Greetings on this Easter weekend…
I want to say thank you for your continued pr@yers even though you have not heard from me in a couple of days. We were welcomed in D@kar by a group of fellow servants that have lavished us with food, encouragement, fellowship, a great place to stay, tours of the city so we know our way around, a visit to the beach for some “get away from the stress and struggles” time, an Easter egg hunt, and just some things to bring a normal feeling to life. I must say it is great to be in the body of Chr1st!
Since our departure from M@li and our arrival in S3negal, we have faced the gamut of emotions and the reality of all that is going on in M@li. It has been a tough week of ups and downs, coping and confusion, adjusting and fighting the adjustments, experiencing every possible emotion. There have been hard moments and really great moments. Through it all–even those days when we were unable to even express our hearts and our struggles to G0d, He has been with us. Our whole lives seem to be turned upside down and many days we just felt lost in this sea of news that seemed to get worse not better. It was like we would find something to divert our attention and we would be able to enjoy some sweet, refreshing moments of comfort, hope, fun and then return to the place we were staying only to hear that something we feared had happened in M@li.
I’m so thankful for those sweet, refreshing moments– time to walk with G0d on the beach (which for me has always been and continues to be a G0d and I place) and pick up seashells, playing basketball (Catherine has put us all to shame), finding a store where I could buy Dr. Pepper (no I didn’t buy every one they had…only 6), times on the phone talking and pr@ying with our friends in M@li, and then pr@yer times with those who we are staying with here. One of the most special moments happened when we went shopping for fruits and vegetables. The lady we were buying from was from M@li and she spoke Bambara. For the first time, I felt at home. Honestly, I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to pull up a stool and just sit with her for awhile. Still thinking about going to sit with her for a day…smile.
We were also able to spend a day debriefing our experience and processing all that we have been through. That was hard at times, but it was very good and very necessary. I’m very thankful for that time to just stop…look at and process the whirlwind of events, experiences, and emotions of the last 2 weeks.
I would have to say that the best thing about the last few days was the chance to sit with G0d and intimately seek Him and focus on this week in the life of Jesus. I sat each morning in a little garden of flowers outside our guesthouse reading and remembering all that He had been through. In John 13, He took sweet precious time to prepare His f0ll0wers for all that was going to take place. I love that about Him…both then and now…HE WALKS WITH US THROUGH ALL THINGS! These things He was preparing them for were going to happen to Him, yet His focus was preparing His f0ll0wers.
I found so much comfort in the words He said to His f0ll0wers after describing all that would happen. “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in G0d, and trust also in Me.”
That is where I find myself today…trusting my troubled heart to J.s.s, trusting the troubled nation of M@li to G0d, trusting my friends and fellow f0ll0wers to the One who died and rose again to bring s@lvation to them.
Please keep pr@ying for M@li:
- for the junta leaders to truly step down and the sanctions to be removed
- for the protection of the f0ll0wers of J.s.s from the imposition of Sharia law
- for the food crisis and those suffering without the necessities of food and water
- for J.s.s to reveal Himself to those who f0ll0w Him and those who are seeking Him
trusting HIM….