I’ve been reading Ezekiel lately and the Lord has been showing me some of the crazy things He tells His prophets to endure so that the people would understand that He is the Lord. In Ezekiel 4, for example, one of the metaphors the Lord tells Ezekiel to act out for the people of Israel is the future siege on Jerusalem. So first, Ezekiel is to take a brick and engrave Israel on it, build a siege against it, put a siege wall around it, place battering rams against it, put an iron griddle in between him and all this to symbolize an iron wall, and he is to let it be in a state of siege. While this is happening, Ezekiel is instructed to lie on his left side for 390 days (the amount of years of Israel’s punishment) and to bear their punishment on his arm. Three hundred ninety days! Then, if that wasn’t enough, he was to turn over on his right side and bear the punishment of Judah (40 days) on his bear arm, all the while prophesying against the city. During this time he is to eat rationed and inferior wheat (to show that a famine was coming) baked over cow poop (well the Lord first told him to use human manure but Ezekiel told Him that he has never defiled himself and begged not to and the Lord compromised with the cow poop) to show the people how bad it would be during this time of punishment. There’s even more interesting stuff in Ezekiel 5 that you should take a look at too.
But one of the coolest things that has always stuck with me since Thad brought it up at comchurch (probably a year ago or so) was that the Lord instructed Ezekiel to go to these people and proclaim to them everything He put into his mouth and “whether they hear or refuse to hear, they shall know that a prophet has been among them”. This must have been such an encouragement to Ezekiel – to know that his job wasn’t to put his hands on their hearts and make them right, but to proclaim rightness through the streets and in the ears of the all the Lord’s people. I think this relates well to our responsibility as children of the Lord. We are to go and proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ to all the peoples. That’s it. I mean, sure, loving them is part of the deal, it should be part of our nature as children of the Most-High God. But we aren’t expected to change their hearts – that’s the Lord’s choice and privilege.
Well, the people end up not listening and the Lord brings all this destruction forth about 7 years later. And as our God repeated over and over, He did all this – famine, sword, disease, removing them from all they owned – in order to show that He is the Lord to the little remnant that He spared. So that His people would continue to be His people. I love that our God is so jealous for what is rightfully His.
Us.
so, i realize the title may sound negative. it’s not, i promise. i just liked how it sounded.
and if you haven’t heard, i’m back from africa (that is what the non-negative title was referring to).
the trip (all wrapped up) was good. i had new experiences everyday. the Lord taught me much through being somewhere out of my comfort zone. and He taught me i had a comfort zone. i never thought of myself as a person having one, but apparently i do. most of anything being there, i learned that i missed my community here. i realized that living overseas as a ‘missionary’ is just the same as living in your little town / big city in america and being intentional. Jesus’ words about loving each other and other people who you don’t even know or other people you do know and aren’t necessarily accustomed to liking to show His love now make more and practical sense to me.
all in all, the Lord taught me more than i thought or expected to have learned. and i learned that i really enjoy being able to eat fruit right after i buy it and drink shower water whenever i like. but i do miss the people – and the coffee.
what’s next, i assume you’re asking? well, i’m living in college station and substitute teaching and babysitting until i snag a teaching job. i’ve applied, now i’m just waiting for a young lady to have a baby or an old lady / man to retire. we’ll see!
i hope you all have a happy day.
you may recall that i visited Haiti this summer with these wonderful people.
i can’t tell you how much that has affected how i view this earthquake and it’s effects on the families living there. somehow, it just seems real.
i feel like normally i have a hard time connecting with the hurt of people that are away from me – that i never met, nor would ever meet. even the september 11th deaths or various hurricanes/ tornadoes/ tsunamis i’ve heard about in the past 22 years of my life could not tug at the strings of my heart hard enough to muster up emotion. but Haiti – i know these people. i’ve walked where there is now only rubble. i’ve met the little girls who may or may not still have breath in their lungs.
i know the people who are doing something about the widespread devastation – who are opening their freshly damaged homes to people with freshly damaged bodies and trying to put them back together. trying to show them hope in this crazy hopeless situation. what little the people there had is now all lost. all of it. homes, sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, body parts. the earthquake ripped these precious lives and possessions from them without warning or asking.
yet, through all of this, i know our God has His purpose in it, and His purpose is good – it is for His glory and for His children’s good. join with me in praying that He continues to use this hopeless situation to bring Haitians to Himself. to make the orphans His children and the widowed part of His bride.
and if you would also like to join with me in narrowing the monetary need that has been spreading since january 12th, you can give some to these people and trust it’s going directly to bandaging wounds and hearts, searching for lost, and providing food and water.
grace and peace from our Jesus in this time of chaos.
