Faith and Foundation

It has been some time since I blogged but I have been meaning to. Recently I have been reflecting on the fact that it was this time last year I was preparing to leave for Africa which is kind of crazy, so much has happened since then. And I’ve also been reflecting on how my walk with God seems different from when I was in Africa, which makes sense because even though God is the same wherever we are he uses the environment and stage of life we are in to allow us to go deeper into who he is and our relationship with. While I was in Africa, I went through something or had to deal with something that caused me lots of pain and God was able to use that as a stepping stone to find him as my rock. And it reminds me of a talk about faith we had at church the other day and someone mentioned something that really hit home to me, she said often we think of stepping out in faith is like walking on a plank of a ship or a bridge because its unknown and scary; but the truth is it turns out to be stepping out on solid concrete. And this is how I felt about my time in Africa; it was my step of faith to leave my family and to travel all the way to Africa to live for half a year it was unknown but I knew it was where God had called me and at the beginning I was scared and felt like I was about to step out onto a type rope but once I took that step I  landed on God and I felt safe and secure. And the pain I experienced while over there made me experience God as the huge strong foundation of my life and the anchor if I just trust in him. Because pain has a habit of making us feel like the world is caving in and the ground we are trying to stand on is crumbling underneath. We can’t take anything for granted in this life, even family or home the one thing that will never changes is God and his love for us. What foundation are you standing on? What kingdom have you invested your heart into? 

1 Corinthians 3:10-11

Because if God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have – Jesus Christ. 

2 Corinthians 1:24

But that does not mean we want to dominate you by telling you how to put your faith into practice. We want to work together with you so you will be full of joy, for it is by you own faith that you will stand firm.  

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

Hebrews 12:28

Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is Unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worship him with holy fear and awe.

One for the ladies

Now it would be remiss of me to not talk about the transformation God has done in my heart. While I’ve been on this journey, I have shared snippets in previous blogs, but I believe this message is too important to just be said or read once and forgotten, a message that when it reaches your heart and you experience for yourself it will change the course of your life forever and they way you have ever seen the world, and how you ever will see it again.

I deeply believe that in the heart of every girl is a desire to be a princess, to be rescued by a handsome charming prince and to be loved, wanted, and cherish. And Hollywood and influences around us try to feed this desire until reality hits and we are left in broken shattered pieces. We are told we should seek romance, but we are chasing fantasy; pornography for the woman’s heart. We are told to seek our prince charming, but the meaning of the word is to cast a spell, something shouldn’t be seeking, there is something more real put there for us that we could have ever imagined.

I grew up with this dream too and I was left in pieces too, but that’s not the end of the story there is hope.

I had a rough experience of primary school I received almost every form of rejection, humiliation and a day didn’t go by that I wasn’t bullied, when you live that sort of life the dream of being loved, wanted and cherished dies little by little with every harsh word and disgusted look. And all of us I’m sure experience this whether it’s through bullies at school or trouble at home, life starts taking chunks of our heart and our dream dies little by little. And then I thought there was hope in high school when boys begun to notice me and ‘liked me.’ But after one relationship that was about fulfilling my need to be like everyone else didn’t work, that hope faded died a little more.

 Then I dated another guy and I thought this is it but I was more in love with being in love, than loving this guy. After that ended I thought that’s it I give up and just wait for ‘Mr right’ to find me. 

So the end of high school I thought I had finally found him, this guys was romantic, and treated like a princess, he wanted to marry me and I gave my heart away little by little, we dated for 2 years and I was sure He was the One my knight in shining Armour, but then he became distant and pulled away and the relationship we once had was going nowhere maybe even backward instead of forwards, when he broke up with me it hurt so bad, because I had given my heart to him and it was returned shattered and don’t get me wrong he isn’t a bad guy, I just was trying to find something in him that would never be satisfied and I gave my heart to him for the wrong reasons.

After having a history of relationship you begin to worry that if you really do find the right one, he wont want you anymore because you are used goods. And you give up on ever having hope of being married, thinking that you are too far gone. 

