You know you are in
- cold showers are a luxury
- mac and cheese causes more excitement than Christmas
- you speak to American visitors in halting French (oops!)
- sweet chubby babies are only seen at the orphanage
- rice and sauce is considered a meal
- frogs peep in the screen door at night and you cheer when the gecko gets the bug at the window
- Joshua is thrilled when baby goats and piglets saunter by in a courtyard
- babies get 2-3 baths a day
- tears flow during intercession and prayer over the people
- everyone greets you and shakes your hand
- a new sink sponge causes rejoicing
- you crave meat!
- a clown car doubles for a taxi (we squeezed in 8 once in a 4 door car)
- potholes look like ditches and bridges are upside down (to allow water during rainy season to flow over them!)
- Your morning job is to cuddle babies
- you are woken up at 3:30 am by a crowing rooster under your bedroom window and you dream of rooster soup (see #12!)
- After praying, sweat begins to run down a child's face that was originally burning with malarial fever
- A courtyard of kids raise their hands to accept Jesus after a simple message of how much He loves them
- you shake all your clothes out before putting them on
- a text message gets a reply in a minute but it takes 1.5 hours to log onto the internet!
Hello family and friends!! Many have asked for things to pray for and so this blog will be full of news and concerns. Life here is both difficult and wonderful. The heat is so intense: hot in the sun, hot in the shade, in the house, under trees, in the courtyard… you get the point! Sometimes it starts to get to us. Jesus has been so faithful to bring us breezes to keep us going.
Our biggest battle right now is discouragement sneaking in. We are hungry for revival, hungry for the touch and presence of the One who satisfies. Hungry for direction and wisdom. We are not here for a "nice vacation" and then to return home, back to a "normal life." We want so much more. Zechariah 9:11+ speaks of returning to the Stronghold and relying on His blood to cover us. We have also been asking Him to bring the rain of His presence (Zech 10). At one of our lowest points of faith yesterday, incredibly, a thunderstorm pounded the orphanage, not once but 10 times. We all teared up. After Oct 13th, Burkina's rainy season is over and they NEVER have rain this late. It was clearly the Lord speaking that He is mighty and that He will indeed rain down!! Ruth, the orphanage founder and director, also cried and was so encouraged by the Lord's sign. Those of you interceding on our behalf, thank you! We feel your prayers and petitions, we are humbled by your commitment to us, we are floored by your messages of encouragement and visions for us. May He fulfill them all and receive all praise.
At the village Jeffrey spoke of in the last blog we were excited by the local translator who has just accepted Jesus recently. He was so excited in the car after our visit saying: the words just flowed out of him like it wasn't even him talking! We got to tell him it was the Holy Spirit doing the talking!! We were all on a high as we praised Jesus for flowing in power thru each of us. This was the village we felt a girl was healed of malaria, a mom of depression, and another mom of epilepsy and mental issues. Lynn, one of the Americans living here who runs the school and sponsorship program, was so encouraged to have us there and be supported in her effort to bring Jesus to the villages. We will be doing more village visits to pray on Thursday. This is where I feel my heart is, where I am most passionate (the babies are a close second!). Continue to pray Proverbs 3 over us, especially verses 1-14. It's huge that we don't focus on the natural and what is on the surface.
This afternoon around lunch we will be praying over a little girl with cerebral palsy who is in a wheelchair. We are praying God is glorified in her healing. Tonight is when we are going to be praying over the older kids here, "prophesying" over them using the meanings of their names. There will be about 15 kids to pray over. May the Spirit be strong and clear in what He wants to say over these precious ones. May we have His heart, His wisdom. Pray it is a powerful time of ministry. They need His direction, His love, His touch. I am excited but also a little nervous. Before we left, I felt this was something Jesus wanted us to do while we are here in
Our schedule for the next few days is cuddling babies, going to the town market day (Wed. AM), a reservoir where produce is grown (Thurs. AM), and the villages (Thurs. PM). Pray we have continued direction, we see with the eyes of Jesus, we have continued opportunities to minister. This could also be times we may connect with our little girl. (Although I could pack up many of the kids here to take home!)
Joshua is doing really well. His favorite playmate is a sweet girl about 5 with a beautiful smile and gorgeous eyes, Faozia (pronounced Foss-i-ah). They race plastic cars, stack chunky legos, and chase each other. What a precious sight. He always loves to check on "his babies" and is impatient to do so every free moment. Ruth has been regaled with praise songs the usual 24/7 and luckily, loves it! He is excited to string beads with them when we get a chance to do so with the beads we were able to bring. He LOVES to whack spiders in the house and jump after the toads outside! His new favorite thing is to play soccer in the evening with the older boys; they are very sweet and let him kick the ball, laughing when he gets sidetracked by his dancing and air drumming!
Love each of you dearly. May Jesus reveal His heart to each of you, may you look for opportunities to show others His heart.
-Kristine
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