Victorious Martyrs vs. possible marytrs

    “He is no fool who gives that which he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose” –Jim Elliot

          My mom recently bought a series of movies about famous Christian martyrs and the work that they did for the kingdom. As we watch the lives and deaths of these people I can’t help but ponder my own faith. These people loved the Lord and were obedient and faithful enough to Him that they ultimately gave all they had: their lives. They lived and then they died for the Lord, dedicating every minute of their lives to the Lord, living in service and obedience to Him. They spent their lives and deaths serving Him with every breath in their bodies. For many this meant, their dying breath was a prayer, a song, a plea to God that brought people to the Lord. John Bunyan once said “If by my life or death I can serve the Lord, I will.” 

        William Tyndale was burned at stake,  Paul was arrested, beaten, stoned and eventually beheaded, Perpetua was mauled by wild animals then killed by the sword in a Roman arena,  Eric Liddel died in a prison camp, Peter was crucified, Stephen was stoned, Felix Manz was drowned…the list goes on and on from the Lord’s death down through the years to modern day 2012.  The list of Christians who gave up their lives for the Lord is perhaps the longest list in human history. Yearly, even daily, brave men and women are willingly laying down their lives for the sake of the gospel. So we have to ask ourselves..or more to the point, I have to ask myself, if I was faced with the same situation, would I react with the same boldness, courage and breathtaking faith that those martyrs did? How would my faith compare with theirs? 

        As Christians we are not called to compare our faith to others nor to try and live up to their standards of faith. We are simply called to walk in truth, living with our own measure of faith. However, the question still stands: “if God ever sees fit to place me in that situation and have me suffer, maybe even die for the sake of my faith, will He find me standing strong, or wavering in my faith"?”  As Christians we are constantly under attack by Satan. Though he uses different methods of attack for each of us, it is still the same: he is out to destroy our faith and wreck the plan that God has for us. We are called to stand in our faith, unwavering, fighting off the darts of the enemy. If that means standing in the face of suffering or martyrdom, will we prove victorious in that day? 

       I pray that if ever God sees fit to use my suffering or death for His glory, then I too will stand strong. Let us make this the prayer of our lives, that God will strengthen us and empower us to bear all that He has for us, even if it be suffering or death.

                                                “For the glory of God!”

Worshiping in our every day lives

     Over the summer I discovered the true meaning of worship. Worship is more then an act of the heart. It is more then singing praise in church or talking about how great God is. All of these things are an act of worship, but true worship is so much more then that. True worship exceeds past verbal and physical acts of worship, beyond the human mind and into the spirit. True worship is the art of praising and thanking the Lord in every situation and area of your life. To find the beauty, the gift, the blessing  in every situation and turn it into praise.  Finding God in everything you do or experience.

      At the beginning of the trip we had a lot of down time so it was easy to find time in the word and prayer, but once camp season started it became increasingly difficult until I was seldom able to find any time in the word. But instead of spiritually suffering from lack of time with the Lord, I turned more fully to the Lord in prayer and communion and this part became the most fruitful time of the trip.  As things got busier, I found myself talking to God about the every day issues of the trip and being in constant communion with the Lord. As I continued to talk to the Lord my faith continued to grow stronger. Through this bond of communion, I turned all that I did into acts of worship to the Lord.

     As I have discovered, we can worship God in any situation, in everything we do. If we are in constant communion with the Lord throughout all we are doing, we are turning that situation into an act of worship to our Maker. Communion with the Lord is one of the best acts of worship. It is the art of bringing God into our everyday life and incorporating Him into all that we do. It is the act of allowing Him to be part of our everyday lives. If we want to live for Him in everything we do, then why not live with Him in everything we do? Why do we limit our worship strictly to songs without exceeding our Sunday morning routine? We seem to forget that it is through constant communion with Him and dedicating our work to Him that we open the door of our heart for a closer relationship with the Lord. If we let Him in God is more then willing to be part of our everyday lives. He is waiting at the door of our hearts, seeking our worship, waiting for us to worship Him in everything we’re doing. It is up to us whether we are willing to grab hold of His hands and invite Him to be part of our lives or put Him in a box and limit our communication.
                                                      “For the glory of God!”

 "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks." 

                                                                John 4:23

Those He brings to me

       For years I have known that God has called me to work with orphans but as I have seen this summer, I can only help the ones that He brings my way and my heart longs to do more. I want to reach out to all of them, to change, heal and rescue every hurting child from the lives that they’re living. This was something that God really had to work with me on during the camp season this past month.  Each week seeing hundreds of precious children show up for camp and knowing that each child was an orphan tore me up inside. It was with an aching heart that I looked on the sad faces of these children and thought of all the pain and suffering they have been through. As I knelt in the dirt, cradling them in my arms and whispering my love to them, my heart was breaking for them. Blinking back my own tears, I wiped the tears off the faces of scared toddlers and hugged them gently, while singing to them in a choked up voice.  My heart has never known such pain, as it did each camp when I saw those children.

