The heart of a 7-year old

Coincidence?  No!  God has moved in the heart of a 7-year old, Central Texas girl, leading her to raise money for missions.  She has explained her plan to her parents, posted a “reminder” note on their refrigerator and is cleaning out her toys for a garage sale.  She has already gathered two bags of “precious” toys. 

All of this happened prior to last Wednesday night, when I happened to sit down by her mom.  As we talked about the “Gift of Grain”, mom saw the connection.  She exclaimed, “Maybe this is what Rachael can give her money to!”  Then she proceeded to tell me of Rachael’s desire to raise money to give to missionaries and told me of her plans and actions to date. 

Now don’t you know that God is going to make an impression on this young one’s heart…..one that she will remember for years to come.  It’s that simple faith.  Stepping out and following Him BEFORE we know the end result.  Rachael didn’t know where that money was going to go, but she followed the desire in her heart and was obedient.  God knew His plan for that money…..and when we are obedient (even before we know the outcome), we will see the glorious happen right before our eyes.  His plan will unfold before us and we will be captured! 

Rachael knows about the “Gift of Grain” project now.  She will get to see the fruits of her labor and how they will reach halfway around the world to touch hearts and lives with the love of Christ.  Won’t you be obedient too?  Step out in simple faith and follow the desire that He has put in your heart.

Thanks, Rachael.

Gift of Grain...for a harvest of S0uls

For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat....Matthew 25:35a
Dear friends,  One of our partners in the region where we work shared that the harvest in this region was not good and the villages are lacking an adequate food supply.  He suggested that if we could bring grain to these villages, that it would be a "grand gesture to show the love of Chr1st".  We are expecting a team here in March that will be traveling to this area.  We would like to purchase 120 bags of grain and distribute it among 4 villages.  Would you consider buying a bag of grain to help feed those who are hungry?  The cost is $30 for a bag of millet (~200lbs).  We would purchase the grain and take it to the villages that we visit on our trip.    If you would like to participate in this effort, you may visit the Harvest Seeker's website at http://www.hisharvesters.org/support.html and click on the "Make a Donation" button at the bottom of the page.  This will open a page for you to donate via PayPal.  Please designate the funds as "Gift of Grain".  Otherwise, you may mail a check to the address listed on the web page.  Please join us in praying for those who will hear, that they will be fed spiritually, as well as physically.
Demonstrating His Compassion... Giving Him the Glory...

Momma Taught Us Well

L0ri and I would like to give a big thanks to all the mommas that teach their children well! Our time here has been filled with countless days and hours on learning the life lessons on how to live our life here. At first glance living in M@li seems to be completely different than from living in the States…for instance there is no such thing as pedestrian right away; driving is a chaotic tribulation on a good day; lounging around consists of sitting in the hood of a car watching TV, the way to bring in dry laundry off the line is by folding it and placing it on your head, actually the only way to carry things is on your head, to count on your fingers you start with your pinky, one way to get some tires from point A to point B is to put it around your body and jump on a Moto and the list goes on! However the more days we live here the more we come to realize that our day to day living is not all that different than any other place that we have called home.

As L0ri and I tackle a new skill or learn a new responsibility we catch ourselves saying “huh…momma taught me well” for the responsibilities that we have to do were not so new after all! As we hang our clothes on the line to dry we catch ourselves saying “huh…momma taught us well”. As we break and freeze green beans we say “huh…momma taught us well again”. As we wash the dishes by hand, as we wash/cut up our vegetables and fruits, as we make our beds every morning, as we keep our room clean, as we count to ten with our fingers and as we wash our feet before bed even making sure to clean out the toe worms in between our feet we keep saying “huh…how about that momma taught us well.”  So we give a special thanks, love and appreciation to our mommas that have taught us so well when we were growing up, for the responsibilities of living here consists of tasks that we have learned from our mommas. We give pr@ise to Father for this time of simply learning how to live life here and that He has prepared us long before now to live in M@li.  We give pr@ise to Father for guiding us each step of the way as we continue to be His hands and feet. 

C@therine and L0ri

Pr@ises and Pr@yers

Thank you for your f@ithfulness, your support, and the courage you give us as we serve!!

Pr@ises:

Father has provided us with an apartment in the city. We have determined we will need a base home in the city from which we can work and live. He has provided us with an amazing opportunity and we will move into this place on February 12th or 13th. It is a two bedroom, one bath apartment and perfect for what we need. Only Father could have worked that out in just the right way and timing!!

Father is opening our ears and our mouths to speak a new language and to communicate little by little with the M@lian people.

Father is giving  us courage and faith to step out and do what seems impossible, overwhelming, and sometimes even completely crazy.

Father is building relationships through which we are able to demonstrate His love, power, and s@lvation.

Father is taking us by the hand and guiding us, protecting us, and fulfilling His promises to us.

Pr@yers:

SPECIFIC WEEKEND PR@YER!!!
Wisdom and discernment about the right vehicle, the right price and the right timing. We had opportunity to look at and consider a vehicle today (2/4). It is a 2008 Toyota 4x4 truck with 18,500 miles. The price is a little more than we feel we can spend based on the budget we have received. We still need about $6000 to have the amount we need for this vehicle. Please ask Father to show us His will and power concerning the provision for this vehicle. Please pr@y for Father to speak to all of us about His will concerning this vehicle. Pr@y for wisdom and F@ITH to follow if this is Father's provision for us.

