I have been lying here in bed for nearly 3 hours, unable to sleep. I have a pit in my stomach that doesn't want to go away. I don't look at this as a negative feeling...but rather view it as it is: Me processing. Let's face it, I've had lots to process over the last month. I think now that I'm home I'm able to actually really CHEW on my experiences. Digest it all.
So here I am. Digesting.
All I can do is sit here and weep. Weep for Abraham...who is probably right now sitting on a dirty street sidewalk dying. Did the women I met nearby really follow through w/ their word and tell him more about Jesus? If not, who will? And does he have something that can be medically treated? Does he have HIV? The thought of him dying, nearly alone, no father and no mother..
Digesting.
And then there is Malick...the Muslim teacher, young, handsome, adorable...I think every girl in America would SWOON over him as I'm sure the young ladies in Nalerigu already do! He teaches the Word of God at a Christian school and yet still believes that Jesus was just a prophet. Yet God's Word says it is "sharper than any 2 edged sword"...so God, please pierce his heart w/ your Word!
Digesting.
17 beautiful children, fatherless but not motherless, yet abandoned. I see all of their faces as I toss and turn and I pray over them. That they will rise up as the next generation and LOVE YOU, Jesus. That they will always have clothes to wear, food to eat, school to learn...
Digesting.
Manessah...18 years old, loves Jesus, ridiculed by his family for doing so yet willing to risk it all...a simple farmer with no desire to go to school, but yet was one who impacted me the MOST while I was there...
Digesting.
The Oustcast Camp...women falsely accused, left destitute, had to leave their very own children behind, grinding millet by hand as cockroaches crawl over their feet, making necklaces to try and support their daily needs, and SINGING AT THE TOP OF THEIR LUNGS TO THEIR MAKER.
Greg, Wendy, Nana, the kids...in the field right now. Raising chickens, riding their bikes all over the village, doing the work day in and day out. I feel as if I left part of me w/ them.
Digesting.
And sweet, ornery, feisty Clement. He is up and walking now, did you know this? While I was in Florida I read Acts 12 and it had Clement's name all over it. You all know the story. Paul in prison while a group of believers prayed over him in someones house. While they were praying, Paul had a "visitor" (he thought he was dreaming) who loosened his chains and then led him past the guards, into the streets, past the city gate. When Paul realizes he ISN"T dreaming he runs to the home where the believers are gathered and knocks on the door. A young person answers and basically slams the door in his face, runs to where they were all gathered and says, "OMWORD! Paul is AT THE DOOR!" to which they all told her she was smokin' somethin' cuz there was no way on earth he was ACTUALLY there...but of course they discover he really WAS and I would LOVE to have heard the rejoicing that night! Can you imagine??? Why do we put God in a box? Here they were praying for that very thing, He did it, and they doubted. We are one royal mess, us humans. Anyway, I digress. My point is that Clement is our little Paul.
When he gets back to Nalerigu I can see it unfold very much the same way. He's gonna RUN by all the huts lickety zippety and some kid is gonna point and say, "Hey look! There's Clement!" to which all the adults around will say, "No no, you're seeing things...that isn't Clement cuz Clement can't run, silly." and then his little black legs are gonna run past again and the kid will say, "No no...look again, that really IS Clement!" and before you know the entire village of Nalerigu...and even beyond...is gathering around Baba and Laadi asking how in the world this happened. And what will they be able to do??? SHOUT the WONDERFUL name of JESUS!!! Oh yes, Clement got a "new" heart...but so can YOU if you ask Him to!
Digesting.
Culture shock is much harder coming HOME than leaving it. Just so you know. I sit here and wonder how am I supposed to continue living as if I never even left? What does God want me to do NOW? How can I PRACTICALLY APPLY what I learned w/o selling all I own and live in a cardboard box? Cuz that's kinda what you feel like doing when you get back. Get rid of it ALL and give all your money to Abraham, Baba, and Manessah, the BMC in Nalerigu, the orphanage. I have to FIGHT the urge to not JUDGE anyone I see buying something they don't need...cuz all I can think about is how that money could buy a goat or a pair of shoes for an orphan. Then there is the whole issue of wishing my children really KNEW how great they have it...(and knowing the only way to truly do so is to take them onto the field some day which we will most definitely do) Today, I threw some clothes in the washer and felt GUILTY. Why has God chosen to bless ME? Why was I born in the US and not in Ghana?
Processing.
Thank you God, for allowing me to QUESTION. Thank you for being PATIENT with me. Thank you for SAVING ME, as poor and wretched as I am. Thank you for ALLOWING me to see more of your BEAUTIFUL CREATION. Thank you for my washer and dryer. Thank you for my car. Thank you for running water and my food processor.
I'm realizing...how very THANKFUL I am to be an AMERICAN. How PROUD I am of our country and the vision of our forefathers.
So as I "digest"...I will do so thankfully. Not doubtfully, not being judgmental...just pure gratefulness for all I got to see and do.
So my dear Americans, let me just remind you of Luke 12:48
<span>From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. (NIV)</span>
Great gifts mean great responsibilities; greater gifts, greater responsibilities! (The Message)
For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. (KJV)
So for cryin' out loud! Get that Starbucks you've been craving, grab your Bible, and ask God what He wants you to learn today! AND THEN DO IT.
AND DON'T FORGET TO PRAY FOR A MISSIONARY!
So here I am. Digesting.