Now I have come to the realisation that our childhood dreams will never be met in a husband, our desire of finding a prince and being a cherished princess can be found in only one person Jesus. And I know you are probably rolling your eyes thinking this girl is a fruit cake, you can’t have that kind of relationship with Jesus and I’m here to tell you that a God designed marriage is only a reflection of the relationship we are to have with Jesus. 

As I was preparing to leave for Africa, a possible relationship happened, a guy had feelings for me and I for him so I prayed about it and felt God say No, and part of me wanted to hold onto the fact that a guys likes me, you know it makes you feel special makes you feel that, that part of your heart that had the dream might not die after all. But God was saying to me No, so I had to let go and surrender and trust God but it was a struggle, I was thinking I’m 23 years old my mum was already married at my age, will I ever find marriage, will someone ever love me.
 And I looked for guidance from a very wise friend and she told me I really think you need to consider Jesus as your husband and my thought was, "yeah that’s super Christian let Jesus be my first love. Heard that before," little did I realise it was the first step towards having a relationship with Jesus I could never have imagined and to find healing, comfort and to have that desire of being a princess, being cherished by a prince who thinks I am beautiful full met. 

After my friend said this word to me I was praying to God wanting to go deeper not to just look at this statement on a surface level. So I was like Jesus if you really think I’m beautiful and you really want to be my husband prove it, tell me yourself.

Then I read these words and they touched a part of my heart so deep I forgot it existed.
Psalm 45:11 – “for your royal husband delights in your beauty; honour him, for he is your lord.”

WOW doesn’t that just give you tingles and take your breath away. Then came Easter, and God really spoke to me about repentance and forgiveness and I saw my relationship with Jesus different and I remember the thought of coming before your groom and due to having a history of relationships, having to hand over a heart in pieces instead of a heart that’s whole. And so I felt like God ask me to come before him and do just take hand over my heart just the way it was; to identify what I had done in my past and ask for forgiveness and to more importantly to receive his forgiveness that brings healing.

And then I heard this song and I knew it was how Jesus see’s us, the relationship desires for us and love pursues us with.

Wedding day – Casting Crowns
There’s a stirring in the throne room
And all creation holds its breath
Waiting now to see the bride groom
Wondering how the bride will dress
And she wears white

And she knows she’s undeserving
She bears the shame of history
But this worn and weary maiden
Is not the bride that he sees
And she wears white from head to toe
But only he could make it so

When some dries your tears
When someone wins your heart
And says your beautiful when you don’t know that you are
When all you long to see is written on his face
 When love has come and finally set you free
On that wedding day x2

She has dancing in golden castles
And she crawled through beggars dust
But today she stands before him
And she wears his righteousness
 And she will be who he adores
This is what he made her for

When some dries your tears
When someone wins your heart
And says your beautiful when you don’t know that you are
When all you long to see is written on his face
 When love has come and finally set you free

And the hand that bear the only scars
And heaven touch her face (no more tears)
And last tear she will ever cry are finally wiped away
And clouds roll back as he takes her by the hand
And walks her through the gates
Forever we will reign
Forever we will reign

When some dries your tears
When someone wins your heart
And says your beautiful when you don’t know that you are
When all you long to see is written on his face
 When love has come and finally set you free
On that wedding day (I am free) x4

Isaiah 54:4-5 “Fear not; you will no longer live in shame. Don’t be afraid; there is no more disgrace for you. You will no longer remember the shame of your youth and the sorrow of your widowhood. For your Creator will be your husband; the Lord of Heaven’s Armies is His name! He is the Holy One of Israel, the God of all the earth.”

Hosea 2:14-16 ‘But then I will win her back once again. I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her there. I will return her vineyards to her and transform the Valley of Trouble into a gateway of hope. She will give herself to me there, as she did long ago when she was young, when I freed her from captivity in Egypt. “When that days comes,” says the Lord, “you will call me ‘my husband’ instead of my master.”
Vs19 – 20 ‘I will make you my wife forever, showing you righteousness and justice, unfailing love and compassion. I will be faithful to you and make you mine, and you will finally know me as Lord.

