UPDATE: Fishers of Men

Back in February I wrote about some fishermen that I met while I was researching the "B" people in The Gambia. Well, I was able to go back and visit these some of the fishermen last week. When we left their village back in February, we had given them an SD card with some stories from The Word on it. We had be hoping that the fishermen had been listening to the stories. When we arrived back at their village they greeted us and said they were very happy that we had come back to visit. We were not able to stay very long, as we had somewhere to be, but one of the fishermen, we will call him "S", asked if we could meet with him later. He told us he had some questions about the stories.

A couple days later, myself and my friend went and visited with "S" in a nearby village. We sat with him for a while and answered some of his questions. Many of them were about JC and his death, as well as different cultural questions. After we had answered his questions, "S" told us that he believed and that he wanted to Follow. We were very excited, but we wanted to make sure that he was serious about his decision. After talking with "S" some more we pr*yed together and thanked the Father for showing Himself to "S". As we got in the truck and drove away, I couldn't help but smile and think, yes, we have a new brother!

It is crazy to think that we just stumbled upon this village on the river in The Gambia, and here we are just a few months later with a new brother. The Father is so good and I am so thankful that I get to be a part of this awesome work. He does not need me to do His work, but He still allows me to be a part of it. My hope is that "S" will be an example to the other fishermen in his village and that they too will come to know the Father. I hope that more of these men will not only be fishers of fish, but like "S", they too will become fishers of men.

The True Road

"There are two roads in life," Adam says as he draws two lines in the dirt. "I was born on this road. My family is on this road. Everything I know is on this road. You are on this other road. You want me to leave this road to come to the road you are on. I know that the road you are on is the true road. I know it is the road I should be on."

This is a real conversation that I had with a M*slim man named Adam a few weeks ago while I was doing research in some villages. It was getting later in the day and we decided that the next village we would come to would be the last one that day so that we could get back to town before dark. We came into Adam's village and we entered into his compound. When we entered his compound he and his family and friends were sitting, visiting, and shelling peanuts. We sat down with Adam and his family and began shelling peanuts and talking with them. We told them that we are people who lift up requests to the Father. After we had lifted up their requests we kept talking with Adam. Adam's father was sitting there with us and he mentioned that he had become blind due to old age and so I asked if I could tell them a story. They said yes, so I told them the story about the man who was born blind who was healed by JC. This led into a conversation about the Father and the free gift that He has offered to us. It was a really great time, sharing the Good News with Adam and his family. 

After sharing a few stories and talking for a few hours we had to leave and head back to town. Before we left, Adam asked me when we were going to come back, because he has friends that he wanted us to share stories with. He said to us that what we shared has to be true. This was not the first time that Adam had heard the Good News, and he said that because we had come and shared the same things with him, that it had to be true. We said that if the Father wills it, that we would return and share more stories with them.

That night I couldn't stop thinking about Adam and his family. I couldn't stop thinking about how close Adam was to the Truth. So the next morning we called Adam and asked him to meet us outside of his village so we could talk with him. He agreed and we met. We asked him if he had been thinking more about the stories that we had shared with him. He said that he had a conversation with his father after we had left. He told his father that he wanted to follow the Truth and that he knew what we had shared was true. His father told him that if he followed the Truth that he would lose his family, his home...he would lose everything. This sadly is a reality for many of the people we share with. Here in West Africa you culture is your identity. When you decide to leave I*lam and follow the Truth, you lose who you are in society and your family.

I was so excited when Adam told us that he knew the Truth was the true road. After hearing this I asked Adam if he wanted to accept the free gift that the Father was offering him. Adam said that he still needed to think about it. He said that he knew it would be hard if he followed because he would be alone. I shared the story of Paul with him as a way to encourage him. I wanted to share with him that even if he felt alone that the Father would still be with him. I told Adam that the Father would always be offering the free gift to him. I shared that no matter what, the Father would always be waiting for him and that He loves him. Before we left, we gave Adam an SD card with some stories in his heart language on it. He said that he would listen to the stories that day. My hope as we were driving away was that Adam would listen to those stories and that they would help him to say yes and accept the Father's free gift. Please lift up Adam and his village, that they would come to know the Truth and that they would choose to follow the true road.

Fishers of Men

"These things you tell us, these stories, we believe they are true." 

"We know they are good."

"Many white people come here and take boats down the river. They come and take pictures and leave, but they never share these things with us."

"I must study these things...this is the first time I have heard these things and I want to understand more."

