How Great is our God: July 2012

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Africa Day 13/14 (July 15/16)

Africa day 13 (July 15)

It is a bittersweet day! We are all ready to go home and have a nice hot shower and sleep in our own beds and see their family and friend but nobody wants to leave! I know for me if I had all of those things in Africa I would never ever leave! What could be better than having your family and friends with you and being blessed enough to serve the people of Africa every single day of your life! Of course if God does call me to move there I will not have my family with me, I won't have all my friends and I my comfy bed can't come too, but you know I will make new friends, your family can come visit and well I could get used to a new bed! It would still be absolutely amazing to be able to live here in Africa! If that's what God wants I will be here in a heartbeat! The next 48 hours of traveling will be exhausting and filled with mixed emotions of excitement and sadness. We had a threeish hour bus ride to the airport and then a two hour plane ride to Ethiopia. We had one of our last debriefing times as a team it was really cool to hear what all God did in us during our time in Africa! For me, I wouldn't be able to sum it up in to one thing but one of the main things is God really showed me about the power of prayer! I grew/am growing up in a family that loves Jesus! My parents both raised me not only in the church but in Christ, showing me the importance of a relationship with Christ not only just following rules, but recently even before this trip God has laid on my heart the importance of prayer, and prayer as a family, every night! Not only that but how serious it is! When you are praying you are talking to GOD! The God who created the universe, the God who knitted me together in my mothers womb, the God who loves me so much He would come down to earth and live a perfect life and die a humiliating, painful death, the God who lives inside of me! He is so powerful and holy but someone like me can talk to him! If that doesn't blow your mind I'm not sure what else will! It is a big deal and I have been treating it like its just something you do before meals and when you need something! My God loves me so much and He wants me to talk to him ad he wants to talk back! I still stand amazed at that! Everyone had incredible testimonies of what God had shown them here! I am going to miss them especially Gina and Jason!

Africa day 14 (July 16)

Long flight and long layovers today! I already miss the sweet little brown faces of the precious children of God! I can't wait for what else God has in-store for me!

Africa Day 12 (July 14)

Today was our main day with Cannan Ministries! We played with the sweet kids almost all day! I fell in love with this place! My best buddy's name is Moses! He was precious! He was fascinated with my IPod! He made a few videos on the front screen camera where he was singing and stuff! Totes adorbs!! I was exhausted from travel and just doing doing doing for two weeks straight! Even with all of that it was a great and the children just bring you so much joy! Late afternoon we went on the Nile Boat Tour; it was really close to the ministries and really cheap apparently! It was really cool to see what you learn about in History class! It wasnt exceptionally cool but I feel like it is one of those things you have to do if your close just to say you have been.

When we got back the kids were waiting for us and we played for another hour or so! They asked us to come to their fellowship time which was kinda like a church service/bible study! We all gathered and sang a few songs and prayed and one of the older boys "preached". It really made me sad because the message he brought was pretty much if you do good God will love you and if you do bad He will not love you. The whole concept of grace was missed! They completely miss that God first loved us! We do good things out of uncontrolable love for God! Not because we have to or so He will love us, we do them because He loves us!

At dinner our nightly talk was about what about when we get home? How do we deal with what happened here when we are emerged back into American Culture and others who don't understand what happened? Everyone is going to ask about our trip and everyone expects to hear about how pitiful the children were, how extreme the poverty is and how dirty and uncomfortable we were! The thing is all of those things did happen if you look at it through the eyes of a human. If we look at it the way God sees what happens I would have to say that the children were full of joy and love! They gave their entire heart to us and loved us as much as they could in the time we had! They gave us the best they had! They didn't care about how they looked or acted! They were completely themselves! I learned more about Gods Love for us! These children are not orphans in Gods eyes! They are His children and He loves them and treasures them! That is what the holy spirit taught me through them! We also don't take the scripture "dancing with Joy" literally! These lovely people danced with all they had! Their dancing came from the joy of the Lord! I am so grateful for what God has blessed me with, but sometimes I can't help but wonder how much stronger my faith would be if I had to depend on Jesus for ever single meal, every breath I take, and everybody who loves me! We don't see those things as gifts from God because it is something we have always had. God doesn't call me to sell all of my things and never enjoy a pedicure again, He does call me to be mindful that everything I have is from Him, to be grateful for what I have and to also enjoy the special treats he blesses us with! God loves to give His children things we don't need, just like my mom likes to treat me to things I don't need! Don't be guilty about spending money on something you don't need just remember that those things will never satisfy you! Buy what you need, live free of debt and you can treat yourself occasionally. If God is telling you to give some money somewhere else don't hesitate because it is His in the first place. Be willing to give everything or anything away if God tells you to. We can't help that we were born in America but we can spend our money wisely, give abundantly, and love and obey God above all else!