A couple weeks ago I visited a town about 9 hours north of here to see some out of the capital and the work that was happening with that team. It was beautiful and amazing – and the scenery was just half of that. The group of Americans there lived in close community and not only within themselves, but it also spread to the nationals with whom they lived among. I had more language and cultural experiences in one week out in the country than I’ve had living in the city for 3 months. I could see the Lord working and His Spirit moving among their relationships. One day we drove about 1 1/2 hours out into the countryside and visited a friend, a lady they call Mama. She was very hospitable and wanted to cook for us even though she had less than I could imagine. Through my friends, she and some other people from her village had accepted the Lord quite a few months ago – they have been growing in their knowledge of the Lord ever since. My time there was very encouraging and enlightening.
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Pictures to come*
AH.
ok, so I haven’t updated in a while.. but now you get three events in one! Special!
Number One: We had a Pumpkin Party at the end of October at our house and invited some of the american families we know here to join in. Festivities included pumpkin carving, bobbing for mangos, awesome costumes, and a homemade pinata. It was great time getting to know everyone and eating good food.
Number Two: This past week (Friday for English) at Destiny, the students had their final exams for the first quarter. The kids were grateful to be through with them and it was a great experience of how school is done in different cultures… which also means everybody gets Thursday and Friday off from school!
Number Three: Last weekend I went to the house of a fellow teacher. I got to meet her family and friends as well as eat delicious food! It was a great time to get into the community and deeper into who she is. We had a blast and I’m looking forward to spending more time with her in the next couple months.
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and Merry Christmas, btw.
Many times I know characteristics that are true of me – of my spirit – that I just can’t form into words. I’ve realized that through the many conversations I’ve had with people, trying to communicate with the limited vocabulary I have (kids, really learn your vocab words – don’t just memorize all 20 of them ten minutes before the test). But every once in a while, I find something in literature that speaks truths that were before unspeakable with my mouth – striking a chord that vibrates at the same frequency as my soul. This happens to be one of them. Probably obscure to many who are reading this, but maybe for the one or two it speaks to (truth about who you are, or an insight into who I am), I put it up none-the-less.
“Aficion means passion. An aficionado is one who is passionate about the bull-fights… Men would come in from distant towns and before they left Pamplona stop and talk for a few minutes with Montoya about bulls. These men were aficionados. Those who were aficionados could always get rooms even when the hotel was full. Montoya introduced me to some of them. They were always very polite at first, and it amused them very much that I should be American. Somehow it was taken for granted that an American could not have aficion. He might simulate it or confuse it with excitement, but he could not really have it. When they saw that I had aficion, and there was no password, no set questions that could bring it out, rather it was a sort of oral spiritual examination with the questions always a little on the defensive and never apparent, there was this same embarrassed putting the hand on the shoulder, or a “Buen hombre.” But nearly always there was the actual touching. It seemed as though they wanted to touch you to make it certain. Montoya could forgive anything of a bull-fighter who had aficion. He could forgive attacks of nerves, panic, bad unexplainable actions, all sorts of lashes. For the one who had aficion, he could forgive anything.” -Ernest Hemingway (The Sun Also Rises)
How much I love our God and the mysterious and wind-like ways His Spirit moves.
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random picture. because it is my blog and i felt like it. enjoy.
The past few weeks I have begun to realize (yet again) how great a hope to which I have been called. As followers of Jesus, we have distinctive characteristics that distinguish us from the world – the most distinctive, I have seen, is that we have a hope. The hope of Jesus’ righteousness replacing our own, the hope that one day all will be set right – justice will reign, beauty will flourish, love will abound, and all people will acknowledge the significance of Christ – the assurance of the acceptance of our God. As I have talked with people here, I’ve seen that without the hope of Glory, nothing matters. Many here risk being beaten or left to die in a desert because they are so willing to find a hope – a hope of a better life somewhere other than here.