Father to completely heal the ankle of a man for whom we have been pr@ying and helping with medicine. Ask Him to demonstrate His power and His compassion as well as use this as an opportunity to bring s@lvation.

Father to continue opening our ears to hear B@mbara and our mouths to speak it. Connections with a language teacher who can help us move forward in our language skills.

Preparations for our apartment so we can move in and get settled into life, community, and work here. We need to add electricity along with a few other things as well as determine what kind of furnishings we need.

Sp1r1tual and physical preparations for a team coming to serve with us March 10-22. Ask Father for guidance in planning and preparing the message He wants to share through this team.

A Taste of Home

Father has been demonstrating His Presence, His guidance, His gentleness as He has walked with C@therine and I these last 10 days!! We both bow in honor to Him as well as dance with praises for His f@ithfulness to us!! We have stood behind our shields of f@ith trusting, believing, and walking forward even when the fiery @rrows of fear, uncertainty, and even reality come full force our way!! We have made friends in the area around where we are living for the moment, we have made trips to the market to fruits, vegetables, beans, milk, and sugar. We even went with a friend to the UGU UGU. I know you may be asking yourself what is a UGU UGU. Well....its Walmart, Gap, Old Navy, Abercrombie and Fitch, college sports clothing shops all in one! It is piles of clothing that have been shipped here from all over the western world. How fun to see and even buy clothes from our favorite stores, right here in the market! The craziest thing--I found some flipflops...Clemson orange with the S0uth Car0lina Palmetto tree and Crescent Moon in just my size!! A huge taste of home to make me smile every day!! We have taken taxis, walked, and hitched rides with friends to places we needed to go. Best of all, we have had opportunities to demonstrate our Father and our S@vior to the friends we have met and spend time with each day.

A Bottle of Cold Sprite

A day or two after C@therine arrived, we began going out on the street to greet and sit with a friend I had made going to and from the place we are staying to get nems...a favorite food from a little street food stand. I go often--at times it seems daily. This friend from the street and I have laughed and laughed together about my frequent trips to get nems--day by day my stomach calls for them we would say. Father had shown me that she would be a great friend for C@therine and I to go greet and sit with to listen and hear language. So that we did.
Our friend would call people over to greet us so we could practice our language. These opportunities also gave us the chance to pr@y for several people who mentioned a sickness or that someone they knew was not well. Then a man came. He greeted us, and then told us about his foot. With very limited language, we found out he had been in an accident with a vehicle. He had a horrible place on his ankle that was very infected and very close to the ankle bone. We prayed for him and talked about what we should do. We decided to get him some antibacterial soap, triple antibiotic ointment, and some gauze compresses. We taught him how to wash it and put the ointment on it and told him to do it twice a day--in the morning and afternoon. We checked on him each day and it was getting better.
This man has a little shop on the corner of the street next to where we sat cooking and stuffing fish. After we had been cooking for awhile, this man came to us. He had an ice cold Sprite in his hand, and he reached out to give it to C@therine and I. It was soooo refreshing since it was high noon, and we had been outside without water for quite awhile. It was a turning point in our friendship. We were not just giving to him to help him, but he was giving to us and helping us! It reminded me of the verse where J.s.s said, "And if you give even a cup of water to one of the least of these my f0ll0wers, you will surely be rewarded." Pr@y that this man's bottle of  cold Sprite will be rewarded by our Father with healing for his leg and s@lvation for his spirit. Pr@y for us as we prepare to share stories from Father's Word with him as well as our other friends on the street.

Stuffed to the Gills

Adjusting to living in M@li has been quite the experience. Each day brings new adventures, new beginnings, and new experiences with Father. Father has been faithful in showing every step of the way of each day with Him. Having only been living here for seven days there were many things I expected to do during this first week as I immersed myself in the culture, such as walk around greeting the people, beginning to learn the language, and simply learning how to live life in the city. However, there are some things that just never crossed my mind that I would be doing for instance cooking on a street in the city and stuffing raw fish.  It is in these unknown and unforeseen opportunities that Father shines bright. 

As L0ri and I were walking down the street going back to our living place we always stop and greet our friends that we have made on the way. It happened to be that one of our M@lian friends was beginning to cook. At first we only saw some vegetables laying out… our thoughts, how fun would it be to sit with our M@lian friend, help cut up some vegetables, speak in B@mbara and develop deeper relationships.  We asked our friend if we could help her cook and then she pulled raw fish out of a bag. Our thoughts now... maybe helping cook, specifically working with raw fish, is not what we had in mind after all. L0ri and I stayed hoping that we wouldn’t have to work with the fish (haha…no such luck).  L0ri began cutting up onion, pepper and carrots, and I began pounding different herbs and garlic. Our friend helped us learn the B@mbara language by repeating phrases multiple times and telling us what she was doing as she was doing it.  Eventually came the time to work with the fish. As I was waiting to be told what to do next I soon saw the fish bowl begin pushed my way. Since I had been pounding the herbs and making the paste/stuffing to put on the fish, it was my job to stuff the raw fish and stuff the raw fish I did all the way up into the gills. The fish were then fried and the vegetables were cooked finishing the dish. 

It was during this time cooking that L0ri and I saw our relationship grow with our M@lian friends by spending time with them instead of just stopping by to greet and then leave. It was during this time that we saw doors being opened believing one day we will be able to share the W0rd of our Father with them. 

C@therine