Hope by the Thousands

Last night I went to a dinner to benefit a missionary ministry in the heart of the Belgian Congo in Africa. I tell about this amazing ministry in another blog - Heart of the Congo

It was a beautiful evening, as lovely as a wedding, and I got to spend some time with special friends I rarely see.

And I heard something absolutely amazing.

There are 352 churches that have resulted from this ministry in the Congo, which trains the Congolese themselves to know God's word and minister to their own people.

They don't have church on Sundays. They have church every single day. For hours. The worship music especially draws new people EVERYday.

Because these people have nothing. No tv's or computers or sports. No doctors to give them medicine or dentists to fix their teeth. And they live in an area plagued by darkness and witchcraft and cannibalism, even human sacrifice.

And they are drawn to the light! They embrace God's truth and their lives are changed forever. And their children.

Think of what a blessing to these children, who live in hopelessness and darkness. When Mom or Dad discovers the hope of Christ and comes home with joy in their heart! To know despite your circumstances you can have joy in your heart.

So anyway, they spent some time recently investigating how many people have accepted Jesus Christ as their savior over since the beginning of 2008.

670,000! Six hundred and seventy thousand.

They said they couldn't believe it, so they went back to all those pastors again and confirmed. And it is true.

670,000 who had no hope and no comforts now living with the hope of the living God daily in their hearts.

Seventy years ago when Laban Smith unexpectedly started this ministry, he prayed that God would use him to open the eyes of 10,000 people. To save just 10,000 people from the hopelessness they were surrounded by!

Recently a pastor from a town called Ilebo walked and rode his bicycle 200 miles to come to these missionaries to beg them to come to his town. He said it is deeply entrenched in witchcraft in darkness.

Can you imagine raising your babies in such an environment?

They are going in August, they charter a small plane cause there is no way to get there otherwise and bring all they need.

They take tents to sleep in and all they will need to eat for the duration.

They said at each location they set up, they do worship music for an hour or so, which will draw thousands and be the highlight of many of their lives, for they have no such entertainment.

Then they show the Jesus film at night projected on white sheets.

Then they speak to them and call people who want to accept Jesus as their savior.

Then they take all those people and again talk with them and explain and make sure they understand what they are doing.

It takes hours and the people still don't want it to be over.

Then the next week they go over the book of Colossians with them, staying to minister to the people to give them a foundation of their faith.

Say a prayer for the people of Ilebo! That they may have eyes to see, and ears to hear, and hearts to receive the truth of the light of the world, that was sent to bring hope to their hearts.

And if you would like check out their site or Nancy's blog below. You can donate through their site if you would like to give toward funding the trip to Ilebo.

labanministries.org

Tree Bark

Ok, someone could probably use this entry as evidence to have me committed. I honestly am feeling a little insane right now.

Its 3 am and I am all hopped-up feeling after going to bed with a cup of Alka Seltzer Plus Cold medicine. I was dreaming of tree bark. Cold medicine messes with me sometimes. 

But yeah, I was dreaming of tree bark. Close up views of different textures of tree bark!! So I googled tree bark and then I'm sitting there looking at a picture of it reading about it and feeling like some weird character from a movie, like when they find that shed with all the papers on the wall in A Beautiful Mind, lol.

But the first line I read is this:

Bark is a tree's natural armor and protects it from external threats.

With this picture:

My immediate thought was of God. That he is my natural armor. That he protects me from external threats. The picture more fully helped me visualize this, in that the inside of the tree is soft and tender and vulnerable, and without the bark protecting it, it would be damaged, beaten, eaten away by all sorts of various things. It would never survive. 

It went on to say that:

Bark also has several physical functions, one is ridding the tree of wastes by absorbing and locking them into its dead cells and resins.

I think of how God gently and gradually draws out my 'impurities'. Wow, all of the 'waste' that has been and is still being drawn out of me over the last 5 years. Anxiety. Depression. Fear. Smoking. Worrying. Drinking. Anger. Outbursts. Insecurity. Etc. Etc. Etc.

