Soon I will be getting married. Isn't that crazy? I know I have not updated much and never written about my boyfriend, who then turned into my fiance, who will now become my husband. Which I know that as a writer, that is almost impossible to believe. A writer does not write about their love? Impossible! Though I gladly would, instead I will take my time to write about what marriage means to me. Well, to us.
As a christian I have learned that my relationship with God almighty cannot depend on feelings. For if my relationship with the greatest Being cannot depend on feelings then what am I to believe about my husband? When I say my relationship with God does not depend on feelings I do not mean a passionless relationship. On the contrary,when one does not depend on feelings one can truly understand how to love at all times. This I had in mind before I met Brian, my fiance. I knew that I could not depend on what I think my life should be like, and to whom I believed I would fall in love with. When I decide to depend on feelings, I only choose to love in the best of times. But when I love at all times, then it does not matter what I feel, for I will always have to choose Love. That is, I will always choose for his highest good.
That being said, I will be getting married with Brian soon. A wonderful man I met during college at Sam Houston State. Brian is a special man because he also believes in what I just told you. I hear many people say "It's good to marry someone who believes the same way that you do. It is less problematic". Though it's true, that is simply society trying to get along with one another. Brian and I are not trying to comfort society; we are hunting society down with the Love of God.
The verse that I have prayed over my future husband over the years has been this:
"One man of you shall chase a thousand....and two put ten thousand to flight."
- Josh.23:10; Deut. 32:30. "30
When I met Brian I knew that if we were to be together, my life would not be purposeless. And I feel that sometimes that is what some girls fear: a man who will actually challenge you to live a life for another, and not for yourself. His check, my check should not exist in marriage. For marriage is powerful when both are working as one. If you are married and are trying to live life for yourself then no wonder you are tired....for one man can "only chase a thousand". BUT TWO,"shall put then thousand to flight". And that is my prayer for Brian and I.
Love, that our love for one another grow stronger each and everyday. And love, that we may not foolishly try to chase a thousand each, but that together we may be one in Christ, and put ten thousand to flight.
-Michy
Tuesday, December 06, 2011
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Newsletter
I was expecting to come back from Africa deeply burdened by the great need that I would see but this was not so. In fact, I am overjoyed in knowing that God's work is being done through Pastor Gilbert and his family (the missionaries and our hosts) in Senegal, Africa. Pastor Gilbert Rowe and his family are originally from Costa Rica but felt the call of God in their lives to work among the Senegalese. This has been their true passion for eight years now and they will continue to serve till God directs them elsewhere. During our two weeks in Senegal our team of ten worked with Pastor Gilbert and the church. The church does not really have a name since Pastor Gilbert says he does not want people to be distracted by a name, but that all glory should be directed to God, who deserves all glory. I found this to be evident in every area of Pastor Gilbert’s life; he is a man who does not care to be glorified but puts all his care to glorify the One who gave him such a task in the first place.
Pastor Gilbert and his family have adopted 25 children who currently reside in the house in which we stayed. The children are provided with an education, food, clothing and most importantly a loving home. Each child has a different story and comes from a different family. Some have parents in nearby villages who could not afford to take care of them so they allowed adoption. Others have come from the same background but through a different channel. This "channel" is a youth program (only boys) approved by the Senegal government in which a Marabu ( an Islamic teacher) is allowed to adopt children from parents who cannot afford to raise them. These children are referred to as the 'Talibi'. The Marabu is in charge of teaching the Qur’an and providing a "home away from home". However, the Marabus cannot afford living expenses for the child so the child works all day selling rice and/or sugar from dawn to evening. Many Marabu's are corrupt and do not really care to teach, which leads them to be interested in the quota the Talibi children must raise each day. If these quota isn't met the Talibi are vulnerable to beatings and maltreatment. They sleep on floors, beg all day, and fungus grows on their scalps due to poor hygiene. Many of these Talibi run away from their Marabu only to be taken back or remain homeless. Last year three Talibi children arrived at the Rowe’s home. The three told the family that if they did not adopt them they would rather kill themselves. Pastor Gilbert and his family had no other choice but to take them in. This was a year ago and the children remain unclaimed by their parents and their Marabu.
I got to see many Talibi children because Pastor Gilbert has a breakfast program addressed specifically towards the Talibi. He provides breakfast for the Talibi before they go to work. I saw a boy as young as 5 years old coming to get his breakfast before going out to beg. Pastor's Gilberts interest is not just need based but he and his helpers also share the good news of the Kingdom of God to them each morning. Despite their lack of provision the Talibi are normal children .They wrestle, they play, and they laugh. Part of Pastor Gilbert's vision is that this innocence is not taken away from them.
