The Great Physician

“If God so clothe the grass of the field…shall He not much clothe you” Matthew 6:30

I had my first experience with the African health care system this week. After about several days of high fevers, cough, aches, congestion, and night sweats, I realized it may not be the flu I was dealing with. So I finally told the missionaries and asked if they would take me to the doctor. You do not call and make appointments here, you just show up at the doctor and wait in line until it is your turn. I sat, for about an hour in line, scooting seat by seat to the front. Then, I was summoned to a room where I sat and waited for the doctor. As I told him my symptoms, he looked at me told me he thought it was a flu bug but had me lay back to look at my throat and tonsils just in case. When he did he had me sit right up and said “It’s not the flu, you have bacterial tonsillitis”. Apparently my tonsils were coated in the white pouches (like strep throat). So I walked out of the room and over the next room which was the pharmacy and they handed me little packets of drugs to take, anti-biotics, pain reliever, fever reducer, and a gargle mouth wash. I then paid in cash for the whole visit. Very simple.

Simple. I sometimes forget how simple God is. The simple truth is, that He provides for the birds of the air and the flowers in the field, will He not provide for me also?  In looking back, just at this sickness, did I even once pray and ask God to provide for me and heal me? Probably not, instead I looked to myself to tough it out, and when that did not work, I looked to man to provide for me. But God was faithful and provided the medical care that I needed. It is not wrong that I sought medical attention, it is that I did not let God play a role in that area of my life. Had I brought this request before God, might He have taken care of it so that I may have been able to accomplish more important things? This is what I am learning, total dependence on Him. I have been placed here in Africa for a time and it is my responsibility to let God make the most use of me. If I run around worrying and dealing with things myself, and not bringing them to the Father, I am refusing to grow where I am put, and, consequently, taking root nowhere? Oswald Chambers says that, “Consecration means the continual separation of myself to one particular thing.” I cannot consecrate once and for all, but am I continually separating myself to consider God every day of my life?

Mother Theresa had a quote that is very basic but carries so much truth, “The way of Christ is simple, but not easy. Love until it hurts, then keep on loving.” That is my job, plain and simple, to love. All else is in His hands. And that is the goal towards which I am striving. To be sweetly broken and wholly surrendered to my God who will meet all of my needs.

I feel like a kid again

“I remember…the kindness of thy youth.” Jeremiah 2:2.

I’m not sure if there is anything else that makes you feel like a kid more than living in an orphanage. We have 13 beautiful children here and all stages of life represented. Watching some of them just learning how to walk and talk, while the older girls are making plans for what they want to do with their lives, and a whole lot of mischief in between. I watch them read their bibles and say bible verses to me. There is a glow of excitement in the little ones eyes when they sing Sunday School songs, a glow that fades in most people’s lives as they grow older. It causes me to reflect and wonder, where has my childlike faith and wonder of God gone? There is no spontaneity anymore. I have to plan quiet times and devotions instead of eagerly bouncing around singing His praises at whim.  And instead of humility and awe, there is expectation that He will make things easy for me, and then there is resentment when things do not go as planned. This season of moving to another country has brought with it, a mindset of entitlement that I am ashamed to have brought with me. That because I have followed Him this far, I should be in control of what happens next…WRONG. The prayer that is flowing out of my heart in repentance today is that His love would ooze out of me. That I would be SO in love with Him, that I cannot help but radiate His love. And that I would find that exciting thrill and wonder of Him that existed in the beginning. It is that mindset that I strive to wake with each day. That I would not care about anything but Him, so that I do not care about where I go or what I do, and that I would not act in accordance of what I think I should do or give, but do everything as if working for Him, because I am working for Him.

Speaking of work, the city girl from Iowa side of me is really starting to shine. The nickname Casper the friendly ghost has been a real crowd pleaser so far and I have really come out of my shell in the garden. I’m not sure I will live it down from the children, after walking out into the chicken manure fertilized ground with grocery sacks on my feet. But despite how ridiculous I looked, the task of planting squash was accomplished. I brought along my gnome from the states, Phillip. He is loving the garden and the kids love to hide him in different places each day. But I think I am allergic to Africa. As one who has never had any trouble with allergies, I am perplexed at the amount of mucus my body is producing. Seriously, if they ever come up with a use for human mucus, I could retire and live well off the profits. The air here is so unlike Iowa weather. It is in the 80s and 90s here but the air is dry and enjoyable. But my goodness, there is something in the air here that has caused my sinuses to throw a temper tantrum like none other.

Live From Africa!

“Buried with Him…that…even so we also should walk in newness of life” Romans 6:4.

I joined the fad this New Years of picking one word to pray for myself throughout the year. That word was confidence. What I am starting to realize is the word I should have had picked is humility. After 20 hours of flying and a 14 hours layover in London, nothing is more humbling than a child sitting in your lap, upon your arrival, and saying “Hi Mamma Jess”. As I watch the children, I am learning that I have little clue to what I am doing, and have to ask several times how. Now that I have gone into the city, into a brand new culture, I realize I don’t know what things weigh in kilograms, cost in ran, or where in the world I am going. The one thing I do know,  is that I am at the center of God’s will for my life. There is a process that comes with change. A sort of dying to one’s old way of life and being completely open and accepting to a completely new outlook and way of life. I am coming to learn that the expectations I have for myself for the next year need to be handed over to the One who really is in control. For it is truly Thy will be done and holding on to my expectations and mindset will only lead to disappointment and hold me back from experiencing God's plan for my life.

When I arrived, I landed in Johanasburg. We stopped at the mall for lunch and went to the market to get beads and some souvenirs. We then set out for Welkom, which was about three hours away. The view on the ride began to look a lot like driving through Kansas, flat farmland. I even saw a couple of cows. But then I noticed the wire fence was about twice as high as one would find in the Midwest. Come to find out it is to keep the ostriches and giraffes off the highway, duh. It is still a little frightening driving on the left side of the road. Laws and regulations are more of a recommendation here, than guidelines for driving.  

On day one, Louie and Amber took me on a tour of Welkom and Tabong. It is astonishing how the United States seems another world away. We stopped by a graveyard and they explained how funerals are only held on Saturday, and because of the high mortality rate due to AIDS/HIV, they begin at four in the morning. We came across a freshly dug grave and a small dog had fallen in, so of course on my first day I jumped into a grave (just the hole, no body or casket Mom) and lifted the dog out. It’s what every missionary does right?

Most of the last couple of days have been spent falling in love with the children God has placed in my life. They are unique and each have a story that I pray God will bring to completion for His glory. My only hope on the journey is to be able to give up my comfort zone to be able to fully experience the new life God has for me and the work that He has for me to do.

"A characteristic of our comfort zones is that they have restraints. We will only go: so far in loving; so far in serving; so far in forgiving; so far in ministering; so far in witnessing; so far in giving; so far in sacrificing; so far in supporting and encouraging each other; so far in submissiveness; so far in our struggles against the spiritual forces of wickedness." ~Mark King