One night Gina and Jason also talked about money. I dont remember which night it was but they were talking about how money can keep you in shackles! It's a horrid trap that Satan can use so easily! We don't have to go home and sell everything but we do need to live debt free! Living in debt is not living free is Christ! Again it is not a sin but it is not how God intended for us to live! We want to be free to do whatever God is calling us to do. If he wants us to move to Africa we don't want to have a bunch of debt to stop us or have anything like that holding us back! They are such great stewards of what God has given them! They gave us so

Much advice on how we should take care of our money from budgeting, saving, and paying in cash! I am so happy to hear this now so I can start forming good habits early! I can't wait to see how God will bless my life for me learning to take care of what He has given me! Africa has given me so much more than I could ever give it!

Africa day 11 (July 13)

Okay so today we woke up real early to go to Ekubo Ministries and the bus was super late! We did not have very much time there! It kinda sucked! But once we finally got there I got to work in the medical clinic with the nurse on the team! It really was neat!!! I absolutely loved it! Ekubo was probably my favorite because of that! God has really got me thinking about being a nurse versus a doctor because of the schooling and debt I would be in because of that! Also how I might be restricted to have to be in the US if i had debt from school and time off and all! I dont know anymore exactly what I was to do like I used to! Good thing Im only 16. We ate lunch at the ministry and Then we left for Cannan in Jinja! It was a long car ride and on the way we ran across an accident. This gas truck hit a bus full of school children. It was making our whole bus Tear up! At dinner Gina always shares what God has laid on her heart to share and she felt like He wanted to talk about fear again. It was a great talk she added onto the night before when she talked about how fear is not from God! He tells us do not fear 365 times in the bible! It is not a sin to be afraid but God tells us to not fear because it is not good for us! He loves me more than Gina and Jason do, more than my parents love me, more than my friends love me and more than my future husband will me! Fear keeps us from serving God fully! Fear is something that Satan uses to bound us to ourselves and keep us from God! When we live in fear, we live in bondage! The answer to every fear, worry, or anxious thought is MY God loves me more than I could ever know! If I die I get to go be with Him, if not I get to stay here and serve him more!! I have learned so much from Gina and Jason. God is so good! After dinner we went to our room at Cannan. I shared a house with half the team including Gina Jason and their Kids. They were telling hilarious stories about their grandmother/great grandmother who has Alzheimer's! It was so funny the stuff she would say and do! After awhile we had to shower an go to bed. Nathan (the older son) went to shower and when he turned the water off the shower knob broke off and water was pouring out of the wall! Nobody could fix it and the entire bathroom was flooding. The trash can was even floating! We eventually had to go get momma rebecca to come fix it! She walked in with a stick and a machete and some how fixed it! The African way always works the best even if us Americans think something would work better! We got another good laugh before bed!

Africa day 10 (July 12)

Last night I got my luggage and it was awesome to be in my own clothes and shower in my own stuff! We had a talk this morning and it was so cool how having to serve one another and sharing stuff brought us so much closer as a team! There was some tension amongst some of the team members just personalities that clashed! God really used this to bring us together! Once we decided to be joyful and not complain about wearing dirty underwear and wear other girls clothes, God blessed us!

We went to Return Ministries today! The first half of the day we played with the kids and fed them lunch! They were so adorable! It was insane how patient they are! We served them which took awhile to serve 300+ meals and the big kids made sure the little ones has food first! It was neat to see how they took care of each other! We then ate lunch at pastor Samuel's house! I ate the best chapati ever; I sware I'm going to learn to make them! We had to go potty in the squatty potties which was not fun. They are probably the worst part of the trip! After lunch we went out in the community and delivered food and soap and prayed over the people! It was amazing to see the community! I embraced the african woman inside of me and carried the 20kilo bag of beans a d soap on my head!! I learnded to balance pretty quickly ! All in all we walked 5 miles and I had it on my head the whole time. We had to go back before all the bags were gone because it was getting close to dark and we can't be out during night time! This was by far my favorite part so far even though I will be sore tomorrow!! It has been a great day!!

Gina's talk:

"when you start worrying, take the thought captive and ask your self what am I worrying about? And does My God love me enough to get me through this and make me stronger? The answer is always yes God so there is no reason for fear and worry?"