"When are you coming back?"

These are all things that I heard last week as I was out on a research trip in search of the "B" people along with 2 teammates of mine. One morning we decided to take a boat up the Gambian river in hopes of finding some "B" people. We came across some fishermen who are from a similar area as the "B" people. We arrived in their village as the men were beginning to repair their nets. We sat under the shade of a large tree and began to talk with the men. At first they just wanted to know who we were and why we had come. After a while we began to tell them different stories from The Word. We began by telling them that fishermen are very important to the Father. We shared a little about how J*sus called fishermen to leave behind their nets and become fishers of men.

After a little while, we started from the beginning, and told the story of The Word...also know as Creation to Chr*st. We didn't tell the whole story straight through though...we told it little by little. After we had told a small section we discussed it. The men would ask us questions and many of their questions would lead right in to the next part of the story. We were telling the stories to maybe 6 or 7 men, but there was one man, we will call him Ibrahim, who was so captivated by the stories. When we began telling the stories he was just repairing the nets along with his fellow fishermen, but as we continued with the stories, he put down his net and just sat and listened. He had very good questions for us and was very interested in hear what we were sharing. Ibrahim along with the other fishermen in this village are M*slims. Many times M*slims will listen to what you have to say, but will not show very much interest. Ibrahim not only listened to us, but seemed very interested.

We stayed with the fishermen for a little over 2 hours, before we felt that we needed to head out back up the river. The last thing that they asked us was, "When are you coming back?" We said we hoped to come back very soon. Thankfully, myself and my roommate should have the opportunity to head back and visit them in the next couple of months. It was so cool to see these men sit and ask us questions about The Word. It was also cool to see Ibrahim desire to hear more stories. My hope is that this is only the beginning of sharing with these fishermen. My desire is to return to them and share more stories with them. I would love nothing more than for them to no only be fishers of fish, but also to become fishers of men.

Frustration to Joy

As I sit here in West Africa looking at the latest Ebola numbers I can’t help but feel a little discouraged. I keep hoping that I will wake up one day to find that the numbers have dropped significantly and that the outbreak is close to an end. Sadly, it seems that the numbers are not dropping and that this outbreak is far from over. My home country is one of the 3 countries that are directly affected by Ebola. About 2 months ago the decision was made to temporarily relocate my team to another country in West Africa. When we were first leaving the city 2 months ago I didn’t really know what to think or feel. I kept telling myself that this would only be for a small time and that I would get to come back home again sometime soon. Well, as I sit here writing this I can tell you that this time out of my country has been much harder than I ever thought it would be. I have been learning what it means to mourn the loss of a place and knowing that there is a horrible disease ravaging my home and there is nothing I can do to stop it but to give it up to the Father.

“We pr*y that you’ll have strength to stick it out over the long haul – not the grim strength of gritting your teeth bur the glory-strength G*d gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bring and beautiful that He has for us.” ~ Col. 1:11-12 (The Message)

I found this passage from The Word a few weeks ago and it has been on my mind ever since. I mean just the thought that He gives us strength to endure the unendurable and that that strength would spill over into joy is something that I can’t stop thinking about. I have to be honest with you though…I must say that there have been days the last 2 months when I have felt like I don’t have enough strength to endure this and that it has not been spilling over into joy, but rather frustration, anger, and bitterness. I have been angry that this disease is infecting thousands of people and truly frustrated by the responses of people. When I first came to West Africa back in April, Ebola had just broken in the news. Only about 100 cases had been reported and I thought to myself that it was not a big deal and that they would get it controlled in a few weeks. Well here I am 7 months later watching as the largest Ebola outbreak in history is taking place in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. I never could have imagined that the outbreak would have gotten this bad.

Now I’m gonna be honest with you, it could be so easy for me to just blame the Father right now. I could be so mad and upset and ask why did He let this outbreak happen? Why did He make me leave my country? Why is He causing me to go through this heartbreak? But here is the beauty of the Father…He doesn’t have to tell us why. We just have to know and trust that He has a bigger plan and purpose for all of this. Several months ago I was reading in the devotional, My Utmost for His Highest, and I came across this passage:

“I must learn that the purpose of my life belongs to the Father, not me. The Father is using me from His great personal perspective, and all He asks of me is that I trust Him. When I strop telling my Father what I want, He can freely work His will in me without hindrance. He can crush me, exalt me, or do anything else He chooses. He simply asks me to have absolute faith in Him and His goodness.”

