Marriage, Ghana, and the Future

      It is hard to believe that school ended just 8 weeks ago!  It has been a crazy summer and it's almost time to head back to Ghana for another year!  Just 4 weeks after we arrived back from Ghana Becca and I got MARRIED!!! On June 28th we started the journey of the rest of our lives together!  It has been amazing so far and can only get better as we learn to serve and love our Savior and each other.  I forget who said this, but I read a while back that marriage is not meant to just make you happy and satisfied, but it is meant to show you all of your insufficiencies and make you depend more and more on Christ.  I am excited to learn and grow and follow wherever God leads us now and in the future!

     One thing that God has been teaching me over the past few weeks and the even the few months before the wedding is that I cannot love Becca (or anyone else for that matter) as much as Christ loves her.  I included that fact in my vows, that I will love her the best that I can knowing that Christ loves her so much more than I ever can.  Marriage and ministry in Ghana has been teaching me how insufficient I am to love like Christ.  I think of myself way more often than I should and I do so many things and say so many things that are all about me.  I think I'm something special and should worry about myself above everything else, when Christ calls me to do the exact opposite.  He says that whoever wants to be first should become the servant of all!  How?!  I don't know! But I know that Christ is working in me as to what that means in my life.  I catch myself thinking about how everything will look to others and what they will think of me.  Or I catch myself thinking of how this is going to effect me and my life.  My prayer is that God would continue to teach me what it means to love others above myself and stop being so selfish!  It is a work in progress and will always be a work in progress!

      I'm gonna keep this blog short because Becca and I have started a new blog together and will be updating that in the next two weeks!  I will send out the new blog from this blog when we our first entry is posted!  Until then, it is time to pack and get ready to go back HOME!!

Life as I Know it

     For those of you that aren't Becca, Pete and a few other people here in Ghana this blog post may come as a surprise.  I am not a very outspoken person when it comes to things that God is working on in my life or things that I am struggling with.  The past 2 months have been some of the toughest months of my life.            

(Beware: This blog post may seem like I am rambling on and on about all of these simple truths that we have all heard over and over again.  That's because it is.  I have been learning so much over the past 2 months and so much of it is simple truths that are revolutionizing my thinking in brand new ways.  God has to teach us things over and over again because we are so stubborn and forget so many times!  God is teaching me what all of these things mean because I am finally open and letting him into my life.  I have finally confessed to him and others my sin and the shame that goes with it!  If you haven't done that in your life, do it!  And seek out someone you can talk to who can encourage you in seeking God to change you from the inside out!)
   
    I have always been "comfortable" in my life.  I grew up in a Christian home, asked Jesus to save me when I was 5, went to Christian school, went to Christian college, and now I'm a missionary Christian school teacher in Ghana.  You may think, "Well, Ghana isn't that comfortable!"  But it is when you think about all of the luxuries that I enjoy and all of the Christians I am around.  I have always been a person who tries to please the people around me.  It started with my parents.  I always wanted to be good at what I did, whether that be school, sports, or religion, I always wanted to look like I had it under control (I still want everyone to think I have it all under control!).  I did what was right and what looked good because I wanted to look good.  So many of the things that I did were because I didn't want to get in trouble or because I wanted people to think that I was a great Christian (now, don't get me wrong, there were plenty of good things that I did because those were my convictions and I was following what Christ wanted).  My heart and mind were not committed to Christ, but were committed to looking like a good person to the people around me.  Just like Paul/Saul was doing when he was persecuting Christians.  He thought that he was doing the right thing because the people who he had learned from and the religious leaders of the religion he grew up in told him he was doing the right thing. I was the same way, I was doing the right thing because that's what I thought God wanted and because people around me thought I was doing good.  Galatians 1:10-11 is Paul sharing how he used to be.  "Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ."  I have to ask myself that question!  There were and are so many times where I am not a servant of Christ!  I am a servant of all the people around me and of my own selfish desire to be accepted to people more than by Christ!

