pleased when the others in the room weren't grabbing for the remote, in fact, they stayed up until midnight watching the whole thing with me. 

The numbers and the statistics are out there but it is a very different thing to read it than to see it. This film gives a face to the numbers, gives a story. I encourage you to check out two videos about the film below. Then, you must watch this film. It will open your mind and your eyes.

Film Teaser

Film Trailer

28 Days...

UPDATE! 

We are less than a month until our plane leaves the US and we head for Zambia. Its a little early to be packing but mentally I have already begun doing that. I've been thinking about things I need to pick up and what clothes I might take. But aside from the personal travel aspect let me update you on what else is going on...  

Housing: Unfortunately, this week we found out our housing plan has fallen through. I ask for your prayers that we will be able to find something else that will accommodate us and be within our price range.

Support Raising: I am so thankful for everyone who has been supporting me financially and prayerfully. I am just about $500 shy from what I need by July 1st and hopeful that will happen. 

Programming: We are going to be doing some activities for the children of the women in the program as well as other children in the community. I am happy to be working on this project, but it is a bit daunting as we are not such exactly how many children will show up! Please be in prayer with me as we work on this in upcoming weeks.  

28 days to go.... 

Taking a Lesson or Two from the Kids

For the last six months I have been in multiple classrooms, different grade levels and special areas, all mainly in one elementary school. Some days have been long and tiring, others have been full of joy. There have been children I've been really sad to see leave and others I urged out the door. I have observed, and realized, a lot.

There is always at least one (although sometimes 4 or 5!) trouble makers in the class. This is the child that never stops talking, doesn't follow directions, rarely is doing what they are suppose to be doing, and whose name you vow to never give to your future children. It is frustrating to see how much time and energy is spent on this small portion of the class or how they can ruin it for everyone else. Doesn't that happen in adulthood too? If you are in a group of people there is always that one or a small group that control how things go for everyone else. Or maybe you see in the way that so much of our media/news coverage is focused on the small portion of the population that does something wrong or bad instead of all the good. 

There are few fights worth staying mad over. There are the "best friends" that get in a fight during recess and then are back to hugging before getting on the bus at the end of the day (boys and girls!). These kids either ignore the reason for their previous disagreement because they realize it doesn't matter or have, more likely, forgotten. As adults we often hold a grudge for something that we should have forgotten about. We cling to the negative and the wrongdoing of others but forget about the good stuff, the kind words.

Most students would say their favorite subject was recess or P.E. Now, even though P.E. is indeed a subject... recess, sadly, does not qualify. But what is it that they are really saying? They like to run around, to play, to let off steam! How many adults work all day with no "breaks," no time to let loose for 30 minutes or so. Maybe we need a little more time to ran around. 

Kids like to have fun! Children are, usually, happy people! They smile and laugh... a lot. The teachers I have seen enjoy their days the most are those that have fun with their students, that don't mind making a fool of themselves if it puts a smile on their students' faces. See the correlation there... fun=happiness. When we are unhappy and feeling down it is normally related to the lack of fun we are having. Stop caring about what people think of you, stop taking yourself so seriously, and enjoy life! 

Children want to help. The other day I asked if 3 or 4 students wanted to stay in from recess (their favorite subject, remember?) to help me clean the room for the end of the year, and I had over half the class volunteer to do so! There are always children willing to hold a door, answer a classmate's question, take notes to the office, rushing over to help clean up when they hear a spill. Do we look for opportunities to help? Do we jump at a chance to make someone else's day a little easier? Or do we hope someone else with volunteer or look the other way?

Students are nice to those who are "different" than them. If I matched up partners for something not one ever said "ugh, I have to work with them". Wait.. I take that back... I did have one girl roll her eyes because she had to work with a boy... but that's a whole different topic! I saw students constantly aware of those in their class with disabilities and made sure that they were included, looked out for, made a part of the group. Dang... adults so often want to EXCLUDE instead of INCLUDE. When did we start getting the wrong?  

Instead of adults teaching kids all the time... maybe we should take a few lessons from them. Because as they say... All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.

Facing Fear

When it comes to kids I have no problem striking up a conversation, playing a game, or just hanging out with them. When it comes to teenagers or adults... now that is a different story. I have noticed this especially when I have been around African females. I become very introverted, shy, and uncomfortable- three things that rarely happen with me! 