I mean talk about a slap in the face. He can crush me…He can exalt me…do anything He chooses. There are so many days when I am sure the Father is just like, dude, get out of the way and let me work!! For those of you that know me, you know that I like to have an idea of what is coming and to have a plan. I guess the Father has really been trying to beat that out of me, because if these last 7 months have taught me anything, it is that I have to rely on Him, and Him alone. If I let frustration get in the way, if I tell the Father what I want, I will never be able to see the full amazing plan that the Father has for me. If I try to get through life under my own strength I will fail, and I will be miserable. I must let Him be my strength so that I will be able to endure it all and come out on the other side with joy and with total faith in Him.

All this being said, please know that this is a constant, and daily fight for me. I think sometimes we like to blame our attitude on our circumstances, but a lot of the time we are the ones that choose to be angry, bitter, or frustrated. When I wake up in the morning I have to choose that joy. I have to choose to trust in His goodness and know that He has a plan. I have to trust Him and know that even though Ebola is a horrible thing and it is keeping me from my home, that He has a greater plan for all of it. I don’t know what that plan is yet, and I may not know for a while, but I have to trust that there is one. And I’ll be honest with you, there are days when I do not choose joy, and at the end of the day I know it and I wish I had chosen differently. There are days when I let my circumstances get the best of me and I let them dictate everything about me. So know that I am far from perfect in this and I too am learning this lesson every day. But I hope that as I learn it that I will be filled with joy and that I will learn to daily trust Him.

I feel like I am just telling you all my struggles right now and showing how much I have failed recently, but I hope that by sharing this with you that you may be encouraged. My desire with this blog is not to just share really cool stories about life in West Africa, but for you to see that life is sometimes pretty tough here. My hope and pr*yer is that if you are going through a time where you don’t understand why He is doing something or where you are letting your circumstances dictate your life, that you would give it to the Father. Know that you are not alone in doing this. I am doing it everyday and so know that I am walking right alongside you in this. I always feel like it is a little easier to walk through something tough when you know that someone else is walking through it with you. But also know that the Father is walking through it with you as well. No matter what it is, He is always with you, every step of the way.

Faith Over Fear

Imagine what things could be possible if all we had was faith and not fear?

I have been trying to think about the right words to write about this, but I have come up empty. Instead, I think the song "Oceans" by Hillsong United does a pretty good job of summing up my thoughts...

"Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)" ~ Hillsong United

You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep
My faith will stand

And I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sovereign hand
Will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You've never failed and You won't start now

So I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior

I will call upon Your name
Keep my eyes above the waves
My soul will rest in Your embrace
I am Yours and You are mine

Baobabs and Fear

These past few days I have been in meetings with my team. My team is made up of 10 different people who live in 3 different countries. We do not usually get to all be together, so it was nice to see everyone and talk about the different work that is going on in West Africa. As part of our team meetings we had the chance to go to a high ropes course that is up in Baobab trees. Now if you know me at all, you know that I am deathly afraid of heights. I do not like going up in tall buildings and I hate flying. So, to me, the idea of doing a high ropes course in WA among Baobab trees sounded both really cool and absolutely horrifying. But of course, I wanted to try it to prove to myself that I could do it even though I was scared out of my mind.  

As I started to climb the very first ladder to get up into the tree I knew that this course was going to be really really hard. I was able to get through the first few obstacles without too much fear, but as they began getting more difficult and higher up, my fear began to set in. I reached the platform at the end of a zip line and I couldn't move. I just sat on the platform, perched 40 feet in the air unable to move. My fear of heights had crippled me. I sat on that platform for probably 15 minutes shaking, and crying because I was so afraid. I am so thankful that my friend MB was with me, otherwise I think I may still be sitting up in that tree. When I was sitting on that platform thinking that I was never going to be able to finish and that I was such a failure, she sat there beside me and waited. She kept encouraging me, saying that I was doing so good and to look at how far I had come. In that moment I was just so done with that ropes course that I just wanted to get down. I was finally able to compose myself enough to get across one final rope bridge and then down one final zip line to the ground. I can honestly say I had never been so happy to be on solid ground.

As I sit here today and write this I cannot help but think about how that whole experience could describe our lives and our walk with the Father. I think about how many times we go through things that we are so afriad of and how many times we just end up sitting high up in a Baobab tree unable to move. Each one of those obstacles on the ropes course is just like obstacles that we go through in life; some are easier than others, and there are always a few that we feel like we will never be able to get through. But even in those times when we reach the point when we get stuck in the tree and can't go on, the Father is there, sitting next to us, holding us, reminding us of how far we have come and showing us how strong we truly are. No matter how difficult the obsticle may be, my Father stays the same. 

