SO backstory: I’m currently in Rwanda, serving with Hope Rwanda/Ethiopia. Here in Rwanda, we are staying at the guesthouse which is on the same property that the women stay at that are apart of the program here. There are women who come from different communities each day but there are currently seven who are living here. The program is for women who have come from difficult pasts and want to learn how to make a living and provide for themselves and their families. They are taught different skills; sewing, embroidery, asset development and business. Every weekday morning they do devotions together, sing songs, read from the Word, and pray together. It’s such a beautiful picture of sisterhood. We are so blessed to be able to share in this morning time with them and each morning we also dance together, which I am thoroughly enjoying!
Today for ministry we were asked to do inventory of the guesthouse so that they would know exactly what supplies they have. So, my teammate & current roommate, Ashley, and I went into our room to inventory the cabinet full of items and as we were cleaning it out we found a wedding dress. I turned to her and said, “should I try it on?” and we are girls so of course she said yes! It looked small and I did not think it would fit me, but when we finished the inventory I put it on. IT FIT PERFECTLY. Like no alterations would need to be made, nothing. We walked into the other room and showed the rest of our team and they said I should go and show all the girls, who were currently in the other room sewing. Ashley and I headed into the room and when I walked in they all started cheering, they absolutely loved it. One of the girls, JoJo, said “where’s your husband?” and we all laughed. What I thought would be just an appearance quickly turned into a photoshoot. I moved the ring that I wear from my middle finger to my ring finger and had our team leader, Val, tell me what to do, because I never know how to pose for these things… We joked about how I was getting married in Rwanda, laughed a lot, and couldn’t believe how perfectly the dress fit. BUT what I learned, something so small as just putting on a dress for fun can bring joy to people.
Enjoy my “I’m just missing the groom” wedding photos:
On a serious note, just thinking about marriage and looking at how we are the bride of Christ. It is such a beautiful thing. I don’t think we seriously think about this. God loves us so much He chose US to be HIS bride to spend eternity with Him. That’s exactly what marriage is, a choice to spend the rest of your life on this earth with that one person. I am so loved by the Father that He wants eternity with me. Let that sink in. God loves YOU so much that He wants you to be His bride, He wants an eternity in Heaven with YOU.
The dress may have fit me perfectly, but that makes me think of Jesus. I am not perfect, I never will be, BUT His blood covered me to make me perfect in the sight of the Lord. I still make mistakes, I still mess up, but I am FORGIVEN. I have to continually become more like Christ, choosing each and every day to wake up and spend time with the Father. To read my Bible and see what it looks like to be like Jesus and try my best to do that. It’s like making alterations on a dress in a sense, changing it to fit perfectly, continually working on myself to fit perfectly in the mold of Jesus.
Thank you so much to all of my supporters, I wouldn’t be here without you all. I am absolutely loving Africa! Please continue to pray for my team as we will be heading to our next country in just a few days!
I am also still fundraising, if you feel led to give just click the donate button above!
