So first off, I have to say Happy Birthday to my best friend in the whole wide world. Love you Shelby!!! Also, Happy Birthday Mrs.Joyce, and Tyler at the daycare! Oh and Happy Fathers Day! Love you Daddy!!
I'm gonna tell you what my days here look like.
5:20 am We rise before the sun. Then at 5:45 am, we "run" to the church. I say "run" because Kim, Stacy, Christina, and I either run at a walking pace or run from the front to the back of the group until we reach the church. We get there around 6, and I go to my spot outside and start to pray. When we stop around 7, I see the sun has finally decided to grace us with it's appearance. Then we do our quiet time until breakfast around 8. After that, it's feedback and testimony time. From 10 to 11:15ish we play with all the kids that go to school at the church. Theres a good bit and sometimes it can get hectic, but it's still fun. We eat lunch around 12 or 1 and then we're free to do what we want until 3:30. That's when we meet at the church and walk to the hospital. This is my favorite part of the day. We go to different wards and pray over people. We find out their story, what is wrong with them, and we start to pray. After we pray, we like to give encouraging words. At first, this was so hard for me. Trying to tell a mother something to make her feel good while her very young daughter is laying helpless with severe burns on over half her body is extremely difficult. But then I learned that I can't give her encouraging words; God can speak encouraging words to her through me though. It's amazing to tell people something that doesn't seem like a big deal, but it just makes their day. The hope and peace that spreads through their eyes is so encouraging. I am making a difference here, and God is growing me in the process. One story in particular is so incredible to me. Josh and I got to pray over an older lady who looked like she was knocking on death's door. She looked miserable and could barely move. The next day I went back to check on her and she was sitting up, doing things for herself, and talking. Praise the Lord!! I love hospital ministry and can't wait to go back! But anyways, at 6 visiting hours are over so we leave there and head back to the church. We either play with the kids that live nearby or help with supper. Both are so much fun. We eat supper, hang out some more and are usually home by 8:45. Sometimes we'll kick a soccer ball around, do worship, or some more quiet time. The house we live in is amazing! It's got a fence around it, a guard at the gate, and enough room for 23 extra people. I stay in the guest house with 11 other girls and it's really nice. We have a toilet (you can only squat over it) and a shower (cold ones only) and it's much more than I was expecting. Suprisingly enough, the squatty down the stairs outside is much easier to use than our toilet. Oh and bedtime for me is usually around 11.
God and I have been having some good conversations, and He's been telling me that if I really wanna grow in Him, I have to be willing to give up more of me.
I don't really have much else to say except I LOVE Africa and God is definitely working here! Please be praying for us this week because we have crusades coming up and they're supposed to be intense! Hope all is well with everyone back home!