Now its easy to look at these verse and say its not meant for us it was written for the Israelites, but we became God’s people too when Jesus died on the cross for all men. And its easy to think but its meant for the body the church is the bride, but why not individually, God is an individual God if you look at his history.

Psalm 23:6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life 

Psalm 73:23-26 Yet I still belong to you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny. Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anthing on earth. My health may fail and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever

And I’ve been reading lots of books that have taken me deeper into my relationship with God one of them is called  
The sacred romance by John Elderedge and Brent Curtis
Listen to what it says, pg 125
“but this side of Eden, even relationship with God brings us to a place where deeper work in our hearts is called for if we are able to continue our spiritual journey. It is in this desert experience of the heart, where we are stripped of the protective clothing of the roles we played in our smaller stories, that the Message of the arrows reasserts itself. Healing, repentance and faith are called for in ways we have not know previously. At this stage on our journey we face a wide and deep chasm that refuses us passage through self-effort. And it is God’s intention to use this place to eradicate the final heart walls and obstacles that separate us from him.

Pg 134 -135
We come to a place in our spiritual life where we hear God calling is. We know He is calling is to give up our less-wild lovers that have become so much a part of our identity, embrace our nakedness and trust his goodness.
It is in this place where God holds out his hand and asks us to give up our lovers and come and live with him in a much more personal way. Jesus appears to be holding out his hand to us he will provide a bridge over the chasm if we abide in him. 

And I am just beginning a book call Authentic beauty by Leslie Ludy I read the first 2 chapters today and they have inspired me to write this blog because this message is more precious than gold. Listen to these words. 

Pg:35 “The more time I spent around him, the more something inside me desperately wanted to just surrender and fall into his waiting arms. But I was afraid to let myself trust him. I was afraid of what that decision might cost me.
Over time, gradually, like the moving of the hour hand, my guard came down. No matter how many times I pulled away from him, his love remained unmoving, like a majestic, unwavering mountain overlooking a tumultuous ocean. I had even tried to convince him that I was not good enough for him. I’d told him in detail, with hot tears flashing in my tormented eyes, exactly what I had done with my life, heart and body over the past years. But I sensed that instead of judging me, he was inwardly weeping over every piece of my shattered heart. Coming face-to-face with this kind of infinite kindness left me stunned.

Pg:39-40 “Jesus Christ is your true prince.” I often say to young women, “the One who gave his very life just to be with you, the One who can rescue you from the dungeon you are in, the One who can transform you into a radiant princess, the One who can carry you away to His beautiful land to cherish you forever. He is the only one who can meet your deepest longings; He is the only One worthy of your entire heart, life, soul and body – all you are and all you have. Jesus Christ in your prince you should passionately pursue with all your heart.”
“yeah, sure, okay, whatever,” is the typical response, followed by, “but there’s this guy I met....”
Most of us don’t realise God is not a flimsy flannel board figure from a Sunday school lesson; that He is not a stern director looking down on us from heaven to make sure we obey His rules; that He is not a distant being who is too busy running the world to care about the details of our day-to-day lives; and he is so much more than someone we say we believe in to keep ourselves out of hell when we die.
He is the Lover of our soul. Our True Prince. The One we have been longing for, searching for, and dreaming of since child hood. The One who will love us the way no one else can love us; the One who will cherish us forever; the One who will transform us from a hopeless girl in rags into a beautiful, confident, radiant princess. He is the One that meets our deepest needs when human love falls short.”
Pg; 41 “this kind of fairy-tale romance between a young woman and her true Prince does not come without sacrifice. It does not come without pain. But it is the most priceless gift we will ever be offered. And it is the most beautiful and fulfilling existence we could ever know or imagine.”

Now with all this I’m not saying we shouldn’t get married and that there isn’t someone out there, but I’m saying you will always get hurt if you are looking for your desire to be met that can only be fulfilled by Jesus.

You’re heart is precious so protect it, you are loved, wanted and cherish by Jesus the question is will you let him love you and will you take his hand and let him lead you to a beautiful journey you could never have imagined.

