Shelter

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say of the Lord. "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust?"  Psalm 91: 1-2

Shelter is the theme of this years devotional with Back2Back.  Every group member, along with staff, receive this 5 day devotional during their trip.  As staff in Nigeria, we are taking a deeper look into each daily devotional.  We are thinking about questions like: What do you think of when you hear the word shelter?  In what ways does God provide shelter?  How does God provide shelter to the less fortunate?

When I first think of shelter, I think of protection.  But after studying God's word and being in the midst of the less fortunate, I have found a deeper meaning.  Yes, God is our protector, but if something bad happens, does that mean I am not being protected by God?  When we walk in the ways of the Lord we are not promised to live a pain free life.  We are to walk in Him, no matter the cost.  God's shelter is always with us no matter our circumstances.  His shelter is a constant peace that no matter what happens, nothing can take away His love from us.  

On day 3 of the Shelter study it stated that God's shelter is a "state of mind".  That really hit home with me.  In America we can have a lot of false shelters.  We rest easy in our spouses, cars, homes, finances, our grocery stores, clothing stores....basically our modern day conveniences. Sure, we know God is there, but do we "really" know this?  Do most of us rely on the things around us rather than God himself?  Is it easy to just assume that God's shelter is with us because we have all of these conveniences?

In Africa we don't have any of the American conveniences. Everything here is so difficult and time consuming.  Like I said before, the need here is so great.  How does a widow who lives in a tiny hut with 5 children and no electricity and running water see God as her shelter?  In their hearts they know God is with them and they trust the Lord to provide for them and to protect them.  They have nothing, yet they are content with God and what He has given them.  (Which is not much.) God's shelter is a state of mind.  He is constant no matter the circumstances.  He is constant no matter what one has or does not have.  He is the same God to me and to the poor orphaned child in Africa, and to you.  His love never fails and is unending. 

To be honest, it is going to be hard to come back home to the modern day conveniences.  Chris and I really like the pace of Nigeria.  Being here makes you appreciate what you have all the more.  Even our boys have been able to see the differences; one is in the education they are receiving compared to what the children here receive.  We are trying to help teach them these truth's about who God really is.  It's not about what we have, even though we are thankful for EVERYTHING He has provided.  All we have is because of Him.  It's about who we are in Christ and if we are living our lives fully for Him.  Giving everything, holding nothing back.  

There really is a lot more to God's shelter than what I have shared, but this is what has impressed me the most.  The longer I stay here the more I am learning about God and His shelter.  My heart is to know and understand more.  

  

Making A Difference

Being here for almost 4 weeks I have often wondered if we are making a difference here.  Will we ever fully know the answer to that question?  Before coming here our desire was to come to help out where needed and to serve the people here - whatever that looks like.  Now that we are here it seems that what we do is so little because the need here is so great.  

A few Fridays ago we handed out a bag of corn and rice along with oil to each family in the Kisayhip Village.  We split up into teams and along with a translator we went into everyone's homes and gave them the elements and we also prayed with them.  We told them we are here because we want them to know that God loves them.  We also wanted to let them know that Back2Back is building a compound close to their village and we are here to help them.  (We will use this future Back2Back compound to host our missionaries and groups that come for a mission trip.)  We felt it was important to make an impact on the village so they know we are here to serve them.  

We know that we made an impact, but will we really understand how much?  Walking away from that village and going back to our house where we have electricity (sometimes), running water and food, I don't think we will.  Unless we were completely in their shoes.  

I struggled with these feelings of making a difference here, but God has shown me that this is not about me.  I may never know how much we are making a difference.  I am to be obedient to the calling on my life.  I may never get the warm fuzzies.  I may never see the benefits of our so called labor here.  But, that is ok.  God has given me peace and God is right, of course, this isn't about me.

In Isaiah 58 God talks about true fasting.  From that scripture I am learning that God sees our hearts and true intentions.  He doesn't just want 1 day of fasting.  A fasting that is like "ok, I fasted for 1 day, I did my duty, and now I'm done."  Our lives are to be lived day in and day out by feeding the hungry, setting free the oppressed, providing shelter for the homeless and clothing the naked.  I love the part of the scripture where it talks about what God will do when we fast in such a way.  I love it that He goes before me and His glory will be my rear guard.  He will answer me when I call and when I do cry out to Him He will say "Here I am".   

We are not supposed to live our life for for ourselves.  We are supposed to be fasting our own desires.  Yes, God has a plan for my life here and He will grow us personally and as a family. We may never know how much we're helping, but what I do know is that God is our protector, our healer and he answers us when we call.  That is so much better than a warm fuzzy.

   

Lizards and Rats and Mice - Oh My!