      Here's the catch.  I am not good.  I am not ok.  I don't have it all under control.  I am a dirty, rotten sinner who's good works are like "filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6) before a all-knowing, holy God.  I, like Paul, was trying to make everyone think I was a great person, when really I was hurting and just seeking to be accepted. You know where the only real acceptance comes from?!  It comes from Christ who died for me even while I was like "filthy rags" and was in complete rebellion against him!  It seems so simple and straight forward!  I have been taught these things for my entire life and thought I understood them!!  Did I really understand that God had set me apart from birth? That he is the one who pursued me?  And is still pursuing me?!  It's not about me trying to please Him, it is ALL ABOUT HIM! I cannot on my own power, do anything that will bring me to a right relationship with the only good and holy God.

     Now you may say, "Josiah, I understand all of these things.  How come you are just now realizing them?" And I say, "Because I had allowed so many other things to consume my mind and heart besides Christ!"  I thought that I was doing well because I wasn't doing anything "really bad" like so many other people.  I was reading my Bible for a few minutes, I was praying for a few minutes a day, and I was staying away from watching or doing anything that people would think was really bad.  God doesn't want that for me or for you!  He wants our whole lives!  Not just what we think will make us look good to others!

    I feel as if all of this will mean nothing to so many of you because I can't put into words all that God is teaching me through simple truth found in His Word. So let me share with you some passages and verses that I just can't get over.  I pray that God will use them in your life the same way He is using them in mine.

In 2 Corinthians 12 Paul talks about his "thorn in the flesh" and how the Lord will not take it away from him.  Verses 9-10: But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.  For when I am weak, then I am strong."  How can you boast in your weaknesses?! That doesn't make any sense, but that's what Paul says!  God is teaching me to not be ashamed that I am not strong enough to resist temptation, but to boast in my weakness!  How do I boast in my weakness?!  I constantly speak this truth in prayer throughout my day, "God you know that I can't do this on my own!  I will trust in you as my strength!"  That can be related to anything I am struggling with that day and that moment!! And you know what, when I look to Christ, those weaknesses don't seem so bad!

Another passage that I can't get over is Hebrews 4:14-16, "Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin.  Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."  Jesus was tempted in EVERY WAY we are, and yet was without sin!  So there is no way we can say, well it is just not possible to defeat this sin!  Guess who we have living inside of us?! Holy Spirit!! Who just so happens to be God!  Verse 16 tells us to approach the throne of grace with confidence then because we have Jesus up there covering over all of our sin and shame with GRACE!  Jesus is there and so is the Holy Spirit every time we need him! So many times we just don't ask and so we don't receive!  Prayer has been a big part of these past 2 months for me and I will share a little bit more about that in the next paragraph.

In order to keep this post down to a manageable read I will end with this set of verses from Philippians 3:7-14, "But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.  What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus as my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.  I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ - the righteousness that comes from and is by faith.  I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain the resurrection from the dead.  Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.  Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.  But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."  Wow! What a passage!  The first couple of verses are pretty famous, but what has really stuck out to me is the fact that it is not just about considering everything a loss and sacrificing everything for Christ.  The real goal here is everything is a loss "compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord and knowing "Christ and the power of his resurrection."  So what is our ultimate goal?! To know Christ and his resurrection!! If I am constantly reminding myself of that truth and the power of it.  Then Paul says, "I'm not there yet, but that's ok!"  Crazy to think that the man that wrote so much of the New Testament says in one passage that he will boast in his weaknesses and then he says that he hasn't obtained all of what Christ has done for him!  He is ok with not being there yet, but he is going to strive to get there! Forgetting everything he has done because it is covered in grace, and pressing on to win the prize which is ultimately fulfilled in knowing Christ completely!!  I know I told you that I was going to talk about prayer, and I have taken a long time to get there, so here it is.  Prayer in my life has been radically changed.  I spend more time in prayer in the mornings yes (and that is vital to start my day off right), but throughout my day I am learning to talk to God about the simplest of things.  God wants to hear all about everything in my life, from temptations to things that just make me laugh.  He wants me to be grateful for those things that make me happy and tell him about it, and he wants me to share with him and depend on him in those areas that I am weak and I struggle. When I spend my day talking to Him instead of letting my mind be filled up with all of the thoughts in my head, it is amazing how much Christ's power and his resurrection fills up my life.  I am not even close to understanding just how much Christ loves me and loves you, but I am learning through His Word that no matter what I have done and no matter what is happening, he cares!  He is the one who has pursued me and is still pursuing me!  Not by what I have done or because of what I have done, but because of who He is and what He desires in me!  I told Becca that this is my prayer for her and for us as we get married in just 49 days and I pray this for you too as you read this my ramblings that only God can use: "And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." (Ephesians 3:17b-19)