Peace of God

If people were to ask me what has been the hardest thing has been about being here, it would have to be away from family and friends when they need me, and when they are hurting. 
Since I’ve been away something has happened in my family that has caused a lot of pain, one of those situation that make you think I should be there for them, and just recently my best friend had a close family member die and I want so bad to be back there to comfort her physically. 
But I’m not there and its easy to think why God am I here when I need to be there. But I come to a point to realise God has a plan and to trust  him fully is to trust his with everything, including those we love the most and deep down I know that I cant comfort them the way that God can and I cant give them the hope and peace that only he provides. 

And I think if I had been back home when these 2 incidents had happened, it wouldn’t have been my first instinct to pray, I would think they need me, and do what I can to ‘fix’ it or do my part. And then I would think about praying for it too. But being here I know all I can do and the best thing I can do is pray and hand it over to God. and Just to love from here 

Accept his peace. And I hope when I get back to Australia prayer will continue to my first response to everything. And in these situations once I’ve handed of these things to God I found peace and comfort in him, and it’s painful still but I can rest in him. 

The greatest demonstration of faith is rejoicing when it's the last thing we feel like doing. B.J

Through these experiences God has also been teaching me about trust, sometimes I find when God wants to get a message to me he tells me 3 or 4 times in different ways until I get the point. He did this to me last week with Psalm 23. We had a bible study and someone shared about Psalm 23 how we need to trust in God as our Shepherd and put complete trust in him. 

And that when it says vs4, “Even I walk through the darkest valley I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.” And it says we walk, we pass through the darkest valley, we don’t dwell. 

Then a couple of days later I was just sharing my heart with a friend and she started singing this hymn.
The shepherd of my soul
I give you full control
Wherever you may lead, I will go
I have made the choice
To listen to your voice
Wherever you my lead, I will follow.

Be it in the quiet place
Or by the gentle stream
The shepherd of my soul
Is by my side

Should I face the mighty mountains?
Or valleys dark and deep
The shepherd of my soul will be my guide

Then at church the sermon was about Psalm 23!! Seriously I get the point!
The Lord is my shepherd;
I have all that I need.
He leads me rest in green meadows;
He leads me beside peaceful streams.
He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths,
Bringing honour to his name.
Even when I walk through the darkest valley,
I will not be afraid,
For you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.
You prepare a feast for me
 In the presence of my enemies
You honour me by anointing my head with oil
My cup overflows with blessings.
Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life
And I will live in the house of the Lord forever.

The sermon was focused on vs3 he renews my strength.... or other translations say he restores my soul. He wants to take out our emotional garbage.
He wants to remove our guilt, comfort us in our grief and replace our grudges.

When hard times come we have a choice, blame God or seek his counsel rest and restoration.
Psalm 27:5
For he will conceal me there when trouble comes;
He will hide me in his sanctuary.
He will place me out of reach on a high rock.

Hillsong – Arms wide open
Take my life, I lay it down
At the cross where I am found
All I have I give you, Oh God

Take my hands and make them clean
Keep my heart in purity
That I may walk in you all have for me

Woah hear I stand arms open wide
Woah I am yours and you are mine, Jesus

Take my moments and my days,
Let each breathe that I take
be ever holy for you, oh God

My whole life is yours
I give it all
Surrender to your name and forever
I will pray have your way!!

God’s heart for the lost broken and vulnerable

God has really been working on my heart, opening my eyes up to the things that break his heart! When I came to Africa for the first time in 2008 God broke my heart for the children of Africa and orphans and street children, the most vulnerable. This time God has broken my heart for people that are lost, broken and vulnerable, those rejected by society, those hurting and those how are lost in this world. I know the beauty of having a personal relationship with God, I know the hope he brings, the life he brings, the love and the transformation he turns the broken into beautiful. 

Porcelain heart – Barlow girl
“Creator only you take brokenness, and create it into beauty once again.” 

