God in the Details

In America, it is easy to forget that God exists in every detail. We expect electricity, water, and things to work correctly. When they don't work, we take it to someone who can normally fix it and life goes on. However, here electricity and water could be off for days with people always telling you tht it is coming. This can cause frustration or you can learn to trust God with things that seem minor. I would never pray to God for trivial things in the states because it seems as if I can handle it on my own. However, being here I have realized that I will not make it through the next hour without asking him for strength and perseverance. Fr dealing with more minor issues, I have learned to truly put my trust in what God provides instead of fixing the problem on my own. I am so excited that I am able to grow in this way of seeking out the Lord first as it shows my maturity in Christ but I still have a long way to go. You are probably still confused so I will give you some examples. When I run in the morning, there are usually dogs out. They are normally sleeping but sometimes they like to bark or growl at me. Several weeks ago, I prayed while I ran that the dogs would leave me away. During the run, no kidding, every dog around me sprinted away from as quickly as lightning. Some of the dogs I didn't even see until I saw hem bolting away. Weird? No, God! When I experience something like this, I automatically have to give the glory to God as it is not possibl without Him. God is working in evey detail and it is so important to see how He provides in big ways but also in small ways. Two days ago, I was running when one dog was circling me and growling. I kept yelling at it but nothing worked until I said Christ please. At that moment, the dog stopped and just stared at me as I jogged away. Coincidence? I think not! In America, I thought it would have been silly to pray to God for such a small thing but here I realie how important to give every situation over to God.

I have also seen the Lord work in a might way this week. I wrote up the experience for my director to send back to the main office so I am just going to insert that. (sorry, call me lazy!)

In my classroom of 13 students, I have found one student to be opposed to God and the bible. At the beginning of the year, she informed that the Savior I talked about was not her God nor the God who created her as she was created by Allah. During chapel with Alabaster Box, she covered her head with her jacket which was sad to me considering what a joyful time that was with the school and indeed the presence of our Savior. From those events, I have tried to be committed, along with others, to pray for her and the conviction that she was under. Three days ago, I started to see God answers those prayers as she asked during Bible time what would happened if someone didn’t believe in God. I went on to explain the salvation message and the importance of accepting Christ as the only true Savior. You could see the wheels turning as several minutes later she asked her next question. She asked, “What if I half believe Jesus is the Savior in our heart and half not, what then?” I then went on to explain that he wants our whole heart and again He is the only true Savior for the bible says, “I am the way, the truth, and the light.” No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6Then one of the students asked me if we could ask this girl if she wanted to accept Christ right now as her Savior. Even the class recognizes the need for Christ in each life. God started to open her closed heart and what a blessing that was to see. Last week I was talking about the darkness of sin. On her own she said, “sin is like a dungeon and Jesus is the only one that can free us from it.” What a powerful analogy! Today, she was sharpening her pencil on my desk where I have my bible. She turned to me and said, “Why did God write the Bible?” I had the opportunity to tell her that it is a letter written by Him for us to show that He is with us always and will take care of us. She seemed to be okay with that answer but before she walked away I said, “Do you know that Jesus loves you.” “I know,” she says and went back to work. These past couple of days have been a blessing as God has turned a closed heart into a questioning one for the truth. God is working hard in her heart so please pray that God will show her the truth which would impact her entire family. This child is searching as I hear her constantly having conversations about Christ and Allah. The other children also see the importance of winning her for Christ. On Friday, we were picking up when she made up a song. It was actually quite good and I asked her where she had heard it but she really made it up. She wrote it down and the words are powerful as they speak the truth of Christ.

Here they are: Be glad don't cry for the Lord has joy. He gave you Joy. You must think about the Lord. He made you. You must red the bbible becase it is Gods word. He made you. Jesus had to die for our sins to make us.

Isn't that powerful? I asked her about it and she told me she wrote it for all the Christians because she knows this is what they believe. I asked her if she believed in what she wrote and she said no because she believes in Allah more than God. This kind of broke my heart until I really examined what she wrote. At the beginning she uses the pronoun you to refer that she is not included. However when it comes to the most important message from Christ, about Christ dieing on the cross for our sins she switched the pronoun. Instead of saying, for your sins, she used our sins and us. God has a great sense of humor. She might not believe this at least aloud to me but she at least knows the truth and is thinking about it. God is good so please continue to pray that the Lord will open her heart and the heart of her family.

This week I took my class on a field trip to West African Mission which is a clinic and ambulance service for members. It was started by a woman whose children attend our school. I had one of them in class last year. We are learning about community helpers so the childen got to go in an ambulance, test their hearing in a sound proof booth(they all passed so now none of them have an excuse about not being able to hear me!), and learn about water safety around a pool. It was fun to get out with them and enjoy their cuteness in a different place other than school. They are doing well but please pray for their listening ear and for kindness in tone to one another.

Friday night we had our kickoff for Sharpeners which is a mentor program we are starting with the high schoolers. Two high school students are paired with a teacher where they can hang out each week. it gives the kids a chance to have someone to listen to them and it enables us to connect better with the students. We hace 10 signed up right now which is great for a start. We had them all over to our house for food(of course), games, and a time with their mentor. I already know the two girls I have pretty well but I am excited to know them on a more personal level. They want to study the book of Revelation, a book I know so much about(I am being sarcastic) so I will have to google it to find out more information or ask my dad! Please pray that we could be vulnerable with one another and study God's word so we could strengthen our relatinoship in Him.

I am not writing this to scare you but to open your eyes to the reality and for you to pray for this. The police presence has diminished some in our which means crime has gone up. There have been several houses broken into and some people have died. Mr. Crosby has asked us to be more cautious so please pray that I especially will act with care for now. Also, on Mr. Crosby's way home Friday, he saw the police catch two people thought to be robbers and kill them right there. First of all, that was rough to watch but also noone is for sure if they were actually robbers. I am not even sure what to pray about on this but pray the Lord will lead you to pray for the right words. This is reality here. It is not a scary place but death is an open thing. Well on that note, I shall leave you but I hate leaving you on a down note! Oh tomorrow we are having a fiesta just because we can. There, that is more rand0m and happy!