All I can do is sit here and weep. Weep for Abraham...who is probably right now sitting on a dirty street sidewalk dying. Did the women I met nearby really follow through w/ their word and tell him more about Jesus? If not, who will? And does he have something that can be medically treated? Does he have HIV? The thought of him dying, nearly alone, no father and no mother..
Digesting.
And then there is Malick...the Muslim teacher, young, handsome, adorable...I think every girl in America would SWOON over him as I'm sure the young ladies in Nalerigu already do! He teaches the Word of God at a Christian school and yet still believes that Jesus was just a prophet. Yet God's Word says it is "sharper than any 2 edged sword"...so God, please pierce his heart w/ your Word!
Digesting.
17 beautiful children, fatherless but not motherless, yet abandoned. I see all of their faces as I toss and turn and I pray over them. That they will rise up as the next generation and LOVE YOU, Jesus. That they will always have clothes to wear, food to eat, school to learn...
Digesting.
Manessah...18 years old, loves Jesus, ridiculed by his family for doing so yet willing to risk it all...a simple farmer with no desire to go to school, but yet was one who impacted me the MOST while I was there...
Digesting.
The Oustcast Camp...women falsely accused, left destitute, had to leave their very own children behind, grinding millet by hand as cockroaches crawl over their feet, making necklaces to try and support their daily needs, and SINGING AT THE TOP OF THEIR LUNGS TO THEIR MAKER.
Greg, Wendy, Nana, the kids...in the field right now. Raising chickens, riding their bikes all over the village, doing the work day in and day out. I feel as if I left part of me w/ them.
Digesting.
And sweet, ornery, feisty Clement. He is up and walking now, did you know this? While I was in Florida I read Acts 12 and it had Clement's name all over it. You all know the story. Paul in prison while a group of believers prayed over him in someones house. While they were praying, Paul had a "visitor" (he thought he was dreaming) who loosened his chains and then led him past the guards, into the streets, past the city gate. When Paul realizes he ISN"T dreaming he runs to the home where the believers are gathered and knocks on the door. A young person answers and basically slams the door in his face, runs to where they were all gathered and says, "OMWORD! Paul is AT THE DOOR!" to which they all told her she was smokin' somethin' cuz there was no way on earth he was ACTUALLY there...but of course they discover he really WAS and I would LOVE to have heard the rejoicing that night! Can you imagine??? Why do we put God in a box? Here they were praying for that very thing, He did it, and they doubted. We are one royal mess, us humans. Anyway, I digress. My point is that Clement is our little Paul.
When he gets back to Nalerigu I can see it unfold very much the same way. He's gonna RUN by all the huts lickety zippety and some kid is gonna point and say, "Hey look! There's Clement!" to which all the adults around will say, "No no, you're seeing things...that isn't Clement cuz Clement can't run, silly." and then his little black legs are gonna run past again and the kid will say, "No no...look again, that really IS Clement!" and before you know the entire village of Nalerigu...and even beyond...is gathering around Baba and Laadi asking how in the world this happened. And what will they be able to do??? SHOUT the WONDERFUL name of JESUS!!! Oh yes, Clement got a "new" heart...but so can YOU if you ask Him to!
Digesting.
Culture shock is much harder coming HOME than leaving it. Just so you know. I sit here and wonder how am I supposed to continue living as if I never even left? What does God want me to do NOW? How can I PRACTICALLY APPLY what I learned w/o selling all I own and live in a cardboard box? Cuz that's kinda what you feel like doing when you get back. Get rid of it ALL and give all your money to Abraham, Baba, and Manessah, the BMC in Nalerigu, the orphanage. I have to FIGHT the urge to not JUDGE anyone I see buying something they don't need...cuz all I can think about is how that money could buy a goat or a pair of shoes for an orphan. Then there is the whole issue of wishing my children really KNEW how great they have it...(and knowing the only way to truly do so is to take them onto the field some day which we will most definitely do) Today, I threw some clothes in the washer and felt GUILTY. Why has God chosen to bless ME? Why was I born in the US and not in Ghana?
Processing.
Thank you God, for allowing me to QUESTION. Thank you for being PATIENT with me. Thank you for SAVING ME, as poor and wretched as I am. Thank you for ALLOWING me to see more of your BEAUTIFUL CREATION. Thank you for my washer and dryer. Thank you for my car. Thank you for running water and my food processor.
I'm realizing...how very THANKFUL I am to be an AMERICAN. How PROUD I am of our country and the vision of our forefathers.
So as I "digest"...I will do so thankfully. Not doubtfully, not being judgmental...just pure gratefulness for all I got to see and do.
So my dear Americans, let me just remind you of Luke 12:48
<span>From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. (NIV)</span>
Great gifts mean great responsibilities; greater gifts, greater responsibilities! (The Message)
For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. (KJV)
So for cryin' out loud! Get that Starbucks you've been craving, grab your Bible, and ask God what He wants you to learn today! AND THEN DO IT.
AND DON'T FORGET TO PRAY FOR A MISSIONARY!
This is the women (at the witch camp) standing in their courtyard.
This is Manassah...and the eggs!!! I LOVE Manassah and he is my new brother.
This is Nana getting shown how to do it right. It is back-breaking work.
Nyhus kids showing off "the ladies".
a quick picture before heading off. oh how I wish you could have heard how very excited they were!
Abraham and some street people.
One of my favorite shots of Clement. I love him.
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