Yesterday I was at a block party in an apartment complex that had a large Somali population. I saw a group of women standing together and wanted to go hang out with them yet I just couldn't muster up the courage to go talk to them. Then I saw a little boy playing by himself near the sidewalk so I turned my back on my first instinct and instead took the easy way out and went over to him. The problem was this boy had absolutely no interest in me and barely acknowledged my presence. Then I noticed there was a woman sitting on the other side of me just watching everyone. My first thought was to get up and walk away, but I resisted. I had no idea what to say to her or how to strike up a conversation out of thin air. Then I noticed she was holding a baby- yes! I can do babies, perfect opening!  

This woman and I began to chat, very sporadically with a question here and there and honestly mostly guided by her (she was much better at this than I was!). She told me about her children and how she previously lived in Kenya. Of course I jumped on this and we talked about the area of Nairobi she lived in and the area I use to stay. We spoke a little Swahili and she playfully laughed at my attempts. All of a sudden I become very comfortable in her presence, even in our silence.  

As I look forward to working with women in Zambia this summer my anxiety toward it has begun to grow, but yesterday my heart was put at ease. Making friends with this one woman made me feel more comfortable, more like I'd have the ability to do this come July. I know God did this to say "have no fear, you can do this."

Babysitting with a Cause

As I was thinking about raising support for my current mission project I wanted to come up with something different. I wanted to see if there were any new ideas. I thought maybe I could offer a service, and then people could donate what they wanted to my trip. I told a few people but didn't do much with it. 

A few weeks later I had an Email from a friend with encouragement about supporting and a few tips. They also suggested that I offer a service for support. Hmm.... Still, I did nothing. 

That same week I sought some advice from my pastor and he said "actually, I have an idea... how do you feel about babysitting?" Well that sounds like a service to me. Okay God, I hear you, I will stop doing nothing with this idea.  

Thus I began babysitting (and feeling like I was 16 again!), and its been without a set hourly rate but with the acceptance of whatever the parents want to contribute to my trip. It is so cool to see how God gave me this idea and continued with it until I accepted it. It has also been a great way to meet other families in my church that I wouldn't have had the chance to otherwise.  

When we look at something that seems daunting or intimidating, like raising a large amount of money, we have to look at how we can address it from more than one angle. There is never just one way to accomplish something. I am thankful for those who have let me hang out with their kids and confident that these opportunities will continue to present themselves.

Second way to support...

I have accepted the call and I am ready to serve but... I cannot do that on my own. Mission work is only successful with it is done collectively for His glory. There are two major ways you can support this project: the first is through prayer and the other is through a monetary investment. One of the main things about mission work is meeting people where they are. Sometimes this mean going down the road and other times it mean flying halfway around the world. Right now, I'm working with the latter.  

Flying to Zambia is not cheap, its actually around $2000-$2500. Then, while in Lusaka, there is the cost of housing and food and, of course, the random costs of travel such as the visa. But all of us allows us to physically be in the same place as the women are working with, able to lead them in Bible studies, and share in conversations with them to listen as they express their life, dreams, and struggles. Personally, I don't think you can put put a price on the value of loving people in that way. But... if you were to do so, it would be about $3000 in this instance.

From now until July 1st my support raising goal is just that, $3000. I have taken up any extra work shifts I can get, I have begun babysitting (more on that in a later post!) to raise support, and am faithful that the Lord will put it on the hearts of those who support missions to invest in this project. This is not a chance for you to enable me to serve but for you to serve through me to people you may not otherwise get a chance to reach. I ask that you might take a chance to prayerfully consider if this is something you feel led to do. If it is, you can utilize the "donate" button on the left of this page or contact me personally (jennhast7ATyahooDOTcom) to do so.  

Thank you in advance for your support, whether it is prayerfully or monetarily. No work is done effectively when we do it ourselves, it is always most effective when we do it together.

One Way to Support...

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Philippians 4:6

 

Big trips, new projects, and working with people can all be intimidating and can sometimes cause us anxiety. Going into the unknown can be scary. What can help all of this? Prayer! Myself and the other member of this mission have been praying for he last few months and w will continue to pray for this project. Will you join us? 

One of the best ways you can support this mission is through prayer. Here are some of the things we have been praying for and ways you can be praying for us: 

          *for the women and their families that God will keep them safe and healthy 
          *for the members of this mission as we continue to prepare individually and collectively 
          *for the time we will spend in Zambia and with the women of Clothed in Hope  
          *for the monetary support that we are raising and committing to this mission  

These are broad prayers, and I look forward to letting you know about specific prayers in the future. I also look forward to letting you know how God is answering these prayers. Thank you in advance for your prayer support and for being part of this mission with me. 