The other day I saw a disturbing scene, my friend and I were eating in a cafe and a homeless lady walked in,  she stood in the middle of the room, looking around for someone to reach out for someone to care, and she smelt of urine and most turned the other way. Then the cleaner come out and to make her leave he hit her with mop he held until she left. My friend stood up and went to the cleaner and calmed him down and spoke to him about how inappropriate that was, and it made me think this is what it means to be a Christian to take a stand for those rejected even when it puts us in the firing line. 
 
We need to “act justly, love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)

 This woman came in and craved love and instead received rejection.
 And that night I really struggling with what I had seen and God gave me this passage;
 
Zephaniah 3:19-20
“And I will deal severely with all who have oppressed you. I will save the weak and helpless ones; I will bring together those who chased away. I will give glory and fame to my former exiles, wherever they have been mocked and shamed. On that day I will gather you together and bring you home again. I will give you a good name, a name of distinction, among all the nation of the earth, as I restore your fortunes before their very eyes. I, the Lord, have spoken!”
 
This is the heart of God and this is why the good news is the best news in the whole world. God loves everyone on this earth, but those rejected and despised he’s there for, just look at Jesus, look at who he spent most of his time with, sure he spoke to big crowds but most of the time you found him seeking those on the fringes of society. Tax collectors, prostitutes, lepers and if we call ourselves his followers we need to do the same, love til it hurts, stepping out of our comfort zone, and living against the culture we live in. 
  
Hosea 10:12
“I said, ‘Plant the good seeds of righteousness a crop of love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord that he may come and shower righteousness upon you.” 

 Mother teresa said, "I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love."
 
We are all broken until we receive Gods love that heals us so we can help lead other broken people to the place of healing. 


Break my heart – Jonny Diaz
I see children in slavery
Torn too much so I turn off the tv
A world away from the world there in
So I give in before I even begin
To try to make this right
To try to love like Christ

Help me see through the eyes of hurting
Come break my heart, come break my heart
True grace see’s a face not burden
So come break my heart, wont you break my heart
Come break my heart

Its hard to see past my picked fence
So I give a bit from a guilty conscience
How I can I really make change
When I’m too afraid to even feel their pain

So help me see through the eyes of hurting 
Come break my heart, come break my heart
True grace see’s a face not burden
So come break my heart, wont you break my heart
Come break my heart

I believe that love can bridge the distance
And I believe one can make a difference
‘Cause one man on a cross changed the world

So help me see through the eyes of hurting 
Come break my heart, come break my heart
True grace see’s a face not burden
So come break my heart, wont you break my heart
Come break my heart
So help me see through the eyes of hurting 
Come break my heart, come break my heart
Show me love should never be a burden
Come break my heart, wont you break my heart
Come break my heart

Do something – Matthew West
I woke this morning saw a world full of trouble now
I thought how did we get so far down
and how is ever going to turn around
so i turned my eyes to heaven
I though God why don’t you do something

Well I just couldn’t bear the thought of people living in poverty
And children sold into slavery, the thought just disgusted me so shock my fist at heaven and said God why don’t you do something.

And said I did, yeah, I created you

Now listen, If not us then who
if not me and you
Right now, well its time for us to do something
If not now then when
will see an end to all this pain
It’s not enough to do nothing
It’s time for us to do something

Im sick of talking about how we are Gods hands and feet
But its easier to say than to be
Live like angels of apathy or tell ourselves its alright someone else will do something

I don’t know about you but I’m sick and tired of a life without desire
I don’t want a flame I want and fire
I wanna be the one that stands up and says I’m goin to do something

If not us then who
if not me and you
Right now, it’s time for us to do something
If not now then when
Will see an end to all this pain
It’s not enough to do nothing
It’s time for us to do something

We are the salt of the earth
We are a city on a hill
Shine, shine, shine
We’re never gonna change the world
By standing still
No we won’t stand still x3

If not us then who
if not me and you
Right now,
It’s time for us to do something
If not now then when
will see an end to all this pain
It’s not enough to do nothing
It’s time for us to do something x3

Across Africa and Born to be a blessing

So it’s about time to update my blog what have I been doing, well after DRC I begun helping at the farm I live at, getting ready for a big meeting that we were due to have.