This is true in all of our lives in a sense – our hope is of a better life than the one we began crying out of our mother’s womb. We, as lovers of Jesus, have been born again to an abundant life, an abundant life that’s lived from our spirit’s new birth until eternity. Let us understand each morning how great the hope is that we have been given! Do not take this love for granted; our Father has foreknown, predestined, called, and justified each of His children! No matter what happens in this life, whether trials or loves, persecution or acceptance, suffering or comfort, our God has chosen us to become part of this royal priesthood – Jesus has beckoned us forth to be a part of His body, His bride. “In this life do not be discouraged,” calls Christ to his disciples, “Do not be afraid; do not lose hope. One day, I will set all things upright.” Let us look to Him – and simply look. That is all we have to do – look to Christ – seek the One who has chosen us in Himself before the foundation of the world.
Saturday night we had roommate night – you know, cooking dinner and playing games together, rather normal activities. This particular night, however, nothing normal about it.
Let me start from the beginning. Erin (one of my roommates) and I went to buy vegetables for our stir fry that we were making for dinner. All normal things: eggplant, carrots, snap peas, onions, cabbage, etc. Now, where we live it is not normal to find snap peas, and Erin was so excited that she found them she even called Courtney (another roommate) to let her know. Fast forward a few hours. We have chopped, diced, snapped, peeled, and cooked all the vegetables. We just got through seasoning it with soy sauce and garlic powder. Now for the taste. Mallory and I were first – we noticed it had a spicy tang to it, which was peculiar because none of the seasonings we added were spicy in the least bit. Courtney and I smelled the okra – here is the conversation that followed amongst all of us:
“Oh man, did we but spicy okra?!”
“Do they even have spicy okra?”
“I’ve never heard of it”
“Well, it is northern africa…“
“Taste the other stuff, see if it all is really spicy”
So, Mallory takes a bite of some random vegetables (not including the okra) and starts running around with her mouth on fire.
I take a snap pea, chew it up, and swallow it to see if the spicyness even soaked into it.
I begin to run around the room with my mouth on fire.
“Did we buy spicy snap peas?”
“Look on the receipt to see if it says spicy snap peas”
“We bought CHILIS”
great night. We had filled our stir fry up with half a kilo of chilis (both ends snapped off, btw, so the juice could seep through every other vegetable).
But wait, the fun didn’t end there. Next on the agenda after dinner was to make orange drink (tang, milk, and ice blended together). To make a long story short, the blender broke about 1/5 of the way up and shot a 2 square inch piece out from the side, spewing orange drink and plastic everywhere. Great experience. Luckily, it was the second batch and we each still had enough to savor. Courtney actually ended up snapping two of the flying plastic pieces back on, and we duck (yes duck) taped it back together. Worked like a charm.
Meskel was a couple weekends ago – it’s a holiday here that the Orthodox people celebrate to honor the finding of the true cross Jesus was crucified on. With it comes a huge bonfire in the middle of the city along with many little bonfires in various neighborhoods. We had one of our own, as you can see.
It was all fun and games (with the tradition of running around the fire) until it collapsed. Don’t worry though, there were no casualties.
What am I saying? It was still fun and games after it fell down.
These are two beautiful girls we met in a different part of our neighborhood (my roommate and I were on our way to eat when we stumbled upon them).
And here are some long overdue pictures of the children I teach during the day. This is the fourth grade class.
Here’s a look at the fifth graders as well.
These smiles were captured in front of the upper grades school building.
My time here has been challenging and good in many different ways. You can continue praying for health – it’s apparently pretty easy for foreigners to get sick here – seems like someone else each week. Also that the Lord would provide relationships with nationals who are open and have time. Remember, our God is faithful and good. Let us give Him glory with each breath.
Love and peace from Africa.
Since I’ve last updated, we’ve had many events happening in country. The New Year (2002) came to greet us on September 11th, and with it came many visits to people’s homes. We were invited to drink coffee with them, eat lunch/dinner with them, as well as have a great time. Here’s some proof of the great time I spoke of.
I finally did take some pictures of who/what I have the privilege of walking past every morning/afternoon.
School started this week and I began teaching English Grammar and English Reading for 3rd through 7th graders. It is interesting and good in very different ways than teaching in America is – the whole language barrier adds an interesting challenge but the children are beautiful and loving nonetheless. Here’s the awesome view from an upstairs window at the upper grades campus of the school.
Also, few days ago, we celebrated a roommate’s birthday. We all went and made coffee bean jewelery – it was a blast.
The past month has been a great time to get acclimated to the altitude as well as the culture. The Lord has been faithful to show himself to me at a place on the opposite side of the globe than I usually talk to him at. Continue to pray for our God to show Himself among the people who have lived here all their lives, as well as the people who have come here to love them. I love and miss you all.
