Face Down

Have you ever been so overwhelmed by the faithfulness of our G0d that it literally knocked you to your knees and put you face down before Him...speechless yet desperate to utter words of pr@ise and adoration?

From that place, I write this post.

From November 2006 to this very moment, G0d has asked me to believe Him for a r@dio station in B@ye...a remote area with pockets of peoples and nations who have little or no access to J.s.s. I had no idea of how He would accomplish this...only a pounding of my heart  in the usual way He lets me know it is Him who is speaking, leading, guiding, revealing, showing me something. He only said, "Believe me for this and I will do it!!"

Today...HE HAS DONE IT!! I received word this afternoon that R@DIO K@NTIGUIYA ...Radio F@ithfulness...is on the air. The installation is complete and the first broadcasts took place today.  It is broadcasting to villages and peoples within a 100 km/63 mile radius. When I read the email, tears came to my eyes and my heart was overwhelmed. I finished reading the email through blurry eyes filled with tears, then all I could do was go to my room...fall face down and utter small phrases of pr@ise!!

G0d is so f@ithful! He does what He says He will do!! He does it ways you can never imagine!! He does it according to His time!! He does it...He does it...He does it!! He is F@ITHFUL...He is FA@ITHFUL...He is F@ITHFUL!!

Even as I write this, tears continue to fill my eyes! You see...for such a time as this...a time when M@li is in turmoil, a time when people are coming face to face with what their religion practices, a time when people are afraid, a time when war is crouching at the door, a time when people are searching for Truth...the LOVE and LIFE of Jss is being declared! NOW is the time our G0d had planned for R@dio K@ntiguiya to declare HIS FAITHFULNESS to the people living on the fringes of M@li'sgreatest turmoil.  NOW is HIS TIME to declare His f@ithfulness to redeem and restore all people to Himself through His Son Jss.

Please PR@ISE HIM with us as we rejoice in His F@ithfulness...many of you have walked this road with us from the beginning...thank you, thank you, thank you! I know you too will join me face down in awe of our F@ITHFUL G0D!

I also ask you to join me in pr@ying for G0d to prepare the road for me to travel to this area to celebrate in person, to hear with my own ears, and to pr@ise Him together with our partners! As I said earlier, this area is on the fringe of the turmoil in M@li. We have not traveled there since January of this year. I have been pr@ying and asking G0d for the road to be opened to me for such a time as this...a time to celebrate and worship and declare His glory among the people to whom He sent me. I ask that you would pr@y with me for His timing, His peace, His protection, His way!!

overwhelmed by HIM...

"Pr@ise the L0rd, all you nations.
Pr@ise him, all you people of the earth.
For he loves us with unfailing love, the L0rd's faithfulness endures forever.
Pr@ise the L0rd.

Psalm 117

Gift of Grain 2012

Over 2 months ago, I watched my country enter into a turmoil I thought could never happen here...a peaceful country and a peace seeking people. I watched the struggles escalate to the point of evacuation not knowing what would happen with all that God had planned for us this year. I cried out to Him to finish what He had started...to allow us to re-enter our country and complete what He had begun. He heard and He promised to do just that ...finish what He had begun.

It is so incredible to be able to see God's promises fulfilled!! It is so empowering to see Him finish what He has begun!! F@ith comes rushing in to help us when we cannot see how it can happen!! For all of that my heart is full of gratitude today!! Today, I marvel at His f@ithfulness...pr@ise Him for His great love for the people of my country!! I bow in surrender to the One and Only who is ABLE!!

On Thursday we sat with D@n who went in our place to help with the Gift of Grain. He had returned with pictures and stories of how our Father was at work. He told us of a man who left his home of the day of the distribution because he had no food for his family. He left to go to another village to ask someone for money for food. He came home without money or food...only to find that G0d had brought food to his family that day.

D@n told us other stories of f@ith ...of how our Father is at work drawing people to Himself despite the struggles and difficulties in our country. One shepherd was sick. P@stor D@o prayed for J.s.s to heal him. This man put his f@ith in J.s.s and believed. He was healed and now he has chosen to f0ll0w J.s.s even though his family will not agree  and his wife will not eat what he provides. She calls him "cafre" which means pagan.  His confession..."I will die on the J.s.s road no matter what my family says."
 

A woman who had been possessed by demons and freed through the pr@yers of our Father's servant came to w0rshipon the Sunday after the food distribution for the first time. She had chosen to f0ll0w J.s.s but her family did not agree. This week she found courage to come from a village 45 minutes away by car(which she does not have) to join with other f0ll0wers in w0rsh!p.

The final number of families impacted by the unfailing love of our Father through you and the Gift of Grain Project is 238!!! We distributed 260 of 261 bags of grain in the name of J.s.s and because of His love! 

Thank you for your part in demonstrating our God and His love to those who are in desperate need!!

humbled by His grace and unfailing love...

Different But the Same

While we waited for the trucks to arrive in one village...an extra few days...we took advantage of that time to join the women in a baby naming celebration. We took a journey through the village greeting people and visiting the family of the man who was leading us to the ceremony and translating for us. We arrived and groups of women were all sitting around doing different things. The woman who had the baby that was being named was sitting with her friends inside the house...the dark, hot house. Most of them had their own babies and they were enjoying their time. After greeting them, we were led to an area where most of the older women were sitting. They were talking while some were stretched out on the mats and others were getting henna designs on their feet.

We greeted them and they gave us places to sit among them. Then the real greeting and the talking began. It was a sweet time of honesty and talking. After the ladies greeted us they expressed their hearts to us. It was a powerful moment in my life and my understanding of what it is like to be on the other side of entering a v!llage as a stranger. I have prepared many teams and individuals to enter a different culture and be prepared to become like them in order to make Chr!st known among them. The thing I guess I had never really considered was what was it like for those to whom we go to visit. What do they think about these strangers who crash their village, spend the night in their courtyard, and bring a message to them. As they talked with us one lady spoke for the group, "We are so glad you have come, but we do not know if we can touch you, what we can say to you, if we will hurt you. We do not want to hurt you with our words or our actions." It made me stop and think....we are the same! Those are the very concerns we have as we enter and seek to make J.s.s known. Will we offend, will we hurt, will we close the door by our words and actions. It seemed that the honesty of these women broke down the barriers.

As we continued to talk we had the opportunity to tell the story of how Elizabeth and Zechariah named their son John. We talked about the story some and then the floor was opened for us to pr@y for them. It was a powerful time where G0d's Spirit was obvious, where a oneness had developed, and where women from very different cultures were bowed before the Father.