And not to mention, big flat brown spiders that move very quickly.  The Bible tells us not to fear because He is with us always.  I am not sure if that was God's presence that I felt when the mouse ran between my feet, or when the rat ran up the wall right beside me or when the lizard came running right at me....or if it was just complete and total terror!  I have to laugh at all of my experiences with nature since I've been here.  I feel like the Cinderella of Nigeria.

What makes me even more anxious is that my boys love to catch the lizards, mice and rats.  Caleb actually picked up a dead rat and has made many lizards his pet/friend.  My boys also caught a toad, but we think Caleb handled it for too long and so the toad passed on to toad heaven.   So they decided to dissect it.   Needless to say they are having a great time.

Chris and I are getting settled into life in Nigeria.  There are things that we are starting to miss about home.   Things like water pressure and clean shower water.  Knowing we are showering in contaminated water kind of takes away from that just clean feeling.  We also miss having constant electricity.  We have been without electricity for over 14 hours.  We have a generator that we run every few hours.  Our generator will not allow us to run the washing machine/dryer along with everything else used in the house, so doing laundry is a long task.  It has taken me 5 days to do laundry and because we are without power again, I need to wait.  I hung my clothes on a line outside yesterday, which that was kind of fun.  One thing you have to be careful of is making sure the clothes are completely dry before you put them on if you hang them out to dry.  The Toomba fly will lay their eggs in the wet parts of the clothes.  They turn into mango worms.  These mango worms are flesh eating parasites and they will dig into your body.  Strangely, I kept thinking about that while my clothes were drying.   Luckily our power came on for a few hours yesterday for me to put our laundry in the dryer to kill off any worms, etc.

We have also been doing some outreaches, but I will post about those later.  We have to turn off the generator so I am going to loose my internet connection.  We will write more on the spiritual side of things soon.  

We really are glad to be here and we are so thankful for the Lord to allow this awesome opportunity.  

Our First Week In Nigeria

We are finally here!  Our plane ride was long, but mostly uneventful.  The kids did not like the airplane food so needless to say they were very happy to eat the Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches when we got to Abuja Sunday night. 

Our night in Abuja was a little weird, for lack of a better word.  Chris and I both felt a little under the weather.  We were both exhausted and my stomach was still weak from being sick on Friday.  Chris had a huge headache.  I was anxious too......the unknown as to what all lies ahead for us when we get to Jos.  I did wake up in the middle of the night and it was SO hot in our room.  The power was out and there was a man outside our window so it freaked me out.  We arrived during the night, so I did not know that the place where we were staying was fenced in.  It was one of those moments that I thought to myself "What in the world am I doing here?"  Anyway, it was one of the guards and he was turning on the generator.  It was still unsettling, but I was able to go back to sleep.  The next morning we all woke up, had breakfast, and started on our 3 hour drive to Jos.  

We have spent this week getting settled into the Nigerian ways.  It is so different here.  We have been without power everyday during pockets of the day.  It really hasn't caused too much of a problem yet, but it can get hot in our house when the ceiling fans aren't running.  In our bathrooms we have a hot water tank in each of our showers.  We have to turn on the switch 20 minutes before our showers so we can have hot water.  I've had to take several cold showers because the boys shower first, so they get the warm water.  It actually doesn't feel that bad, except when it is 9:00 at night and I don't feel as hot and sticky.  We are not able to drink the water right out of the faucet so we have to make our own water.  It's this really cool and amazing process using PUR powder.  We have to pour water in these buckets and then drop the tablets into the water.  The PUR tablets kill all of the bacteria in the water.  The bacteria forms this big nasty orange clump.  The water is poured from the buckets through filters into containers.  After 20 minutes of sitting, the water can be poured into these big buckets with a lid and spout. That is how we get our water.  After seeing the big orange clump, called Flock, it is easy to become mental while drinking the water, but what makes us feel better is knowing it is produced by P&G and it is COMPLETELY safe and clean.  It really is awesome and we are thankful for PUR!

The boys were able to go to CLAPAI and give the kids the treasure chest, muffin mixes and Kool-Aid.  They loved it!  The teachers there said they were so thankful and appreciative of our gifts to them.  It was great to see the boys interact with the kids.  We are planning on going there once a week so the boys can read to the children there.  What a great way for the boys to be involved and to serve.

Next week we have a group coming so we are preparing the campus for their arrival.  We plan on going to CLAPAI and the village next week.  We are going to build and fix some benches for the school classroom at the village.  We are also going to do an outreach at the village by handing out bags of corn, rice and bottles of oil.  We plan on going to their homes to give them the food and to also pray with them.  This will also be a great way for the boys to see how the people live here.  Being in the SSE house we still have electricity, running water, bathrooms, beds with mattresses, etc.  The village does not have these things.  

The boys also have been playing a lot of soccer (football).  One of our guards, Paul, loves to play football so they are playing all the time out there with him.  We have also had major down pours so the kids are playing in the rain.  They think it's awesome.  