Africa day 9 (July 11)

Today is the first day of ministry in Uganda! We all got like two hours of sleep and most of us are wearing dirty clothes and smell pretty bad! All of this said God can still use us! The bus ride to Ekubo Ministries is 2hours! We get there and are ready to start our day! This ministry is in a village that is predominantly witchcraft! The couple who started it (the wife is from Alexandra City, AL) are trying to teach women children and men how to make a life for themselves and their families, trying to prevent as many orphans as possible! At this ministry there was a medical clinic which I got to help out in! We learned a lot about the African Culture from an dance/choir group that goes to the school in the village! It was amazing! We left by like 430pm but are going back Friday! We were supposed to get our luggage at the airport tonight but apparently it's not accessible! Gina and pastor samuel (our guide/translator) have been gone for a few hours now! We could all use some clean clothes, toothbrushes, and soap! We went door to door to ask other members of out team who did have some luggage if we could borrow stuff! I found detergent to was my undies and a dress for tomorrow if Gina doesn't get our luggage! This is teaching our whole team so much about patience, sharing, and irritability! You think you know someone once you spend a lot of time with them but you really know someone once you wear all their clothes! Praise God we are all alive and healthy, so we can serve the people here! Even though the conditions of our circumstances and the places we are staying aren't that great I absolutely love it here! Everything about it I love! I just feel like I was made to be here right here right now! This is close to one of my favorite places I have ever been! I love it here in Africa!

Africa day 8 (July 10)

Today we traveled. We left early from the mountains in Rwanda to the Kigali airport, the drive was about four hours on a windy road. Then we ate lunch a Jane's house and headed for the airport. We were running late as usual because we are always on Africa Time! It's extremely time consuming to Unload and check in 34 people (30 woman and many if not most who's profession deals with being in charge) and 65 pieces of luggage that may or may not be under the 50 lbs weight limit! Because we were running late the airport people who were checking in luggage didn't even bother to check the weight, by the grace of God all 34 of us and our luggage were checked in! After two flights, being scared to death of the small "wright brothers' size plane" and a piece of dark chocolate later we arrive in Uganda at baggage claim! I really think that Satan is trying to break us and our attitudes because so many things have happen in preparation for this trip and during this trip that is undesirable! One of which was that half of our luggage did not arrive! Our plane was too small and could not hold all the bags. Annsley and my donation bags made it but our personal belongings did not! It is now 5am on July 11, we checked into our hotel and Gina assigned us roommates! I am now going to bed for like 2hours dirty and smelly. Everyone is pretty frustrated but there is enough luggage that made it that we can share clothes and toiletries. We have the bare minimum for an american! While our amazing team leaders are trying to handle this crappy day, Gina's mom (who has a serious type of cancer) had a major surgery today! God is really showing us a lot of patiences and endurance!

Africa Day 7 (July 9) Rwanda

Africa Day 7 (July 9) Rwanda

Today we went to Noel Orphanage and it was amazing there were 600 kids there. The facilities were very big too!! One moment I really felt like God was using me alot was when we were here. Don't get me wrong the little babies and toddlers were so adorable and they completely broke my heart and I would have taken a few home if I could. but when I was playing volleyball with some of the teenagers something just went off. I was exactly where God wanted me. Volleyball is such a huge part of who I am and what i do that God could so easily use that for HIS Glory. These big kids get very little attention because of all of the cute little ones at Noel! I had so much fun just playing with them and showing them that people care about them too. Our God is an awesome God!!!

Africa Day 6 (July 8)

Africa Day 6 (July 8)

Today was interesting. We drove to another town for a different orphanage. On the way we broke down twice with flat tires. We were late and it was an interesting day! The orphanage we went to was older than most, like teenagers. They were so shy and opened up when we started singing and dancing. The Holy Spirit was alive and moving. It was a very good day.

Africa day 5 (July 7)

Africa Day 5 (July 7)
Today we went to Kimasagra again! The kids were so precious! Love them! I played a little bit of volleyball with the older kids and it was so awesome to just have fun and play with them. Not only do we get to show these children the love of God but we have gotten to learn the culture too! So far God has really shown me the power of prayer, and the importance of fervent, never ceasing prayer! Thank you everyone who has been praying for me throughout this journey! Love Yall!

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Africa Day 4 (July 6) Rwanda

Africa Day 4 (July 6) Rwanda
Today was an emotionally rough day! Because of the way that the orphanage was set up we were only allowed to come for the second half of the day to play with the kids, so we stared out our day at the Rwandan Genocide Museum. We were able to learn about the culture and reason for why there are so many orphans in Rwanda. The genocide happened in 1994 which stunned me that something like this happened so recent. Another thing that blew my mind was that the UN did nothing to stop it! It was crazy to see all of the violence and destruction of lives!