I don't feel like I need to end this blog post with any big prayer request other than to pray for the students here at AIS, the other teachers, City of Refuge, the neighborhood kids, and anyone else I come in contact with would know the love of Christ better and would see that difference in my life.

Yeah, I get to marry my best friend…..

Well, Christmas break is over and the second semester of school is about to start! Much has happened over the past couple of months in my life.

I’ll start with the big news from Christmas break in South Africa.  On Friday the 14^th of December me and Becca left from Accra and flew down to Johannesburg, South Africa.  Becca’s parents picked us up from the airport and we spent the next couple of days resting and enjoying the “cool” of South Africa’s summer compared to Ghana’s normal, everyday heat!  On Monday night my parents arrived in Johannesburg.  On Tuesday Becca’s older brother Michael and grandma (Nanny) arrived in Johannesburg.  Thursday morning started the adventure!  We all jumped into the van and headed for Kruger!  Well, the journey didn’t go exactly as planned.  What was intended to be a 4 or 5 hour journey ended up taking 12 hours!!  Oh well, plenty of time spent enjoying everyone’s company and anticipating the evening’s event.  I’m not going to share all of the mushy-gushy details (sorry Kate), but the evening’s event just happened to be me asking Becca to marry me!  Lucky for me she said yes and the next hour was spent waking up all of the cabins around us to tell our families that we were engaged!!  So yes, if you didn’t know already, I am engaged to the most amazing girl in the world who I spent two years living on the same street with at Liberty but never met and had to wait until we were in Ghana to get to know  (and yes I know that is a run on sentence but I couldn’t help but share that funny piece of information that I thought is interesting and awesome how God’s timing is perfect and amazing and how I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with Becca!).

Needless to say, I am excited about this upcoming summer and the wedding, but I am also really excited about this next semester and the opportunities I will have through Christ here in Ghana.  I will have many opportunities to share the love of Christ with those around me and am going to share a couple of those opportunities with you in the next couple paragraphs!

A month or so ago I learned some important information about FeFe.  You remember who he is right?!  He is one of the neighborhood boys who hangs out with us quite often.  He actually comes to church with us almost every Sunday.  A few Sundays ago, the pastor came up to me and asked if I knew that FeFe was in the kid’s room praying to Allah.  I had no idea and immediately went to talk to him.  After talking to him for a few minutes about it I realized some important things that I hope you will join with me in praying for FeFe and other kids on the street:  1. Many of these kids have a Christian influence along with a Muslim or tribal influence in what they believe about God and supernatural things.  2. This confuses them and makes them believe that the Bible and other things are all truth.  (FeFe believes that Allah and God are the same.  I tried to explain to him the differences, but it is tough to explain to a 12 year old boy who hears from both sides since his dad is a Muslim)  3. These kids need prayer and a lot of teaching to help them understand that only Christ can save!!  I hope you will join with me in praying for them and for their parents to understand that none of these other things (Allah and tribal religions) can save them!!  The two do not mix!

I am also excited for the upcoming semester at school.  Many times it is easy to get focused on all the things I need to do and forget the eternal purpose in everything that I do.  Over Christmas break I have been reminded of the purpose for why I am here and the eternal significance of everything I do and my attitude in how I do it!  I have been reminded to DREAM BIG and pray for God to do big things through me and in me.  So many times I get caught up in the daily things and forget to depend and trust Him and no that HE IS GREAT and HE IS GOOD!  So I need to depend on Him and seek His power in all that I do.  So please pray for me to be reminded each day of the eternal significance of my time spent here no matter who I am with or what I am doing that day (also, please remind yourself of this truth in your life!  Everything you do can be used to glorify our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!).

