Getting to Here...

My blog is a reflection of my life, a hodge podge of things to say the least. I am a newly-wed who loves crafting, baking, and spending time with family and friends. This blog is a product of thinking ahead, tracking time, rejoicing in all things, and seeing how the Lord works in such mighty ways. My prayer is that this blog becomes a safe-haven, tool for connection, and source of encouragement. 

I was talking to Tye the other day about all of the crazy things that have happened over the last year. It has been a big one for us! I wish I had started this blog sooner, considering the many break-downs and moments of doubt that I had over the course of the year. What an outlet this would have been..2012 started with a trip to Senegal, Africa where Tye and I were able to serve alongside each other for the first time in our relationship. Both of us had been on mission trips before but never together. What an incredible blessing!! I had no idea what was ahead of me after the trip, though. We will get there. 

Many individuals graciously supported Tye and I's trip to Africa. Donations and selling bracelets & t-shirts funded our trip, and we were able to go on the trip without a financial burden leading up to our wedding. Seriously, God is so good. He ALWAYS provides. 

During the trip, I kept a very detailed journal. Upon our return, I wrote a follow-up letter for every individual that supported us financially or through prayer (that I knew of). That summary is below. 

To many people, Africa is the ultimate mission trip. It encompasses everything that Christ wanted us as believers to accomplish (go share the gospel to the nations). However, this trip was much more than a “glamorous” trip to Africa. The people of Senegal are personal to me now. They are no longer just the people of Africa. They have names and faces. They are people that agreed with everything I told them, yet many of them will die lost because they cannot leave their culture and reputation behind. They cannot comprehend that what they have been taught is a lie- that what their fathers, grandfathers, and so on have believed is not the truth. They want so badly to believe that both can be true (Islam and Christianity).  If I had to sum up what I learned in one sentence, it would be the following: People really are the same everywhere. Whether we live in a house with a pool and air conditioning or a hut made of cement blocks with only a bed inside, people are searching for truth. People want something to fill them, and they want an answer to the pain and suffering of this world. They are looking for hope beyond life here. 

Our days were spent going out into the village (approximately 40 courtyards totaling around 500 people). We would enter each courtyard and were immediately greeted by those who lived there and asked to sit. It was amazing that people would drop what they were doing to sit and listen to us. Because the culture is a verbal one, the people loved listening to our stories. We were able to share the gospel over 50 times in five days. Our audiences ranged from people who knew of Jesus and thought he was a “good man” to people who had never heard his name before. Missionaries from our church in Springfield live near the village, and they have seen one believer come to know the Lord in this particular village over the seven years they have been serving in the area. He came to spend the week with us (he lives and works in another village now), and up to this point, he has not suffered much persecution. However, he is still young and has no power at the present moment (no wife or great deal of wealth). Only time will tell what his consequences will be. His influence can already be seen in what the people know, though. He has shown the Jesus film a couple of times and continues to share what he is learning with those in the village. 

Each member of our team seemed to attach themselves with someone in particular when we were spending time in the courtyard we were staying in. Tye spent most of his time with a twenty-four year old man named S (names left out for security reasons). S spent some time in Gambia and knows a small amount of English. He wants to learn more, and he connected with Tye when he was there with the team in March. Tye was thrilled to see him (he thought he might be at school in France). S took off a week from work simply because we were in town and he wanted to spend time with us. Tye spent the week pouring into S-teaching him English and sharing the gospel with him. He also taught him to say “Roll Tide, Beat LSU!”

Going into the trip, I thought I would find lots of small African children that I wanted to bring home with me. Instead, I connected with two older kids. M is around 7 or 8 and her older brother E is 9 or 10. When Tye returned from Africa in March, he had taken a picture of three boys sitting on a bench. When I saw the picture, I pointed at the boy in the middle (E), and said, I want to bring him home. I loved him even more after I met him. On our last day, we had the privilege to visit their school in the village. We received a tour from one of the teachers, and we got to see M’s classroom and tell her goodbye. I was broken-hearted that I would not be able to see E before we left. We didn’t visit his classroom. On our way out of the schoolyard, I saw his bright smile and “Queen of the Ball” shirt from the trail. He was peeking out of the doorway and started waving at us. That was the only time I cried leaving the village. Thankfully, the kids got out of school before we left, so we were able to say goodbye to them. 

I also connected strongly with our host’s wives, M and F. The two women are very different, and many of the girls were drawn to his second wife, F-because of her outgoing personality. M is a mother-figure though, and her sweet spirit drew me in. They were both so unique and so interested in what we had to say. 

From M and F, B (our host)’s children total 17 ranging from about 25 to 1 year. M is S’s mom while F is M and E’s mom.  One of the coolest experiences while we were in the village was an African celebration for the birth of a new baby. We were informed that there was going to be a celebration for a baby girl that had been born that day (January 5), and we were invited. We had no idea what any of this entailed, but we were honored that they would include us. We walked to the courtyard where all the women were gathering, and the grandmother was in the courtyard washing the baby. We were told the mother was showering. We all just looked at each other. This baby was brand new and the mom was already up and showering. After the baby had been washed, the grandmother made a pallet of blankets on the ground and put the baby on it. Then, she covered the baby with another sheet. Apparently that is common, because when we came to visit the next day, the baby was covered laying on the bed in the hut. Following the baby’s bath, the mother came out from the hut to watch the dancing. It was something I will never forget. What a way to celebrate the miracle of life. 

Raising financial support for this trip was not easy, but the Lord provided. He is so faithful. By selling shirts and bracelets as well as sending out support letters, Tye and I were able to raise the funds for this trip in full the week before we left for the trip. We are so grateful for the generosity of our friends and family, and we could not have done it without you. We could feel the prayers from our prayer warriors, and our team remained healthy and safe the entire time we were in Africa. 

Tye and I do have shirts left if you are interested in purchasing one for $8 (the money will go towards our adoption fund). 

What came after our Africa trip was honestly harder than the trip itself. Satan was no where to be found while we were in Africa, and I was shocked that I did not feel warfare in a stronger sense (although hearts were very hardened to the gospel). I did not feel personally attacked until we got home. I began getting very very sick. I visited with numerous doctors before a nasty bacterial infection was discovered, and I began some of the most harsh antibiotics anyone can take. After three rounds of antibiotics spanning 3 months, my body was "cleared" of what I decided was a disease rather than infection. (This is an extremely short version of the miserable story that involved my mom caring for me in Springfield while I attempted to attend class). The infection left me with post-infectious IBS, and I was terrified for our wedding day and the events surrounding it. 

We got married on June 3, 2012. I can honestly say that the day went smoothly and my body did not act up. I was free of pain, aside from the nerves that are normal with anyones wedding day. Today, I can make it through most days pain free as my body continues to heal. I did not realized that the verse I had clung to for our Africa trip was actually the one I needed for this entire year following the trip. 

1 Corinthians 16:13-14

"Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love." 

There were many days where it was hard to stand firm in the faith, where courage was not a word I would use to describe myself, where weakness was all that I could see or make sense of. However, the Lord is good and uses our weaknesses to show His strength. As my weight has returned and my body is seemingly ache free (most of the time), I try to remind myself of the way the Lord brought me out. I try to remember that each day of ease is a blessing; however, each day of pain and ache is also a blessing. How can we know joy without sorrow or victory without defeat?

My prayer is that in every instance I would prove faithful, and that my God will get the glory. In this hodge podge of life, my God has everything under control, and it is not a hodge podge to Him at all.