Three Months-No Snakes!

While I
wouldn’t say that not seeing any snakes sums up my African
experience…it sure does make me feel a whole lot better!  We have
successfully finished our ministry in Africa and are currently in
Bangkok, Thailand getting ready for three months of ministry in
Southeast Asia.

So what can I say to sum up my three-month journey in Africa?  How
could I even begin to sum up my incredible experiences on this
wonderful continent?  I think the one word I would use would be
Powerful.  I saw God power displayed in Africa like never before.

In Kenya, God broke my heart for the street kids orphans who had
no home and no hope.  Armed with a few hundred dollars that three of us
girls raised (mostly donated by our wonderful Israeli mother, Tirza!)
we set out to cloth and feed what we thought was going to be only about
15 children.  After a long and stressful trip to the grocery store,
Martha, Ashley and I arrived at the church…along with about 50
children.  Knowing we had only purchased things for about a dozen of
these precious children, we were at a loss on what to do.  So what
would any good World Racer do in that situation?  Impromptu VBS! 
Needless to say, God demonstrated his power and his love for the street
kids as every single one of them went away with full hands.

As I reached Uganda I had no idea for the amazing month that I was
in for. Uganda has been one of my favorite months on the race so far. 
It was here that I became very away of the spiritual climates of
places, and literally saw people operating under the worship of
demons.  I watched God continually demonstrate his power as He set his
children free!  One of my favorite memories was going into the schools,
many of which were held outside under the trees for lack of buildings. 
Here, as I presented the Gospel message, I watched as entire schools of
children bowed their heads and accepted God as the Lord of their life. 
Talk about powerful!

Arriving in Tanzania, I was exhausted to say the least.  We ran hard
in Uganda, and saw God appear like never before.  The Lord displayed
his power to me in a much different way this month.  We were blessed
with wonderful contacts that provided us with a lot of time to rest and
to spend time with God.  I learned what it means to truly rest in the
Lord and to be quiet before him.  It was difficult for me at first to
not be in 24/7 ministries, but the Lord spoke powerfully to me this
month.  He spoke both to me, and through the incredible community
around me.   I am so thankful that God provided me with time to rest in
Him and learn to hear his voice more clearly, especially as we set out
for our last leg of the Race.

God was so present and powerful in Africa.  I saw him perform many
miracles and melt countless hearts with his love…hearts including my
own.  I watched as things I had only read about happened right in front
of my eyes…. things that I always hoped were possible, but never
believed could happen in my life.  God is so powerful and so loving!! 
I am now in Asia trying to shift gears and get acclimated to an
entirely new culture, but I still find myself rejoicing over the
wonderful things God did in Africa, and looking forward to the
incredible things he will do in Asia!

Since I spend most of my time behind my Nikon and not a video camera, I thought I would allow the talent of my fellow squad mates speak for me as I wrap up this last African post…