He is tough and strong enough to handle ANYthing we throw His way. Anything we need rid of. Anything that is plaguing us, hurting us, holding us back.

And I think of Jesus, and that he 'absorbed' my sins, and the penalty for my sins, through His death on the cross. For me. And you.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

And then I read:

It would take a million pictures to cover the full variety of textures found in tree barks.

And it would take a million pictures to cover the ways God protects us. Covers us. Guides us. Aids us. Blesses us. Surrounds us. In different ways for different people.

I am vulnerable. Oftentimes weak. Easily hurt. BUT, with my God, I am protected. He is strong where I am weak. He envelops me. Surrounds me. Protects me. 

Loves me!

And you. : )

Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Even through my crazy, cold medicine-induced dreams, he works!

(Wow, I seem to have NO control over the fonts on this thing!)

Fear Not

I just had the best moment ever with Gianna. My all-time favorite mother-daughter moment. I am really tired but I feel like I have to write it down now while its fresh.

Last night there was a huge clap of thunder.  It actually scared me and made my heart beat like crazy. I waited to see if Gianna was going to cry, and after a long pause, I just heard her little voice say "scawed." I went and got her and she came in our bed.

Tonight she was crying and didn't want to go to bed and saying "scawed" again. I am pretty sure its the thunder that did it, cause she always is happy to go to bed with her blankie and some milk.

I tried letting her cry for a bit, but it became clear she wasn't going to sleep. We will not let her go to sleep in our bed. If she comes in the middle of the night thats fine, but not going to get in the habit of her starting out the night in our bed.

So I got her and rocked and sang to her for a while which was awesome cause I don't get to do that very often anymore. I explained to her that I was going to put her in her crib but stay and hold her hand. 

At first she was saying no and starting to cry, but I kept telling her it was okay, and she was a big girl and has to go to sleep in her own crib, but I would stay and hold her hand. She finally nodded yes.

So I put her in her crib and sat on the floor. We held hands and looked at each other through the bars by the warm glow of the nightlight.

I made up a little song using Isaiah 41:10. 

Fear not, for I am with you, 

Fear not, for I am with you,

Fear not! For I am with youuuu,

You are my child, I love you so.

This is one of the first verses I ever learned that helped me to battle and overcome anxiety. I used to wake up in the middle of the night with fear and worry in my chest, and I would whisper that verse and be calmed and fall back asleep.

So I got to sing it to my scared little baby. She looked in my eyes through the crib, a warm glow coming from her night light, and her little eyes slowly blinked more and more until they closed.

Just such an awesome priceless moment. 

Her little fingers loosened their grip on my hand and after a few minutes I slipped away and she was sleeping soundly.

What a blessing.

And to think that God loves us like that, but even moreso.

A Beautiful Day

5 years ago, none of my siblings, including myself, had any kind of relationship with God. 

My sister and I professed with our mouths to believe, but didn't live with it in our hearts. Our brothers didn't even have that.

Over 20 years ago my Mom, in a time of despair, heard the Lord speak to her, "read the first psalm, read the very first psalm." For 2 weeks afterward she said she felt an elation, a happiness nothing could touch. In an instant it left, but her faith did not.

So my Mom believed. I can remember her sometimes trying to read things to me about God and me being like oh Mom, I have to go, you can read that to me later.

And I know she prays for her 4 children.

About 5 years ago, in a time of despair, God slowly drew me to him and revealed to me that He was my Hope, my strength, my peace. My life was forever, eternally, beautifully changed and I began praying for my loved ones to know the same, including of course my siblings.

About 4 years ago, my sister, in a time of despair, had God do something inside of her. In an instant she just knew Jesus was real and felt His love and loved Him. She had a similar experience as my Mom in that for a couple weeks she felt the same elation and peace. She too said one day it left, but her faith has never left. 

