God's Beauty

Taken from my front window, what beauty, what love the Father has for us.  We see God in our everyday living, just by stopping, and looking at what the Creator has created.

As we celebrate the wonder of Jesus' birth, and we celebrate our rebirth into eternal life, let us allow thankfulness to flow freely from our hearts in response to the glorious gift He gave us. The greatest gift of all time our Messiah, Immanuel, our Savior.


But please know this gift that was given to us is for everyone who believes. He is extending salvation to everyone who will believe.

John 3:16-17 "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. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." Do you know Jesus, now is the time of Salvation.

Merry Christmas

The Sudan Team

In February the Lord lead me to be apart of the Sudan team in Nairobi.  God showed me that for this short time my gifts would be better used here.  What a blessing it was to be a part of the Logistics team and to work with my Kenyan brothers and sisters.  I would like you to meet the logistics team.

Debbie, Peter, Alfred, Stephen, Leah (little Graham) and Terry

Right before I started my trip to the US, the Sudan team had their SLC (Spiritual Life Conference) up at a beautiful location called Brackenhurst.  God has created such beauty, and His provision for this conference was outside Nairobi at about 8000 feet.  Thank you Jesus

Meet some of the team

 Daniel Yor

 VolleyBall anyone

 Just taking time to rest

 Chris and Jonathan with Heather sitting on the grass

 Julie

 Bethany and Rose

Claire

I am stateside now, and enjoying being home in Silverton Oregon, with my family and my church family.  When we walk with the Lord we are always on a journey.  I will be home for 9 months, and excited to see what God has in store during this time.

Please continue to pray for Sudan; as they move forward to becoming their own country, pray for strong leaders who know the Lord, for wise decisions as they rebuild the infrastructure, and please continue to pray for peace.

ALOT THAT GOD HAS SHOWN ME!!

It has been quite some time since I updated my blog.  Please accept my apologizes.  I will try and bring you up to date on what the last 2 months have looked like.

Praise the LORD.  Praise the LORD, O my soul.  I will praise the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. Psalm 146:1-2

April was filled with alot of farewells, and transitions as I prepared to come to the US for home assignment.
I share with you some of the loved ones that have been such a part of my life for almost four years.

IN SUDAN

 Joy, Kamal, and Sani

 Buls, Rhoda, Kamal and Deborah

 My Mabaan daughter Sani and my Mabaan son Daud

Samoni

KENYA Free Baptist in Kayaba Slums

 My good friend Alice

 A beautiful sister in Christ

 Worshipping together

 Lynn and Nicole

To the girls, Lynn, Nicole and Leah I am known as Sho, Sho (grandma) to Levy and Lucy I am Mum

Muranga Town, Rural Pastor/Women's conference

 No ladders

 

 No electric or gas cookers, everything is done over open fire.  Nothing is easy

They cut up enough cabbage to feed over 200 people

Since December there has been many opprotunities to be a part of what God is doing.  My hearts desire is to be in Sudan, but God has given me the opportunty to be a part of what He is doing in Kenya.  The relationships He has given are wonderful but also hard, as I have had many farewells, and there have been alot of tears shed not only from me but from all of those God has brought into my life.  I would not change anything. 

There is such a hunger in Sudan and Kenya to know God deeper, and to be able to be a part of the Pastor's conference was a blessing and a priviledge. 

"He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry.  The LORD sets prisoners free, the LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous.  The LORD watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow, bu He frustrates the ways of the wicked." Psalm 146:7-9

He Is The Way The Truth The Life

"For I know the plans I have for you" During my time here in Nairobi there have been many things to think and pray about, and one of those was whether or not I would be going back into Sudan before I go on home assingment in April. God has opened up the door for the team to start returning to Sudan and the flights to take us back in have started. However I will not be returning to Sudan at this time, there are many things involved in this decision. I share with you some of them. My back, which is better than it has been in several months, realizing that part of the reason for this is the ability to work out and swim, which I can do here in Nairobi, however it isn't quite that easy in Sudan.