Zambia

If you have ever visited my blog before then you probably know of my love for missions. I believe that everyone has a place in it and and everyone has a duty to love on others, we just each might do it in different ways. All of us are called to do certain things in life. There are areas that we feel comfortable and places were we feel we really fit. Over the past few years I have found that that place for me is in international service work. God has opened many doors for me to do this, and I am happy to serve where He has led me. At this time in my life the door has not opened for long term mission work, but the door for short term missions seems to be a revolving one- and I am okay with that! Not only have I had the change to spend small amounts of time (a few weeks or a few months) with wonderful organizations and amazing people, but I have been able to continue to work with the organizations upon my return to the states.  I am so thankful for this because it means these trips are about so much more than the time spent over there, there is a long term effect and a long term mission.

I am forever grateful for the experiences I have had and the relationships I have made with people in Kenya, Tanzania, and Liberia. I have learned how small our world really is, how some things (many things!) are the same no matter where you live, and that God has an incredible ability to make a way for His work.  

All this being said... I am wonderfully pleased to announce that for the past couple of months I have begun preparing for a mission project to work with Clothed in Hope in Zambia this summer. We have been meeting over coffee and dinner, sometimes in person and sometimes I have joined over Skype. We have been reading a fantastic book and learning about how we can be sure we are going with the right intentions and proper mind-set. We have been praying, praying, and praying! In the next few weeks I will be posting about what we will be doing, how you can be praying for us, and what you can do to be a part of this with us. Missions are not just about the people physically going but take the efforts of many to be successful.

Viewing Poverty the Right Way

In the U.S. the average person lives on $90 a day while 40% of the world lives on less than $2 a day (When Helping Hurts, pg. 42). DANG! How can you read that and not feel like you were just hit by a truck full of reality? 

Recently, I began reading When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert. The book seeks to address how to effectively alleviate poverty without causing more harm to those being served or the individuals serving. Now, I am only on chapter 2 but have already been blown away by some of the content. 

I feel I have a pretty good idea about helping the more marginalized populations of the world. I have taken many classes and had many experiences in these areas. But all of these have been from a North American, middle class, educated perspective. Books I have read, classes I have taken, and organizations I have worked with have all been from people fitting this criteria. How much do I really know?

When we look at the dollar per day statistic I understand the value of a dollar changes in the every country. I have been in countries where a few bucks would buy me a large dinner while in America it buys me a snack. I get that it costs more to live here than other areas of the world. I also get that we have a lot of luxuries that we get for those $90 a day. My point is, how can someone coming from a population that averages such a large daily living amount think they can effectively understand the life of someone living on a number massively smaller?

Corbett and Fikkert present a study done by the World Bank that looks at how individuals VIEW poverty. Being from this North American, affluent society we typically look at people living in poverty as not having clothes, food, water, housing, etc. All MATERIAL things. Don't get me wrong, this is often true, however, its not how the individuals living in those situations view poverty. They see it as not having a voice, being ashamed, feeling powerless. The people in poverty stricken situations see the PSYCHOLOGICAL effects. Yes, the material, worldly things are there, but that isn't what is on their mind.  

Honestly, I think we view it this way because we come from a society where what clothes you wear matters, what house you live in matters, what you eat matters. We have lost the importance of people. We do not look at individuals in poverty as PEOPLE! If we want to effectively alleviate poverty we have to look at the root issues. You can meet someone's physical needs, which is important in the short run, but can you help them advance as people? Ask them what they want, find ways to let them be part of the programs being implemented, let them have a say in how things are done. 

In job searching, I have often come across amazing programs that only hire locals in the communities they work in. Selfishly this frustrates me because I want to be a part of the work they are doing; I want a chance to serve that area. But realistically, they are doing the right thing! These organizations are teaching people to fish instead of just giving them one for dinner. These are the organizations that get it.

We have a long way to go to alleviate poverty in our world, but if we continue to look at problems from our own viewpoint instead of the viewpoint of those dealing with the issues everyday, than we are merely creating more problems for the future. I have walked away from numerous situations where I thought I was serving others when really, they taught me WAY more than I could ever teach them. We need to build relationships, get involved without giving an opinion, leave your own ideas behind, and open your ears. We can learn a lot from others if we step aside from ourselves and allow them to teach us.

Missions

Ever had a week where one idea, one concept is continually present in your life? No matter the day or the event, its all related to one thing. Last week was one of those weeks for me. I heard a pastor from Uganda preach, did a study about it in lifegroup, had dinner with ladies serving in many different ways, went to a conference fully based on the idea, and heard a sermon focused on it. What this it? Missions.