       I watched as each child came in scared and timid, with a deep sadness in their eyes, but as the week went on the Lord was at work in their lives. Each morning I saw improvement in each child as joy bubbled up inside them until their sweet eyes sparkled with joy by the end of the week. This was the work of God, not man.  Through all of this the Lord was teaching me that though there are a lot of orphans and my human emotions might not be satisfied with helping just a few of these,  I can still do my part to change the lives that are put in front of me. Though I will always want to do more, to help all the children, I know it is only the ones that are put in my path that I am destined to help.

       There will always be children that need help, but I will not always be in their lives. I am not called to be a superhero, to change the world, to stop death from robbing children of their parents. I am simply called to help the ones that God brings into my life. I am after all human. I can do nothing apart from God, but through Him I will touch the lives that He allows me to. In the same way, through me, He will forever change those children. I am a tool in the hand of the King. Whomever He chooses me to love and help, I will do so. Even if He only lets me reach one child, that is still one more child that has been touched and changed by  the love of their Maker and that alone is enough for me to feel successful in my mission.

       Looking back on all the children that I had the privilege of loving on this summer, I know that they will forever hold a special place in my heart whether I see them again or not. These sweet children were the first ones that God chose me to minister to, the first children that I was blessed to work with and bring joy to, but they were not the last. I know that God has more work for me and I eagerly await the call to return to Africa and continue in my work.

                                          

                                “For the glory of God!”

At the end of the beginning

    Well, I am back in America with my family again. I can’t believe that it has already been 2 months and now I’m standing at the end of this journey. I have lived such an incredible story during these past 2 months. I have seen things and experienced things that I never dreamt would be possible. I have been to Africa and back. I have sat in the dirt with children and eaten strange foods for 60 days and now I once more stand on American soil.

      After being in Africa I now know there is nothing that can keep me away from that beautiful continent anymore! As soon as God calls me back I will eagerly return with a singing heart. America will never feel like home again. Africa is now my home. As Dr. David Livingstone said “Africa is my home. The place where my heart dwells. My heart is in Africa.” This is true for me as well. I might have physically left Africa, but my heart is still there. My heart will forever be in Africa now. America might be the land of my birth, but Africa is the land where my heart lives.

       I might be standing at the end of this particular trip, but I’m also standing at the beginning of my life long journey. The journey that is going to take me to Africa numerous times in the course of my life. I know that I will  soon return to the land that I love. I might have said “goodbye” when I left, but that was simply goodbye for the time being. A farewell until we meet again. I might miss Africa and my Zambian family right now, but in the Lord’s good timing I know I will see them again. For in Christ there are no goodbyes.
                                                             “For the glory of God!”  

 “There is one safe and happy place, and that is in the will of God.”
                                                                                                                                ― David Livingstone

The legacy of Molly

    What is the purpose of life? One of the world’s most commonly asked questions. At some point in life, everybody goes through the stage of questioning the purpose of their life. They wonder why they are put here and they question Gods plan for their life. At times life that, God had to gently guide them back to Him and point them to the cross to understand their purpose. For the purpose of every life is to love and be loved by Christ. The reason that God places all of us here on this earth is so that we can come to know Him, love Him, and glorify Him through our lives.

      As the creations of God, we are called to serve Him with our lives and live out a life of love, leaving a powerful legacy for those we leave behind. We are called to love with all of our hearts, serve with with all that we are , pray with all our might, minister to others everyday of our lives and glorify God with every breath we take. We are called by God to live a life worthy of the calling that He has placed upon us. For many that simply means going by faith to the mission field, but for others that is so much more.

       I recently heard a story about a lady that did just that. Molly Mizarack spent her life in full service to the Lord. She truly lived her life according to the call that had been placed upon her, living worthy of that calling. Molly had a genuine thirst for the things of the Lord and because of this, she had true anointing of the Lord placed upon her by a Zambian pastor. An anointing that filled her with the Spirit, enabled her to speak in tongues and changed her life forever. From that moment on, Molly lived each day of her life to the fullest. Living for the Lord by the empowering of His Spirit in every area of her life. Molly was so Spirit led that she ministered to and prayed for everyone and anyone that the Lord directed her to. Many times this meant stopping in the middle of a grocery store to pray for someone and other times it meant mentoring people about going to the mission field. Whatever the case, if the Lord led her to do it Molly never failed to obey.