 Hands at work has work in  8 African countries, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia, Malawi, Dominican Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Swaziland, and we had meeting for all of our local offices from each of those countries to come together to encourage each other and to make sure they are all on the same page.

 And so I got to see people I hadn’t seen since June and meet amazing people I had heard heaps about. So getting prepared meant making everything look inviting and welcoming, I made beds, prepared food, and had lots of fun getting to know people from all over Africa.

And God really spoke to me about what means to really serve, lead up God had put 2 verses on my heart  - Matthew 6:33

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

 
And Luke 1:38

"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her

 Had been on my heart every morning, I had been struggling after getting back from DRC with what I will say to people when I get back about what I have done over here and God really taught me that it’s not about what I did but how I served him. As we say at hands at work we are before we do.
 And during the meeting George Hands at Work Founder shared devotion about, how we are born to be a blessing and this has totally made me think in most circumstances, how can I be a blessing in this situation? And it’s easy to give in the feeling of hmm I don’t feel like doing that, but it’s about pushing through it and seeing the little things that will mean something to someone, but not doing to get attention of glory but to be a gift to that other person.
 Really gives a new meaning to Love God with all heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbour as yourself. (Mark 12:29-31) Do you believe you were born to be blessed or born to be a blessing?

Motions of Mercy – Francesca Battistelli
I was pour I was weak
I was the definition of the spiritually bankrupted condition
So in need of help
I was unsatisfied hungry and thirsty
When you rushed to my side so unworthy 
Still you gave yourself away

That’s the motion of mercy
Changing the way into what we are
That’s the motion of mercy
Moving my heart

Now I’m filled with a love
That calls me action
I was empty before
But now drawn to compassion
And to give myself away 

That’s the motion of mercy
Changing the way into what we are
That’s the motion of mercy
Moving my heart

Living the lost, loving til it hurts
No matter what the cost like you loved me first
God give me strength to give something for nothing
I want to be a glimpse of the kingdom that’s coming soon

Mother Teresa said – When you get to heaven God won’t ask you what you have done, but how much love did you put into what you were doing.

In life we can’t do great thing; we can only do small things with great love.

DRC experience

Welcome to the DRC: Where the cars are driven on the right side of the road. and the baggage on the buses and trucks is twice the side of the mode of transportation. Where you eat a lot of meat and there is no cow in sight (In joke) :D 

 Where the level of poverty is impossible to ignore, and the brokenness due to war is evident, however the power of Gods love is spreading like a wildfire. 

A World Vision well near one of our communities, there are at least 100-200 buckets there a day to collect water for everything from drinking, cooking, cleaning. This is what is life is like when you don't have access to running water.

I have had a desire to go to the DRC for a while, while I look back, I can see how God has been guiding me here for years. As a teenager my family had sponsored a child from the DRC. One of my friends went on a trip with Hands at Work and experienced the DRC, and then shared it with me. I bought a book about a missionary who had served for 20 years or more. These little moments in life now appear to be arrows pointing in one direction and path me traveling to DRC. 

It wasn't until I arrived in Zambia in May, did I really begin to have a desire to experience the DRC for myself, I met a guy who is a long term volunteer with Hands who had been there a couple of time and he begun to tell me stories and the passion he feels for the nation of DRC in contagious and clearly a reflection of Gods heart. 

I discovered in DRC they speak french and swahili and both languages I knew a bit of, not as much I thought though when I arrived, I realised all I had were the basics but its a start. The biggest problem is because I've been speaking Bemba here in Zambia since July, my brain was thinking in Bemba and I really struggled to switch my brain into Swahili/French mode. One funny moment was one tired afternoon a lady greeted me and as I shook her hand I said Mulishani (how are you in Bemba) of course she smiled politely and walked away, Ish!! I thought to myself, "I'm in DRC brain not Zambia."

Another cool thing that was a part of this trip was I got to travel with 2 Swahili speaking Kenyans, out of anyone I went with Kenyans, the place in which my African journey begun and where I first fell in love with Africa. 