Mission work is something I have been thinking about a lot in the past few years. For a while I thought of it as always going out into the nations and having to be in another country to do mission work. Then I attended on church that focused a lot on being on mission in our community, in our every day life. When you look at the scriptures you find that we are called to be missionaries in many aspects. 

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on 

you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea 

and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 

Acts 1:8 

This is saying that we are to work in our community, our state, our country, and in the world. Okay, so this idea makes sense, but how can we effectively do that? What are things we can do locally and how can we be a missionary without going to the ends of the earth?  

The study I did this week (from Lifepoint Church in Columbus) discussed "4 Practices of Kingdom Living."

1. The practice of going. Yes, some people are called to go, to travel into another area, another culture and present the Gospel to those people. 

2. The practice of welcoming. Many people come right to our area from all over the world. Maybe they have moved for schooling, to be with family, or because of their refugee status. The nations are coming to us! 

3. The practice of sending. There are many ways to help send others on mission: giving funds, selling goods with profits going to missions, buying from certain companies who support missions, offering our talents to organizations that are mission focused.  

4. The practice of mobilizing. This means challenging and empowers others to go, welcome, and support. These people are recruiting others to find they joy they have found in this work. 

We are all a part of the body of Christ. Some people are the hands that pray, others are the brains that work to earn money to support, others are the feet that go. If someone who is enabled to be the hands tries to be the feet they aren't going to be effective and they will probably not be happy in their pursuit. Know what part of the body you are and live that to the fullest. Reflect, pray, ask God where you are called. Not everyone is called to leave their home and move to a foreign land, but everyone is called to a missionary.

Left to Tell

Sometimes I read for pleasure. Sometimes I read to gain new knowledge. Sometimes I read because I have heard a good recommendation. Some books I go through quickly and than others take me quite a while. Some books I start and never seem to finish.  

A couple months ago I was at a used bookstore with a dear friend and was browsing the books in the Africa section (shocking, I know). I came across Left to Tell by Immaculee Ilibagiza, a book about the Rwandan genocide/holocaust I had heard about a few years early and remember wanting to read. I picked it up along with a few other books and went about my day. A month or so later it was time to start a new book so I picked up Left to Tell. I cannot tell you why I chose that one over any of the other 5 or 6 books sitting in my stack to be read (and no, it was not the one sitting on top). I now know that it was not my choice but His. 

If you are unfamiliar with what happened in Rwanda in 1994, allow me to give you a brief synopsis. There are two main tribes in Rwanda, Tutsi and Hutu. In 1994 the Hutus wanted to rid the country of Tutsis and started a tribal warfare that was incredibly bloody. In a matter of approximately 100 days over 500,000 people, or 20% of the population, were killed. This happened over a struggle for power and unfortunately, the large majority of people that were killed, were innocent. Neighbors were killing life long friends just because they were a different ethnicity. People turned instantly against loved ones; it is something so hard to understand.

Left to Tell gives us a knowledge of what happened during those tragic 100 days but it is more than that. It is a story; it is a story of one brave woman and her life before, during, and after the genocide/holocaust. Once I got into the first few chapters I found it hard to put the book down. Immaculee allows us not only into her life but into her heart. She survived one of the worst things a person could experience by living in a bathroom for 3 months. This bathroom was no larger than 3ft. by 4ft. and she lived in it with 7 other women. Could you even imagine?

Immaculee provides a look into what she thought about, where her heart was, and where her faith was. For me, this story was less about the genocide/holocaust and more about undying faith, incredible reliance on God, and proof of the power of prayer. I feel I must let you know that when I began reading this book I was really debating my own prayer life.  

I felt stuck. I felt as though my prayer life was not developing. I felt as if I was missing something. Immaculee wasn't. Even in the midst of insane tragedy she put full faith in our Lord and turned to Him for everything. And the thing is... He was there, He never left her! I know for some people that may be hard to believe because there was so much evil around her and seemed as though the Lord abandoned Rwanda, but that is simply untrue. There are numerous times where we see how the Lord stood by her side, protected her, and gave her strength. This book did more for my prayer life and my faith then any religious, devotional, or study book ever has.  

I have to recommend Left to Tell. I have to encourage you to read it. I have to urge you to take a look at someone who has been through hell and back and never doubted her faith. We have all been through hard times and we all have hard times ahead of us, but what is most important, especially in those times, is where we place our faith, who we turn to, and where we draw strength.