So, for those of you that know me, you know that I almost always have something to say. 🙂 But for some reason I've been finding it really difficult to write a blog about our time in Tanzania. It was a really great month. Tanzania is absolutely beautiful…probably the most beautiful country we've been to so far. Looking at the landscape there, it's hard to understand how others don't believe in God. His beautiful creation spoke volumes to me about the love He has for us and really just about His uniqe deity.
Our ministry was a lot like Uganda, where we only did about 2 hours of organized ministry a day. But for Jeremy and me, I think more of our "ministry" was really just doing life with one of our contacts and with the girls that cooked for us all month. God blessed us with opportunities to pour into them and also to be poured into by them. And it was a beautiful picture of how the body of Christ works, without culture or location effecting it. It was a reminder that God is the same in the States as He is in Tanzania and everywhere else.
One example of this is the day that I sat down with Dorcas and Victory, who were the girls that made our amazing food last month. They reminded me a lot of my sisters back home. I felt so comfortable around them and felt like I could just be me. That day, I got to share with them my story about not being able to have a baby. I've shared that story a lot on this race and the Lord has been faithful to use it to speak about His plans and timing for our lives. But I had never had a reaction like I got from Dorcas and Victory that day. As I finished sharing, I looked at them and Victory walked away out of view with tears in her eyes. I then looked at Dorcas and her eyes were also glistening. And I was so shocked. The empathy that these girls were having for me overwhelmed me. Then the tears came to my eyes. I was in awe of the way that the Lord tugs at others hearts on my behalf. These girls were seeing my desire for a child, but more than that, a desire for God's will in my life, and they hurt for me. But they also had hope for me. They also prayed that God would have His way. And I was so blessed that day. I was blessed to have the body of Christ encouraging me and lifting me up in something that has been extremely difficult for me.
Jeremy got to be really good friends with our contact whose name is Yusuph. He's a 23 year-old that has such a strong heart for the Lord. He has a testimony that I'm not going to even try to repeat because it's powerful and I don't want to miss something. But God has huge plans for His life, as He has already made clear, and he and Jeremy really became great friends. They were able to laugh and joke, and also have serious conversations. It was so hard to say good-bye to him, but I trust that we'll see him again someday.
So that was Tanzania. Not quite what Jeremy or I expected it to be, but it was exactly what God wanted it to be. And I'm so blessed that the Lord wanted to use us in that way. It's all for His glory anyway.
We're in Thailand now and I'm working on getting another blog up. As your read this, please pray for Jeremy and me as we are separated this month. He's doing ministry with the men and I'm with the girls on my team. We miss each other, but God is using us both where we are. Please pray for continued strength and endurance. Thanks!