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year and are looking forward to all of the things God will do in and through you if only we will let Him and ask Him to!

Time

So I realized that its been quite a while since I've updated my blog!  I hope there are still a few people who will read it!!

Since I have been here in Ghana for over a year now it seems that nothing really surprises me anymore.  This means I don’t have the urge to write a blog post about something new that just happened to me!  But God has definitely been teaching me through the “everydayness” of living here now.  

I am learning each day to enjoy and cherish the time I have here with the people God has blessed me with.  So many times I get focused on the things I have to do and want to do.  I think of all these things I can do in ministry and other things I can do to serve God.  I have been learning to stop thinking that I have to do all of these things to make God happy!  He already sees me holy and blameless!  All he is asking me to do is to live in the light of His view of me.  Yes, He wants me to serve Him, but that service is not wearing myself out to show others Christ.  That service is learning to love others in the moments and opportunities He gives me!  I am not the way to Christ!! He just allows me to be His tool!  You don’t hear a hammer shouting about all the things it has done to build the table in the dining room.  I know that is a funny example, but I really think it applies to us!  I am continuing to learn to just obey and love and let God do the rest.  No matter how hard I try to be good and to teach others, it is nothing unless Christ is working through it.  Even in my weakest attempts at obedience and love He works!  I don’t have to have all of the right words and actions!

Let me share with you a couple of examples of how this is playing out in my life.  Each of them is from the past couple of days.  On Saturday Becca and I planned on finding some of the neighborhood kids and taking them out to lunch.  Instead we found no one and had lunch and hung out at her house.  Around 3 in the afternoon FeFe came to the gate and wanted to come and see me.  So I went down to see what he wanted.  Little did I know that I would be spending the next 3½ hours with him!  Basically we just hung out and spent time with him, but I know that this is exactly what he needed and needs.  I know that FeFe does not get that time with his family and I so badly wish that he did!!  I wrestled with FeFe for about half an hour and while I was sitting outside resting I just thought about how much he needs this from his father and doesn't get it.  Throughout the day I just kept praying that he would understand the love and affection that he can know from God the Father and Jesus Christ His Son! 

The second example comes from Sunday afternoon.  I came home from church to an empty house so I decided to sit outside, read and listen to some tunes.  While I was in the relaxing and thinking mode FeFe and Eddie came to the gate.  I really did not want to be disturbed from me reading and relaxing.  I sat there debating what I should do and what I actually would do.  I had planned on going to play with them later in the afternoon, but wasn't ready yet and they were disturbing MY relaxation time.  After a while I stopped reading and we went and played in their compound.  I didn't really do a whole lot of playing, but just let them play and jump all over me.  As I was being covered with the dirt from their bodies as they were fighting over who would be sitting on my back, I closed my eyes and prayed and thanked God for them and for His love for them.  I prayed for them to understand His love as they grew up and to trust Him for even their basic needs.  I was not much in the mood to play (to some of you that might seem strange that I ever get in a mood where I don’t want to play haha), but I know that God was using me to share His love with them in that moment.  (side note: I am not a parent so I wouldn't know, but I am guessing parents go through a lot of moments like that.  Moments in which they have to give up the things they want to do in order to cater to the needs of their kids.  So Mom and Dad: THANK YOU for all of the time you spent with me instead of doing the things you felt like doing!)

Each of these moments are teaching me that my time is not my own.  They are also teaching me to take the opportunities God gives me to share His love, even when they are an inconvenience to what I want to do!

Please pray with me for our school.  Pray especially for the high school students and their attitudes.  Pray for us as teachers to be able to love them and guide them toward understanding and knowing the love of Christ.  Pray that we would also remember that no matter what, when we obey Christ, HE WILL WORK, even when our obedience has its imperfections (which, at least in my life, it almost always does!).  Want more information about all that is going on in my life and in the school here in Ghana?  Send me an email and ask!