I'm thinking he blessed them with the teeniest taste of Heaven!

So on the way to church this morning, my Mom, my sister, my 2 nieces (who both recently were baptized of their own choosing) and I joyfully sang praise music from our hearts together as we looked out the windows at the beautiful sunshine and fields and meadows and forests and budding trees and blooming flowers and scenic farmhouses passing by.

We were driving to a little church in Holly, my brother David's family church! Over a year ago he too accepted Christ as his savior. Even though he still struggled inside with some uncertainty and dragged his feet, his oldest daughter ended up becoming part of a great little church, and brought the whole family to be a part of it. My brother and his wife do all kinds of cool things with the youth group. And all 3 of their kids are involved and blessed by it. Even my teenage nephew Dalton, who would've thunk!!!!

So this Easter Sunday, all 3 of them, Alyson, 10, Dalton, 16, and Taylor, 17, on their own, have decided to be baptized and fully accept Jesus Christ as their savior.  Sitting there today with all of our precious family, our brother Scott and his family, and a large group of friends as precious as family, watching them standing as a family at the front of the church, was a true blessing.

Amazing Grace!

Afterward we went back to my sisters to prepare dinner. I wanted some exercise, so I decided to jump on the trampoline. As I jumped and jumped I felt like I could burst with joy. The trees with buds on them and the blue sky and the white clouds and birds flying and chirping and the fresh breeze and the warm sun on my face. My beautiful niece playing with my precious little daughter, toddling around the yard in her pretty little outfit. My loving family gathering together to celebrate. 

Blessed, blessed, blessed.

I have just lost 10 lbs. and I feel lighter and more comfortable in my skin and I just can't tell you how perfect and precious and free that jumping around felt like. All that blue sky above. I felt like I was jumping around in the sky, celebrating that I am His child, that I am a new creation. And that the people I love are coming to love him too! 

And He LIVES! 

Of the 4 major world religions, Christianity is the only one that doesn't have a big shrine or tomb where people go gather to mourn and cry and remember their dead leader.

Because our King LIVES! He's not in a tomb. And He comes to us. Right into our hearts. Right into our lives. Right into our circumstances. Right into the moments when we need him to guide us and give to us and lift us up and instill joy into our human aching needing hearts.

And now tonight I finished the day by watching a live Easter service online of a church I really love in Seattle. A large part of it was a baptism service, with worship music through the whole thing. And they have the words on screen just as if you were there. Might sound funny to some that I would stand at my computer and sing along, but it is about Him, and about praising Him. Whether there are five hundred with me, or 5, or just me. And so many people were getting baptized. Some who decided right then went up and were submerged right in their Easter clothes!

Jason yelled up the stairs at me to be quiet, that he was going to bed, lol! 

But just a perfect way to end the day. 

Going to bed on a full tank.

My heart overflows. My cup runneth over!

Psalm 23:6 

 ⁶ Surely goodness and love will follow me 
       all the days of my life, 
       and I will dwell in the house of the LORD 
       forever!

Darkest before the Light

Tons of people don't believe in the resurrection of Christ or have doubts about it.

But the change in the disciples lives following the resurrection proves that the resurrection is real.

At Jesus death, the disciples and followers of Christ were scattered, disillusioned and fearing for their lives. They had nearly all left his side. I personally think they were like, ok, maybe he isn't the Messiah, seeing that the Romans have just killed him in the most shameful way possible alongside two other common criminals.

But the Bible says Jesus returned, appearing to the disciples several times after his resurrection, proving he was alive.

ONLY AFTER seeing the resurrected Christ - they became fearless and risked everything to spread the Good News around the world. 

They went through imprisonment, beatings, rejection and martyrdom, yet they NEVER compromised their mission. NOT ONE OF THEM.

These men risked, and gave their lives to spread the truth.

Their great enthusiasm, drive and fervor was a result of seeing the Absolute Truth of Christ.

Before they had seen his resurrection they had deserted him and were running the other way.