Out of the two weeks we were in Senegal we got to go to one village for two full days. We did not spend the night there but we were there from 9am to 12am. As a team we provided medical care for those who were sick and at night time we presented the Jesus film in their native tongue. We had three stations:1) taking their blood pressure, 2) diagnosis with Nanni (the nurse), and 3) prayer. Each patient had to have a number in order to be seen. Their waiting room was the dusty ground beneath one of the trees that provided the most shade. I was part of the prayer team. We had an interpreter at all times in order to ask what we could pray for and to have an actual conversation. At one point I asked a woman who seemed to be pregnant, "How is everything going with your pregnancy?" She lowered her head and proceeded to tell me that she wasn't pregnant and that her baby was at home. I learned that when she had the baby she had not been cleaned right and her enlarged stomach was a result of a deeper infection. We heard cases like this all day but praying for them was not as much fun as preaching the love of Jesus. It was more enthralling to know that this village had never heard the name of Jesus. Many listened, watched the film, and even decided to follow Jesus after those two days we spent with them. Admi, one of the little girls from the village followed me around all the time while we were there. At the end I asked her why she was following and keeping after me; she responded, "because you are my friend”. Senegalese people are so friendly and loving that I even questioned my own motives of being with them. Do I love these people as much as they are willing to love me? We did not know them, yet they were willing to give everything as an act of service. It made me think of my responsibility as a carrier of the gospel. The good news is that Jesus came to die for our sins and that we do not have to be controlled by them but be free in knowing that we are alive In Christ, and that our old self has died. If I am alive to Jesus and dead to the world, then how am I showing this to my fellow man? Whether I am, or I am not, there needs to be a continuous love flowing out of me wherever I am because God is love. A mission trip does not start and end in Africa; on the contrary, it is a condition of the heart.
I became more aware of this on our last night in Senegal. We had just given away shoes to all 25 of Pastor Gilbert's children when Pastor Gilbert told his children, "We have just been blessed, now let's give them what we have as an offering of gratitude". Pastor Gilbert and his family told us (our team of 10) to kneel down, and when we did the children came to surround us laying their hands on our heads. As Pastor Gilbert started praying so did the children. They were praying in French but we heard the language of eternity: God's Love. There was not a single person whose eyes were dry by the time we were standing again. We had just experienced what Jesus told his disciples "Go and make disciples of all nations..." (Matt 28:16-20) These 25 kids had been discipled, taught, and led to live a life for God. I finish with the quote I put in my first letter:
"When God changes the heart and the spirit, the physical changes also. If you want to meet the needs of the poor in this world, there is no better place to start than by preaching the gospel".
-K.P Yohannan
My time in Africa was not to patch up a hole with an economical need, but to know Jesus and to make him Known.
Pastor Gilbert and his family have adopted 25 children who currently reside in the house in which we stayed. The children are provided with an education, food, clothing and most importantly a loving home. Each child has a different story and comes from a different family. Some have parents in nearby villages who could not afford to take care of them so they allowed adoption. Others have come from the same background but through a different channel. This "channel" is a youth program (only boys) approved by the Senegal government in which a Marabu ( an Islamic teacher) is allowed to adopt children from parents who cannot afford to raise them. These children are referred to as the 'Talibi'. The Marabu is in charge of teaching the Qur’an and providing a "home away from home". However, the Marabus cannot afford living expenses for the child so the child works all day selling rice and/or sugar from dawn to evening. Many Marabu's are corrupt and do not really care to teach, which leads them to be interested in the quota the Talibi children must raise each day. If these quota isn't met the Talibi are vulnerable to beatings and maltreatment. They sleep on floors, beg all day, and fungus grows on their scalps due to poor hygiene. Many of these Talibi run away from their Marabu only to be taken back or remain homeless. Last year three Talibi children arrived at the Rowe’s home. The three told the family that if they did not adopt them they would rather kill themselves. Pastor Gilbert and his family had no other choice but to take them in. This was a year ago and the children remain unclaimed by their parents and their Marabu.
I got to see many Talibi children because Pastor Gilbert has a breakfast program addressed specifically towards the Talibi. He provides breakfast for the Talibi before they go to work. I saw a boy as young as 5 years old coming to get his breakfast before going out to beg. Pastor's Gilberts interest is not just need based but he and his helpers also share the good news of the Kingdom of God to them each morning. Despite their lack of provision the Talibi are normal children .They wrestle, they play, and they laugh. Part of Pastor Gilbert's vision is that this innocence is not taken away from them.