Later that day we went to the orphanage called Kimisagara. These children had this Joy that is unexplainable. They ran up to us a hugged us like crazy! They wanted to be loved on! All of this got me thinking how much i take a hug from my momma and daddy for granite. I can hug my parents whenever I want and these kids don't have mommies and daddies to hug them. The need here is overwhelming. there are 50-80 kids and only 10 beds. Everyone who doesn't have a bed has to sleep on the floor. Today as a group we decided to buy 40 beds for them with the extra money we had as a team.

The 40 mattresses our team was able to purchase for the kiddos!

After Dinner every night we have a little debriefing time to talk about whatever God did in our hearts throughout the day! We started talking about how overwhelmed we were by everything. Gina is so filled by the spirit and she is so wise and has such great advice, her and Jason both do! The need of the people here is too great for us to change, there will always be poverty. We will never change Africa but the goal in this whole trip is to let Africa change us. They are in need of food, water, shelter, but the one thing they do have is Jesus and the Joy of the Lord. So really what more could you really need! Their faith is so much stronger than ours because these people have to completely rely on God for each and everything. We don't have that because of the self sufficient world we live in back at home! Gina was also talking about God's plan for us. We always try to figure our what is God's Will for my life, God's will for your life is right here right now. We are not promised another day so we are called to live each and everyday for him. He may call you to live in Africa or He may not! You can still have a heart for it back in the states by giving time, money and prayers each and everyday.
Also most of our team is made up of unmarried women. Gina was telling all of us how important it is to pray for our future husband, that God plan for his life and his plan for you life will line up. That you will both have a heart for missions and serving God's people. Not only that but that He will make it obvious who your husband is when the time is right. Gina has so much wisdom from the Lord! I can't wait to learn even more from her this week.
I am so happy that the Lord brought me here and is using everyone around me to teach me more about Himself!!

Africa Day 2/3 (July 4/5)

Africa Day 2/3 (July 4/5)
So both of these days ran together. It feels like just one really long day! the time change (7+hours) wasn't as hard to get used to as I thought it would be, probably because we were so tired the entire time by the time we got into bed we were ready to sleep even though it was only 1:30 in the afternoon at home! The 13 hour plane ride was miserable, i am not looking forward to the 17 hour plane ride home! At dinner tonight I tried this type of fruit called tomato fruit. to eat it you slice it like a tomato then suck out the insides that look like a pomegranate. It was well interesting! we headed back to the guest house we were staying and found out the wifi password. I was able to skype my mom for a little bit! It was good to talk to her! I absoutly can't wait for our first day of ministry tomorrow!!

Beginning of the long plane ride with Annsley and Katie!!!!

End of the long plane ride, we were so exhausted!

African Sunrise from the plane! How Great is Our God!

Africa Day 1 (July 3)

Today we packed up all our stuff and headed to Atlanta!! Annsley and I were meeting Katie Acker at Atlanta. She is 21 and goes to Belhaven University but her parents live in Alabama and she has been home for the summer. Our plane buddy was easy to find because we all had on our VO (visiting orphans) T-Shirts on! The three of us hit it off right away! The flight was easy and once we landed in DC we had to find Gina and Jason Root (our amazing team leaders). We went to the hotel and checked in a just hung out while the rest of the team flew in from all over the United States. It was really cool to meet everybody today! Can't wait to see what the next few weeks has in store!

Monday, July 2, 2012

Beyond Excited

Wow! Tomorrow is the day! I cannot believe how fast things have fallen into place! Annsley and I both want to personally thank every single person who has helped us get to this point here through Prayer, Finances, and Donations. We both appreciate your support!

This road to get here has not been a completely smooth one. Many members on our team have experienced various types of spiritual warfare. Our team leaders have said many times before, "We do not pray that God makes our journey easy, but instead we pray He makes us STRONG!"

We continue to ask for fervent prayer that the Lord makes us strong and can use each and everyone of us in incredible ways over the next few weeks. Pray that the Holy Spirit fills us and we seek guidance from Him. So often we underestimate the power of the Holy Spirit which does not allow us to fully show others God. Pray for our families back home to have a peace that only the Lord can give. I can't imagine how hard it must be for our parents to send their sixteen year old daughters to Africa.

We have no idea how much internet access we will have so we don't know how often we will be able to blog. I know I am planning to write everything down and type it all up when I get home for all of you guys because if we do have internet it will be extremely limited.

Thank you for all the Prayer and Support! Love You Bunches!!!!
Madison Aulner