School is here!!......almost!

       As many of you know, I arrived back in Ghana on the 26th of July!  I am so excited to be back and ready to start a brand new school year!  Pray for AIS as we begin this new year, pray for the staff and students that we would witness God move in miraculous ways in our lives this year!

     I arrived in Accra in the evening on the 26th of July and headed out to City of Refuge the next morning!  It was awesome to start out my second year in Ghana with a 2 hours tro-tro trip!  I can't think of a better way to start out my time in Ghana than to spend hours hanging out and playing with the family, volunteers, and kids at City of Refuge.  Friday was spent coloring, playing games, and watching "Field of Dreams" for movie night!  Saturday I traveled into Accra to the mall for some pizza and a movie to celebrate Caleb's birthday.  I was able to spend a lot of time with the volunteers who have come from all over the U.S. and have great stories as to how they ended up at CORM.  I love hearing how God is working in the hearts of His people in so many different places and in so many different ways!  Sunday was church and then hanging out for the rest of the day.  Late in the afternoon I went out and played some soccer with a few of the new boys (CORM rescued 14 new kids this summer!! 12 of them are boys!!!).  I also tried to teach Edwin, Malvin, and Joel how to take turns and share!  One of the new boys was pushing them around on a bike with training wheels, and each of them wanted to ride on the bike.  Sometimes I had to pull them off of the bike, but eventually they started to understand that they we going to get another turn if they just waited for a little bit.  It probably helped that while they were waiting I walked around while they clung onto my leg and sat on my shoes!  I thought they were actually understanding how to share and take turns, but at the end they returned to fighting and crying when I tried to get them to take turns.  Ooooo 2 year olds and their resistance to sharing!  Sounds kind of like some adults I know, including myself!

Edwin

      Monday morning me and 5 of the volunteers went for a hike up to Pride Rock, Ghana, West Africa! We walked across the street from CORM to the village of Shai Hills and then walked up toward Pride Rock.  We walked through plenty of thorns and some of the group climbed up onto Pride Rock!

Where we are headed, Pride Rock, Ghana

Of course we were allowed to be there!

The thorns and undergrowth we walked through to get to Pride Rock

A side view of Pride Rock with the village of Shai Hills below

Some kids saw us while we were up at Pride Rock.  Naturally we decided to teach them the YMCA motions.  Here are the results!