Out of the two weeks we were in Senegal we got to go to one village for two full days. We did not spend the night there but we were there from 9am to 12am. As a team we provided medical care for those who were sick and at night time we presented the Jesus film in their native tongue. We had three stations:1) taking their blood pressure, 2) diagnosis with Nanni (the nurse), and 3) prayer. Each patient had to have a number in order to be seen. Their waiting room was the dusty ground beneath one of the trees that provided the most shade. I was part of the prayer team. We had an interpreter at all times in order to ask what we could pray for and to have an actual conversation. At one point I asked a woman who seemed to be pregnant, "How is everything going with your pregnancy?" She lowered her head and proceeded to tell me that she wasn't pregnant and that her baby was at home. I learned that when she had the baby she had not been cleaned right and her enlarged stomach was a result of a deeper infection. We heard cases like this all day but praying for them was not as much fun as preaching the love of Jesus. It was more enthralling to know that this village had never heard the name of Jesus. Many listened, watched the film, and even decided to follow Jesus after those two days we spent with them. Admi, one of the little girls from the village followed me around all the time while we were there. At the end I asked her why she was following and keeping after me; she responded, "because you are my friend”. Senegalese people are so friendly and loving that I even questioned my own motives of being with them. Do I love these people as much as they are willing to love me? We did not know them, yet they were willing to give everything as an act of service. It made me think of my responsibility as a carrier of the gospel. The good news is that Jesus came to die for our sins and that we do not have to be controlled by them but be free in knowing that we are alive In Christ, and that our old self has died. If I am alive to Jesus and dead to the world, then how am I showing this to my fellow man? Whether I am, or I am not, there needs to be a continuous love flowing out of me wherever I am because God is love. A mission trip does not start and end in Africa; on the contrary, it is a condition of the heart.
I became more aware of this on our last night in Senegal. We had just given away shoes to all 25 of Pastor Gilbert's children when Pastor Gilbert told his children, "We have just been blessed, now let's give them what we have as an offering of gratitude". Pastor Gilbert and his family told us (our team of 10) to kneel down, and when we did the children came to surround us laying their hands on our heads. As Pastor Gilbert started praying so did the children. They were praying in French but we heard the language of eternity: God's Love. There was not a single person whose eyes were dry by the time we were standing again. We had just experienced what Jesus told his disciples "Go and make disciples of all nations..." (Matt 28:16-20) These 25 kids had been discipled, taught, and led to live a life for God. I finish with the quote I put in my first letter:
"When God changes the heart and the spirit, the physical changes also. If you want to meet the needs of the poor in this world, there is no better place to start than by preaching the gospel".
-K.P Yohannan
My time in Africa was not to patch up a hole with an economical need, but to know Jesus and to make him Known.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
The village
For the last two days we have been providing medical care to one of the villages nearby. It is very tiring since we are there all day with heat, sweat, and swollen feet :). I have many stories to tell about these two days but I prefer to type it up when I go back to the states. For now all I want to say is this people are so loving and so happy with so little. Trips like this gets you to think about your own lifetsyle and what you are doing and for what you are working for. I will try to write later. God bless you all.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Jour trois
Let me just say that I am in LOVE with these people. I can't wait to go back and tell each and everyone of you stories about the people who have made an impact on us and also to whom we have made an impact to. Yesterday I got to meet Mamadu Fay. He was a deputant for the senegal government but currently lives in his native village. He gaves us tea!! which he was also drinking from...I was joking with our fellow missionaries that we can now call ourselves real missionaries since we have tasted something that other people would think we are crazy for trying!!! In all honesty it excites me and I think the Lord is just confirming what is already in our hearts. After we left the village I wanted to continue talking to mamadu Fay but alas we had to leave. I got to share Christ with him; he is a muslim. He listened and nodded his head. "ahh jesu, oui" He nodded with understanding because he has already heart it before, many times, from the missionary whom we are staying with.
On other note, the team is doing great. We're getting to know each other more and i'm falling more in love with my fiance as we serve Christ together. I thank God that he has allowed me to step into countries that I had never dreamt of. My fear of planes used to tell me that I will never reach the other side of the world, and now I have gone twice with this trip!!!! Isn't the Lord amazing??? God is good all the time!!
That is all for now....I will continue to update as more things happen here in thiese, Senegal. Love you all.
On other note, the team is doing great. We're getting to know each other more and i'm falling more in love with my fiance as we serve Christ together. I thank God that he has allowed me to step into countries that I had never dreamt of. My fear of planes used to tell me that I will never reach the other side of the world, and now I have gone twice with this trip!!!! Isn't the Lord amazing??? God is good all the time!!
That is all for now....I will continue to update as more things happen here in thiese, Senegal. Love you all.
Friday, June 10, 2011
Landed
To all who are reading this blog while my stay in Africa, the arrival was a success. We are currently recovering from jet lagg and will not start doing any greater activities till tomorrow afternoon. The people are awesome!!!! I am in love with the missionarie's adopted children. I will write if i have more time later on. For now I am really tired and im about to head to bed :). Thank you for reading.
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