Have you had a situation that you REALLY wanted to work out a certain way, and you prayed about it and did EVERYTHING within your power to make sure it happened the way you wanted ...

...only for it not to go at all the way you had hoped?

I have. More than once.

Just this past week, our national pastor named James was going to be out of town, and he usually drives us around in Juba (this is a craaaaaazy place to drive and I am not yet brave enough to try it). This meant we needed to hire another driver.

We really wanted our driver from last trip named Roger because, well, he's our buddy! He helped us so much last time and even started coming to church with us. We LOVE him. But he couldn't drive for us. We begged and did everything possible to get him to be able to drive for us, but he was in a contract with someone else for the week and just couldn't.

We were sad.

He said he'd send us someone else, but it still wasn't the same.

Enter Nasa, a 20-something year old Ugandan working here in South Sudan. He agreed to drive for us this week.

He drove Eric to and from all the places he had to preach. And every time, instead of waiting in the car like most drivers would, he'd come along and listen to the preaching. He heard the gospel again and again and again.

Friday night he knelt by his bed at his home and called on Jesus to save him.

Nasa is one of us now!!!! On his way to heaven!!!

I'm oh-so-glad things didn't work out my way this time. Maybe one day I will learn His ways are much better than my ways...

What a gracious God we serve.

Our church in South Sudan has several outreach ministries, including primary and secondary schools, orphanages, military barracks, a blind school, and the community as a whole during visitation.


I love all the services we're in. But for me, there is one service that seems to stand above the rest. The men there sing triumphantly of Jesus' power and love. Their voices are deep and strong, and resonate in my soul long after I leave. The images there are carved into my mind and heart.


I have to fight back the tears literally every single time because the presence of God is so strong it's overwhelming.


Where is this place?



The prison.



"Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much; but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little." Luke 7:47



Maybe that explains it, I'm not sure. I just know these men know what it means to worship God.



They understand freedom in Christ far more than I probably ever will.



I pray I can learn from them.

I love smiles. I love them even more since coming to Africa. I may not yet know Juba Arabic well enough to carry on a conversation, but I can sure smile a big cheesy smile :) Smiles, my friend, seem to be a universal language.



Here's some things that made me smile today:



1. Watching my husband boldly proclaim the gospel to hundreds of teenagers at a school (after facing opposition from a Muslim teacher there) and seeing about 75 of them trust Christ. All I can say is WHAT A BLESSING! :)



2. Our maintenance man. Let me explain. Our power strip that charges all of our devices met an untimely death this morning. Somehow the leg of the metal bed frame made its way onto the cord and basically sawed it in half (shocking us in the process, lol). We thought we'd have to buy another and they aren't cheap! But our maintenance man was able to quickly fix it and now it looks (and works) as good as new :)



3. A little girl. During our Juba Arabic lesson today, baby Providence (one of the national pastors' daughter) came to me all by herself and crawled up in my lap with no coaxing from me or anyone else. She's very young and will shake my hand but she's never came to me all on her own. She sat with me for probably an hour and was good as gold :)



4. Sugar cane. Yum. Enough said. :)



5. A simple answered prayer. Our national pastor Charles and his wife and baby had to go home and it looked like rain was immenient. Their transportation is a motorcycle (boda boda). We prayed God would hold off the rain until they got home. He did. :)



6. Having a husband to laugh with. We talked today about how certain parts of being here sound so romantic, but they really aren't at all, lol. But having someone to share the good AND hard times with makes life a lot more enjoyable. :)



7. My own Bible in my language, and the ability to read it without fear of persecution. So many people don't have this luxury and would give all they own to have what we take for granted.



Now I could have listed all the things that went wrong, like starting the day off with shattering a bowl (my ONLY bowl, lol), a disrupted schedule, hot weather, bug bites, and on the list could go. But look at all the blessings I might have missed out on sharing!



What are you facing today that's threatening to steal your smile ? Be thankful instead, and go find a reason to smile.



And if you can't, go give someone else a reason to smile...and you just might find your smile in the process ...



"The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself." Proverbs 11:25

I dare say there are few things more comforting than having a husband who believes in the power of prayer.

Prayer has pulled us through some tough days. It has led us to a new continent ... a new world, really.

Prayer has changed our life.

But lest you think prayer itself is the answer to all life's problems, let me clarify by quoting my husband : "It is not our prayer, but the God OF our prayer that changes things."

Praying to a statue, a dead god, a mirage could never save a person. But praying to Jesus, my friend, that can transform even the filthiest of creatures into something beautiful...

What a thought, that we have the privilege of a direct line of communication to the Creator, Redeemer, and King!

I often wonder what might happen if only we cared enough to make good use of it ...

I've had multiple requests to start blogging more regularly, and instead of trying to backtrack everything I've failed to blog, I suppose I shall just start where I am...

I'm sitting in my concrete room, listening to the hum of our fans and the chirping of crickets through the open screen windows, enjoying the last few minutes of light before the electricity goes off for the night. Reminiscing over the day, it's often the small things that bring the biggest smiles, like remembering the advice i received earlier concerning my newest adventure of trying to learn Juba Arabic...

"Remember, you can eat a whale. Just take it one bite at a time."

Now, for most, learning a language may not be much of a feat. But for me, the girl who can barely remember her own name and gets lost in her hometown, this should be quite an experience! My only hope of learning it is His strength is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). Boy, am I glad for that.

He's been teaching me a lot about that lately. Or trying to. There's a lot of areas I'm weak in here that I need to be strong. I am so thankful for a Saviour who loves me as I am, but who loves me enough not to leave me that way :) He keeps stretching and pulling me out of my comfort zone...beckoning me to get out of the boat...which can be a scary place to be...

BUT when I get the right perspective of the grand scheme of things, it seems so silly to ever fret over anything at all. After all, it's on the outside of the boat that miracles happen.

I'm thankful He's promised to be with me and never leave me ( Hebrews 13:5). And that He loves me and He has the power to stop any bad thing from happening if He so chooses. Therefore anything that comes across my path has already received His approval, even if it doesn't make sense to little ol' me. Its comforting to know that even though my family is a million miles away, He's taking care of them. And to know that the children I teach on Sunday whose clothes are tattered and whose bodies are covered with dirt and flies can have hope in this same Jesus that I do, and so I don't have to try to fix everything, as much as my heart may long to. I just have to lead them to the One who can fix things, who can heal their sick little bodies, mend their shattered hearts and reunite their broken families. He is able.

Did I mention that I love Him?

I do.

He's all that's worth living for.

And He is worth living for.

He's also worth getting out of the boat for.

And if you get out and go to Him, even if you are trembling with fear, you might just get to walk on the water...