So we arrived in DRC and like I said the level of brokenness and poverty you cant ignore, but one of the most amazing moments, was when we pulled up to a park with a group of 15 street boys, some of their clothes hanging over the playground equipment, the guy who was hosting us pulled over near the park, he honked the car, none them looked up, then he called out to them and they looked over with bright faces of recognition. They all stood up and ran to the car like children running to the loving arms of a parent. They called his name, Papa. And gave them a bag, he said he sometimes buy them polish and brushes so they can earn money shining shoes in the street, other times he brings them food. Sadly most these boys don’t have parents and those that do can’t provide for them or care for them. But the  act of one man, brings hope and joy into their life, God’s love is on the move, it takes us to act and to see the world through his eyes. As growing up I have a band on my wrist that had the letters W.W.J.D = what would Jesus do, and the response of my friend I believe is what Jesus would do.
As part of our trip I got to be a part of a training called, Connecting with Children from Petra college. 

http://www.petra.co.za/

The training is about seeing the importance of children, to identify with God’s heart for children and to have some skills on how to connect with children; to get down to their level and enter their world of play. And as most cultures, African cultures this is definitely not the norm, children play in the dirt, it’s not appropriate for adults to participate in their play, is it? But to really connect with children and experience the love of a child and to make the child feel truely valued and loved is to be a part of their world instead of trying to get them to enter your world, a world that makes no sense to them and they aren’t ready for. We completed the training over 5 days, and lives were changed, eyes were opened. Care workers were given practical tools of joining children in play, teaching games and telling stories and they got opportunities to practice it with children in the community and the love that spread through this community in the short time this training happened, was unbelievable and it happened because adults chose to play in the dirt and acknowledge the things important to these children. And they modelled to other adults, how to connect with children. Having had training in early childhood development this made me SO excited to see. Like I said before I feel God’s love is a wildfire and is spreading all over, healing hearts, lives, communities and one day the nations. 

We all believe, God is going to do something big in Goma too, it is a place, that is very broken, pain and lives been torn apart by war, famine and who knows what else, but we know God has plans because if you look back on his history, his track record God has a habit of changing the broken into the beautiful, making the seemingly  impossible possible, and choosing ordinary people to do extraordinary thing. We also saw a lot of spirit opposition from the enemy over the team who were travelling to our training, the day of their fight there was a mix up and they missed their flight, the next flight was supposed to be Sunday but they managed to get a flight on Friday instead (God always comes through) and on their way to the airport they had an traffic accident and sustain injuries and their baby was unharmed. And as they arrived at the destination of the training they couldn’t keep from singing and dancing and praising God for seeing them through. The Joy of the Lord is their strength. 

The most impacting part of my DRC experience, was meeting a boy who had troubles with his legs, he can’t go to school but really wants to. 
And God put him on my heart and prompted me to pray for him and encourage him, so I shared these words with him;

 Jeremiah 29:11-13 I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope. In those day when you pray to me I will listen and if you seek me wholeheartedly you will find me.


 
I know that when this said in the bible it was talking about a promise that people had to wait many years for their promise to be fulfilled, they had to be patient and had to persevere. And I know God has a plan for this boy I met to be healed and to go back to school we just need to trust God for his perfect timing. He will give him the strength to persevere in this situation he is in. And I get the opportunity to write is story and share with people and see what God can do in the heart s of people.

 To be honest through this experience I feel sort of like Peter in the boat, in the story of Jesus walking on water. I was so confident in God and desired so much to see a miracle to see his power. But then when going to the boys house, I felt like I was walking on the water but then I begun to look at the waves, and left feeling like I had been told, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” and it is easy to get discouraged, but God is good, he convicts not condemns. He works on our faith and look what happened to Peter, yeah he denied Jesus three time, but in the book of Acts 2, he preached up a storm and God used him to do a good work. 

The biggest thing that God taught me in DRC is the importance of sharing God’s love with people we come in contact, his love has the power to change lives.