     Monday evening I had another chance to play some soccer with a couple of the new boys.  It was great to simply just play and see the looks of joy on their faces when they would score on me!  We played the same game for forever and they never grew tired of it!  Now those are my kind of kids!!  We only stopped because they had to go eat dinner!  The new kids are awesome to be around because everything is so new and fresh to them!  But they still have issues they need to work through!  They are not very proficient in English yet, and they still have that bitterness and anger inside from all of the tough times they have been through!  2 of the boys were exchanging words and fighting with each other and I had no idea what they were saying to each other!  They kept repeating the same word and I am assuming the word wasn't the nicest of terms.  All these kids have ever known is hardship, so they learn to be very defensive and cruel towards others.  I grabbed both of the boys by the wrist and pulled them to the house where someone would actually be able to understand why they were fighting and how to encourage them that this is not the way to settle disagreements.  Soon enough the love of Christ that is so evident at CORM will invade their lives and change their hearts!  Pray for all of the new kids at City of Refuge as they are learning more and more what it means that GOD LOVES THEM!  Also, pray for all of the kids there as so many have been through tough circumstances that they will never forget.  There are certain days where it is evident that there is pain still deep inside of their hearts!  Pray for them to be freed and liberated by the love of Christ, and that He would use those hardships to bring glory to Himself!
     Tuesday I headed back into Accra to start getting ready for school to start.  On the way back in the tro-tro from Ashaiman to Accra a man in the front seat stood up and just started preaching away!  It was a new experience for me and I think most of the people on the tro-tro!  He preached on how God did not intend for man to be living the way he is now.  He was so passionate (as most Ghanaian pastors are!) and was an encouragement to me that I can be and am a representative of Christ wherever I am!
     Over the past week and a half we have been preparing for school to start.  It is exciting for all of us as we begin this great opportunity to share the love of Christ with our students and community!  We are all excited and hope you will join with us in praying for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon all of us here at AIS!
One thing that has been keeping me from getting too bored with meetings and paperwork has been the opportunity to hang out with some of the boys from the neighborhood.  This past Saturday I played soccer on the sand field across from the school with Eddie, Fefe, and two other boys.  It was great to just play and interact with them after not seeing them for 2 months!  We spent all afternoon together on Saturday, and then Sunday afternoon Eddie, Fefe, and Daniel came by and hung out at the house with me and JJ.  We played soccer, football, and ping pong.  Now that Fefe knows where I live, he has come to the house every day at least once.  Sometimes I think of it as an inconvenience because I have my own plans for my time, but God is continuing to teach me that my time is not my own!  I don't earn time to spend on myself, God gives me opportunities to share His love with others and I need to use them!  Not because God will like me more, but because He loved me first and I want to love Him and glorify Him in return!  One moment especially sticks out in my mind about my time with Fefe.  He came over and was playing some ping pong when he turned around and asked me, "Are you going to stay here forever?"  Now, for a 12 year old boy that's about as close as you are going to get to them sharing how they really feel!  I don't know if I will stay here forever, but Fefe's question really makes me think about it!  Please pray with me specifically for Fefe!  I don't know if there is something going on at home, or if it is simply he just wants to spend time with me and JJ, but I really want to share the love of Christ with Him!  I hope that through the time I spend with Him God can continue to work in his heart and mold Him into a bold man of God!

Playing some ping pong and listening to some tunes

Fefe's drawing of me....striking resemblance don't you think?

      Pray for our school as we have our first day this Monday!  Pray for all of us as we start this magnificent opportunity God has given each of us to invest in young people's lives!  Here is a video from CBC Junior Camp to close out the blog.  These are the 5th grade boys who were lucky enough to have me and Andrew as their counselors!

   

Summertime

     This past Friday was the last day of PFO (pre-field orientation, or post-field orientation for those of us who had already been teaching in our schools).  Around 130 new teachers and 200 total people came together to learn about our students and how to be the best teachers we can be for them.  The days were full of meetings and food.  The weekday schedule looked something like this: Breakfast, meeting, snack, meeting, lunch, meeting, snack, meeting, dinner.  I think we each ate enough food to send a bear into hibernation!  Evenings were full of basketball, soccer, running, or card games.  For me personally it was a very encouraging two weeks, it helped me to be even more excited about this upcoming year and the opportunity I have to allow God to work through me!  It was great to meet the new teachers at AIS for this upcoming year, and also to meet with so many other people that have a heart for students and missions!  The people teaching with NICS have come from all over the world, and their experiences are so different than mine because of it.   

      One lesson God has been teaching me this summer is that He is good and sovereign.  Who knows how many times I have heard the phrase "God is good"?!  I'm sure it is way too many to count.  I always seem to think of God is good referring to what I think of as good.  Most of the time I think goodness refers to life being easy and comfortable.  Is that what God means when He says that He is good?  I think I have a very skewed view of what God's goodness is!  God has been teaching me that His goodness is way different than my view of goodness.  God in his goodness knows what is best for me much better than I do.  He brings me through struggles and stresses in order to make me more like him, because on my own I will depend upon myself.  God is constantly trying to bring me to the point of completely depending on Him!  I want to trust in the fact that I have money saved up "just in case,"  or that I always have a back up plan encase something goes wrong, but God wants me to say, "This world is not my home, why should I live to be comfortable here, I will trust in You!"