We are finishing out the week with Noah getting sick.  Please pray for him.  He started out with a rash last night, then woke up this morning with diarrhea.  He also threw up mucus, but hasn't gotten sick since.  He does have a fever so he feels bad, but is eating pretzels and drinking gatorade.  We all have to stay hydrated here anyway, but with him having a fever we are really trying to push the liquids.  

We really are thankful to be here.  We are learning to trust in the Lord to be our shelter.  Psalm 91 is what our theme is for this summer.  He is our protector and our shelter and we hide and trust in Him.  Everyday seems to be different and we really need to rely on his strength and wisdom for each day.  Next week we will really start ministering to the people here.  Please continue to pray for us.  It can be so easy, especially for me, to become anxious, especially since everyday is different.  New trials and situations seem to happen everyday.  But, 

our God is mighty and powerful!  We are so glad we can run to him and be safe.

HOPE

In October of 2006, mid-way through our stay, I sat on the floor of the place where we were staying in Jos, Nigeria, and I looked at the 4 of us Americans sitting here. I was overwhelmed and scared and feeling sick to my stomach. The need here is so great and so many are depending on us to help them. I thought to myself, how? How is this all going to fall into place? How is God going to make this all happen through Chris and I and Jason and Emilee? I remember feeling so small and powerless and what was before us was so big. When we get back to the states there is so much work that needs to be done and in my sense of panic, I felt like there wasn’t much time. My mind was spinning with so many different thoughts. I knew right then that God was going to stretch our faith and we were going to grow and learn to depend on the Lord more than we have thought we would. With so many people here looking to us for help, part of me wanted to just turn around and go back and say forget it, it’s too much.

Later that week we were at the village telling everyone good-bye and we would be back soon. Word spread so quickly that we were there again, that by the time we were getting back into our car to go to the airport, we were informed that Ikira, the “agricultural guy” of the village of 1,000 people, contracted typhoid. Ikira showed us the village a few days before. He walked us around the place. We spent several hours with him and many of the villagers that day. Now, he was very sick and needed money for medicine. He thought if he could just let us know that he was sick that we would be able to help. Not really knowing what we could do at this point, one of the villagers that we asked to help us, got into the car with us and directed us to the medical facility where Ikira was staying.

We walked into the dirty ‘hut’ like building not really knowing what to expect. From the outside it looked like an old condemned building. It was dark and very small. My bathroom medicine cabinet probably had more in it than this place. There was a women sitting on a cot holding her very sick baby. Ikira was lying on another cot, hooked up to an IV. I remember thinking, “wow, they have IV’s in this place?” Once he saw us he sat up and smiled at us. He had hope. We really felt so helpless, but when he looked at us he had hope.

Looking back at that moment it all seems so clear to me now. It’s as if I am experiencing that moment all over again. HOPE. That’s what we bring to these people. How could I turn back and say “forget it?” God has a plan and that plan involves us. As we reach out our hand to help them, it’s really God’s hand reaching out. It was really God’s feet that walked into that medical building to check on Ikira, not mine. He reaches when we reach out and He steps when we step. God loves them (John 3:16) and has a plan of hope that involves Chris and I (and our boys). It involves everyone who will step up and give to this ministry. It’s in these moments that we have such an amazing opportunity to tell them how much our creator in heaven adores them and wants to have a relationship with them. Ever since that trip Chris and I have been amazed at “how” God is putting all of the pieces together. As I sat on that floor in Nigeria and wondered how, I sure didn’t know, but God did. I am so glad He has a plan. Chris and I are humbled that He has chosen us to be a part of it.

Now we are ready to start a whole new experience as we get ready to leave for Nigeria. This time it’s with my whole family. It’s a different dynamic this time. But, we are still offering the same thing; HOPE, through Christ.

Passion

A new friend recently told me a story about a conversation he had with his son who is a freshman in high school. His son is a wrestler and is bigger and about 40-50 pounds heavier. My 48 year old friend was willing to go on the wrestling match with his son and he knew that he would win because of his passion. He told his son, "That's what you need. You need passion. Skill and talent don't always win. But, passion will win every time."

The next morning I woke up about 5 am and my first thoughts were about this story. I had to ask myself, "What am I passionate about?" I'm a pretty laid back guy, so I don't get fired up very often, especially not enough to want to wrestle someone and win. Then my thoughts went to Jesus. He was very passionate. He was and is passionate about all of humanity. So much so that He was willing to take the physical abuse and beating, the cursing, and the humilation of being crucified. He did all of that so that my sins and your sins can be forgiven and so we can have the hope of eternal salvation with Him. Now THAT is passion!

So, I ask myself, "What am I passionate about?" Am I passionate about loving the Lord with all my heart, soul, and mind? Am I willing to love people like Jesus loves them? Really?! Am I willing to lay down my life so that others can know who Jesus is and that they, too, can have a personal relationship with Him. Lord, make me passionate like You are.

What are you passionate about?