Here is a song that sums up what God is teaching me

Mercy me – Wont you be my love

When you fall asleep tonight in your warm and cosy bed

Know that I’m awake and I’ve got no shelter and no food

I am not alone my friends are broken and lost

Looking for someone to lead them to my cross

I need your help, I need your help

Wont you be my voice calling

Wont you be my hands healing

Wont you be my feet walking into a broken world

Wont you be my chain breaker

Wont you be my peace maker’

Wont you be my hope and joy

Wont you be my love

On the other side of the world

She is just a few days old

A helpless little girl with no family of her own

She is not to blame for the journey she is on

Her life is no mistake

Wont you lead her to my cross

Wont you be my voice calling

Wont you be my hands healing

Wont you be my feet walking into a broken world

Wont you be my chain breaker

Wont you be my peace maker’

Wont you be my hope and joy

Wont you be my love

To those I call my own

To those I’ve set aside

as spotless without blame

The chosen ones my bride.

We will be your voice calling

Wont you be my hands healing

Wont you be my feet walking into a broken world

Wont you be my chain breaker

Wont you be my peace maker’

Wont you be my hope and joy

Wont you be my love

Glimpse of heaven or an angel in disguise

But the most impacting experience of the past month has been meeting the below children. I have been on quite a few home visits since being here, and you think you can handle what you see and who you meet but every visit is different and can impact you in different ways and this one really impacted me. We met a small grandmother sitting on a step of her house, she looked frail and weary but tough as nails. And we discovered she was caring for her 2 grandsons who had been abandoned by their parents, the oldest has a mental problem they told me and the youngest is fine. But these children wow they are so loved by God and I don’t think words can justify the experience I had visiting their house, the oldest boy really has made an imprint in my heart, when you look at him he looks back at you with this look of wonder then as you smile at him, he return a smile back that is like glimpsing heaven. I am almost certain this boy has cerebal palsy but he can walk and his grandmother has taught him to cook, we saw him walk over to the pots cooking and lifted the lid and gave it a stir. These boys are cared for by the Community Based Organisation, they receive a hot meal each day and a care worker visits them and provide support and hope to them and their grandmother. It made me again realise how important this work is and how huge Gods heart is, it is a blessing that they had a grandmother to care for them when they were abandoned. And how God had his eye on them and was protecting them by having a CBO to identify them and care for them. I can’t imagine their lives if these blessing hadn’t been upon them. And the fact that they have each other to protect each other, I saw them at the feeding point the oldest walked off the youngest followed making sure his brother didn’t get into trouble. they walked back holding hands. I left that day feeling as though I had seen an angel in disguise. And the words of a favourite worship song came to mind; Hosanna - Hillsong united

Heal my heart and make it clean, open up my eyes to the things unseen, show me how to love like you have loved me. Break my heart for what breaks yours, everything I am for your kingdoms cause as I walk from earth to eternity.  

The first time I came to Africa in 2008, the words break my heart for what breaks yours, was my theme and the thing God really opened me up to. But this trip this whole bridge sums up what God is doing. I am being healed and made clean, no matter how painful, I am having my eyes opened to the things unseen, this is how I felt meeting this boy, something had been lifted from my eyes and I saw the world a bit more clearly through Gods eyes. God is showing me day by day what it means to love people while going deeper into what his love for me really is. He is breaking my heart for what breaks his, people lost, alone, broken, forgotten, rejected, battered and bruised by life, his love is HUGE. He is revealing to me his kingdom and role I get to play in his plans. 

As I write this the lyrics to an old song play in my mind "Touching heaven, changing earth" - Hillsong

We will seek Your face Almighty God
Turn and pray for You to heal our land
Father let revival start in us
Then every heart will know Your kingdom come

Lifting up the name of the Lord
In power and in unity
We will see the nations turn
Touching heaven changing earth
Touching heaven changing earth

Never looking back we'll run the race
Giving You our lives we'll gain the prize
We will take the harvest given us
Though we sow in tears, we'll reap in joy

Send revival (send revival)
Send revival (send revival)
Send revival to us

God is Touching heaven and changing earth. I am a witness to this