The pastor and his wife from my church are coming to Nairobi in March to hold a conference for Kenya Pastors and their wives, and a prayer request from the SIM Sudan Director, sharing the needs in the office, one of those being logistics. "Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."

Through all of this the Lord has impressed upon me that the gifts He has given me can better be used here in Nairobi for the next couple of months. God has opened up the door for me to join Pastor Stan and Mindy (from my home church) in the Pastor's conference in March. He has also given me the opportunity and blessing to be a part of the Logistics team at SIM Sudan to help facilitate the movement of the team back into Sudan, and also coordinate the flying in of 8 tons of medical supplies that was donated. I thank God for His direction.

My heart is in Sudan and it has been hard for me to let go and accept that I would not be going back in with my team. God is faithful, He has worked me through all of this and has seen many tears fall. Even when things are not as you think they will be, He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.

I want to share with you some of the beautiful people God has brought into my life during this time in Sudan.

Bulus, Kamal, Roda, and Deborah

Katrina and Ester (team mate Karissa)

Rebeka and Hannah

Sani and Deborah (Mabaan Bora)

Gena (Grace) with Deborah

Elizabeth

Please continue to pray for Sudan, as they start the very hard task of rebuilding. Rebuilding Church and Nation.

The Lord's blessings

For those who don't know the SIM Sudan team stretches over two countries. Of course Sudan is one of them and Kenya is the other. We have a support staff that is based in Kenya and I am blessed to be able to work with wonderful Kenyan brothers and sisters in Christ. I would like to introduce you to one family that lives in Lokichoggio Kenya which is on the border of Sudan.

Meet Starline, Leah, Griffins and Graham. We are so blessed to have them in Lokichoggio. Starline is with AIM, and Leah is with SIM. Leah handles all the cargo and flights for the SIM Sudan team, she also runs the guest house, which is where we stay when we are on our way to Sudan.

Graham joined the family in January of this year.

January 9, 2011

First off I want to thank everyone for all their prayers, as Sudan moved closer and than into the week of voting. January 9 - 15th.

It was an incredible week. God answered so many prayers as the elections went off very peacefully and reports from outside observers say that it was very fair too. The North is taking an enormous step in accepting the results: the South has decided to overwhelming vote for succession. This will take place in July 2011.

Please I encourage you to keep praying. Sudan, both North and South, is at a crossroads and the decisions they will make over the next few months will have dramatic impact on their future.

North Sudan: Pray that God will keep the door open for the gospel.
South Sudan: Pray for peace as the government develops and for careful development.
Pray that God will keep a door open to the south for the Gospel.

God is faithful

Much has happened since the last time I posted to my blog, let me share some of what has been happening.

Sudan was facing a critical time in their history, the Referendum Vote was scheduled for January 9Th, this would be a vote to decide the future for south and north Sudan. So in preparation of this vote we as a team were brought off the field.

It was a time of many farewells, tears, laughter, and prayer. God allowed me to be a part of what He was doing in my village, and as I taught Mother Tongue literacy along with Sani and Daud (two mabaan translators that God provided), we were humbled as we watched ladies that couldn't read or write their mother tongue get to the point where they could read at a first grade level. My prayer was that I would be able to leave them with the Word of God in their language and that they would be able to read it. God answered that prayer. Thank you Jesus.

Katrina, Daud (teacher), Roda, Sani (teacher), Rebeka, Mary, Elizabeth, Mary. And the last picture is me with my Mabaan daughter and son. This was our time of giving thanks to God for what He has done, and honoring the women for their commitment.

God opened up the door of opportunity for Sani, Daud and I to go to the clinic two to three days a week and teach HIV/AIDS Awareness. We would do the teaching in three different languages, Mabaan (mother tongue), Arabic, and English. What you see in the background is the clinic which is showing the damage from the war. Those are bullet holes.