      Shortly before her passing, Molly had a vision from the Lord in which she saw 8 orphans sleeping shoulder to shoulder on the dirt. In this vision, the Lord distinctly told Molly that He wanted those children to be in a home. From that moment on Molly’s greatest desire was to get another EOH house completed so they could house 8 new orphans. Last summer her dream came true. After working for months to get house 7 funded, the project was complete and the house was being built. Although, Molly sadly passed away a few months before the house was completed, 8 sweet new children now have a home because of Molly.

      This summer I have had the sweet privilege of getting to meet, know and love the children that now live in Chongwe house 7, which is lovingly dubbed ‘Molly’s house’, and have gotten to see the beautiful outcome of Molly’s work and the fruits of her dream. I have seen how through the efforts of one lady, 8 lives have forever been changed. Even in her death, Molly was changing lives. The people that she was mentoring about the mission field have now all gone out to do the Lord’s work. There are people in Haitie, Africa and many other places changing lives and saving orphans, all because of the legacy that Molly lived.

      Looking at theses children and seeing the joy and healing in their lives and hearing the legacy that this incredible lady lived, I am once again challenged to live my life in such a way as Molly did. After hearing this story I have asked myself over and over, “am I fulfilling my purpose in life and living the way God intended me to live? Am I living my life in such a way as to glorify God with my every action and leave behind a legacy that changes lives? Am I truly living a Spirit led life, walking in obedience to God’s every call and being faithful even in the small things? Am I living a legacy of love and faith or a legacy of human will and human choice?” 

      If I am only being obedient and faithful in the big things, how can I be of full use to God? Hearing Molly’s story has changed my faith and the way I live my life. Hence forth, with the help of God I am going to allow my Lord to use me in anyway I see fit and answer in faithful obedience to His every call. I am going to live my life as Molly did so that one day I too might leave behind a powerful legacy that can be used by God. I pray that I can be a Molly Christian. Living my life in such a way that when people look at me they can plainly see Christ shining through me. I pray that God will find me a willing, ready and faithful tool to be used for His service every day that He sees fit to give me life. May my life forever be used by God!!
                                                    “For the glory of God!”

Day 52: preparing to say good bye to Zambia

       I can hardly believe my time in Zambia is already coming to an end. It seems like I have been here forever….in a good way.. yet when I look back on the time I’ve spent here, it seems like just yesterday that we were starting out on this journey. The days have flown by but the weeks have dragged on, making this trip seem really long yet super short at the same time. Now, here I am today with just 9 days left in this beautiful country, and as I look back on everything that God has taught me, everything that I have experienced, all the trials and pain that have accompanied this trip as well as the joy that I have had, I know that I wouldn’t have changed this trip for anything in the world!! This summer has by far been the most life changing, faith building and blissful summer of my life!!! I again thank God that He saw fit to bring me here.

     As I go into my final week here and prepare to say good bye to all the people that I have come to love, I ask that you would pray extra hard for me…for all of us interns…as leaving here is going to be really hard for us. These people have become family to us,  these children nieces, nephews, brothers and sisters to us, so saying good bye is going to the hardest thing we’ve had to do all summer. Please pray that God will strengthen, encourage and comfort us as we go through out our week and prepare to reemerge ourselves into American culture. Please pray also for the people that we are leaving behind as everyone here is sad to see us go….the children especially.  Please pray for comfort for their little hearts as they say good bye to their new aunties. 

~Thank you for all the prayers that have been sent our way and I know will continue to do so until we are home. Blessings in our Lord! ~

                                        “For the glory of God!”

Matthew 6:34

     People say that going on a mission trip is life changing, but I find that you never really understand just how true that statement is until you have yourself experienced the life changing effects of a mission trip. Now that I am here, I see that living in a foreign country for a month and a half really has changed my life. In more ways than one.

      One of the things that has changed is my outlook on life and relationships. Before this trip I never fully understood just how short and valuable life was. I knew that life was short and valued the time I had with my loved ones, but I still looked at life much differently then I do now. Before this trip I tended to constantly be looking ahead and worrying about the future. I didn’t live in the moments I had, but the moments I was planning. But now that I have been here and really see just how short life is and how valuable time with loved ones is, my mentality has changed. I have taken Matthew 6:34  to a whole new level as I now live in the moments I am given. Valuing them as short and sacred, knowing that at any time this life could be over, or at the very least become drastically different.  In the blink of an eye or with one little decision, everything could change.

     After being here so long, it no longer matters to me what I do tomorrow. What matters to me now is what I do today. How I live my life, what I do with my life, who I change through my life and how I am glorifying my Lord with my life.  From now on I will be making the most of the time that I am given, living in the moment not the future. I will be living for my God, loving my loved ones, serving others and striving to make a difference in the lives of those around me. No more living in the future and abusing the time that God has given me.  By God’s grace I will be returning to the states with the mentality that I am on a mission for God, living my life to the fullest with every minute that I am given.

"For the glory of God!"

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. 

Each day has enough trouble of its own.” 

Matthew 6:34