"My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,' says the Lord.
'For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8-9

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.
Do not be wise in your own  eyes; fear the Lord and depart from evil." Proverbs 3:5-7

"'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12:9

How many stories do you hear of people who God did miraculous things through and for because they had their back up plan in place?  I don’t remember reading any.  On the other hand, how many amazing stories do you hear about people who were completely dependent on God to supply their needs?!  It doesn’t seem right to me though!  I want to be self-sufficient and able to provide for my needs.  God wants us to come to a point where we completely depend on Him, and we can’t do it while we live in the comfort we seek so diligently.  How can we depend on God and His all sufficiency when we are sufficient without Him?!  Why are we not willing to live by faith?!  Why not take that money you have saved and support a missionary, support a few kids in Africa, or give it to that family in need in your community?  I don’t know about you, but I am learning more and more that it is better to give than to receive!  I think it all comes down to whether or not we really believe that God is sovereign!  Do we really believe that God knows all of our needs and will supply them if we would only trust Him?  Now, I am by no means saying that I trust God completely for my needs!  I am far from trusting God completely!  I am challenging you and me to seek God’s help in understanding what it means to say to God, “I depend on You, because the Creator of the universe has me in His hands and will never (ever, ever, ever, ever) let me go!”

       

       Another thing God has been teaching me this summer is the power and importance of prayer.  The church in the New Testament seemed to have such a focus on prayer.  Almost every conversion in Acts seems to come through or with prayer.  We can have all the right words to say and all the right activities, but if the Holy Spirit isn’t working through us than it is completely worthless!  Our goal is to love people and share the love of Christ with them right?!  Well, I don’t know about you, but it seems as if praying for people is a good way to love them!  I don’t believe I did a very good job of praying for others this past year, and am praying that God will give me and others a passion to pray!  Pray without ceasing!

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding 

gong or a clanging cymbal…..If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body 

to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. (I Corinthians 13:1,3)

      

      Please join me in praying for the students at school, that their hearts will be open to the changing work of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.  Please pray for me and the other teachers, that we would be strong in Christ and depend on Him to work through us!  Also, pray for me as I am making my decision regarding the future.  I have to tell the school in November whether or not I am coming back for another year.  There are many opportunities all over the world that I am looking into and I am excited to see where God leads me!!  I fly back to Ghana on the 25^th of July and am very excited to return “home”!

Mighty to Save

     This past week has been a great one for me, and it isn't because something great happened.  It has simply been a great week because God is continuing to teach me his Word and his ways.  Throughout the majority of the week I've been singing out loud or in my mind the words, "Give me Jesus, Give me Jesus, You can have all this world, Give me Jesus."  Those words repeated throughout the day keep everything in perspective.  No matter what the world may say or do to me, all I want is Jesus!  It makes each day seem like an opportunity to worship Jesus and live in His glory.
     Another song which encouraged me this past week was "Mighty to Save."  While preparing to walk to the tro-tro stop to go see the onion boys the song came on my ipod.  While I was listening to the song it hit me (maybe for the first time relating to this song) that God is might to save even those that I can't see a way through.  Many times while talking and reading with the onion boys I wonder if it is really doing any good.  We can't share much with them relating to the Bible and Christ because they are Muslim.  Some of the boys have accepted Christ, but we don't even know which ones and are not allowed to know.  Us not knowing is for their benefit.  The village they come from does not allow their people to change from Islam to Christianity, so the boys could possibly be tortured or killed if word got out.  Therefore the ones who have accepted Christ have only told one or two people, and those people have to keep it secret.  Our purpose in being there is to, yes, help them and encourage them in learning English, but really we are there continuing to show each of them that Christians love them and care about them.  So even if we can't share Christ with them, we can share the love of Christ by being there and simply caring about them.  It hit me on Saturday afternoon before going to see them that God is "Might to Save."  He can work in their hearts even though I may not see the results until I get to heaven!
     So let me encourage each of you that no matter what you are doing for Christ, He can use it and is "Might to Save" even when, in our eyes, it seems impossible.  "The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save.  He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17.  So rejoice in the Lord that he is mighty to save and say to him and the world around you, "You can have all this world, GIVE ME JESUS!"