I'm not gonna lie, I was really disappointed with myself because I wasn't able to do the entire course and I was embarrassed that I broke down like that in front of my team, but even though I felt that way, they still were encouraging me to finish what I could and loved me through that difficulty. Our Father does the same thing for us. There are times in our lives when we are disappointed or embarrassed, but here is the really cool thing, the Father still loves us the same. When we think how upset we are when we don't finish something, He says to us, don't focus on how you didn't finish, but look how much you have accomplished! Look how far you have come, look at all you have done! We serve a Father who loves to walk with us through all of our difficulties in life. He has also placed us in the Body so that we may walk through life together. We are not meant to walk through life alone. Even in the times when it feels like our community has abandoned us, the Father is still there, sitting by our side encouraging us to keep going. 

So when you have those times when you get stuck up in a Baobab tree too scared to move, remember that you are not alone up there. Remember that the Father is sitting in that tree right next to you, ready to help you take your next step, and to help you finish the course. It may not always be easy, but when you are able to stand up, and to finish the course, all of that fear will become a thing of the past and you will see, just as the Father does, how far you truly have come. 

Purpose for the Pain

Life in West Africa is hard.

I knew this fact long before I ever moved here. Even though I knew full well that it was going to be very hard to live here, I was still willing to get on a plane and move halfway around the world at the age of 24. I was reading an article the other day and it was titled, "What If I Fall Apart on the 'M' Field?", and it addressed the topic of how when people move overseas it can sometimes bring out the "ugly" in your life. Even if you do not live overseas or even if you have never been overseas, I highly suggest you read this article. It is really short but it is really good. You can read the article here.

There was a paragraph in the article that I really loved because I felt like it pretty much hit me right where I am right now. The author says, "So maybe those multiple breakdowns have a purpose. Maybe knowing your weaknesses means you know G-d more intimately. Maybe you are exactly where He wants you to be, right at this moment. Maybe living overseas means becoming the person G-d created you to be." I think a lot of times when you read updates from M's, they are usually full of really great stories of how the Father is working. I know when I was a kid I thought that M's had the coolest life ever. They got to live all over the world and always do really amazing things, and they never have bad days. Well let's just say I was so wrong! Yes, I do get to live overseas, and yes I do get to do some really amazing things, but I am human, I have bad days. My bad days just may look a little different than yours. But here's the thing, while I do have bad days I also have good days, and it's those good days, those days when I see Him work, that make all of those bad days seem not so bad.

I have been in West Africa for 3 months now, and I'm going to be honest with you, these have been the most exhausting, stressful, fun, and crazy months of my life. But I wouldn't change them for anything. I have learned so much about the Father and His character. I have been constantly reminded of His faithfulness and His goodness. I serve a really cool Father, and I have daily been reminded of that over the last 3 months. Now I may not have always listened to those reminders every time, but they have been there! Not only have I learned about the Father, but the Father has been teaching me about me. I used to joke with a friend that it usually takes me going half way around the world for me to finally see what the Father has been trying to show me. I feel like so far this time in West Africa has been no different. But I am so thankful for this time. I am so thankful for the Father continuing to reveal to me how He has made me and how He has really cool things planned for me.

Now I'm not saying that I just had this epiphany one night and I just knew what He was saying...I wished that's how it worked. No, sometimes it took me breaking down in front of my supervisor because I felt inadequate, for Him to remind me that He has made me more than adequate for this time. Sometimes it took me breaking down at language because I wasn't understanding anything, for Him to remind me that He will give me the mind to learn French and that in the end, He will be the one that gives me the words to say. Sometimes it took me sitting in my apartment feeling totally and completely alone that He reminded me that I would never be alone; that He would never send me somewhere and abandon me. It's those reminders from the Father that keep me going. He is the one that called me here, and it is He is the one who will keep me here.

So with all that being said, I want to encourage you with this...even though this article was written to those who live overseas, I think that it can really be for anyone. We all have times when our "ugly" starts to creep out. We all have bad days. We all have days when we are overwhelmed, worn out, and feel totally alone. I want to encourage you to know that you are never, ever, alone. My guess is that there is probably someone in your life who has felt the same way as you. And I can guarantee that even in those darkest times, you are never truly alone. Even when it feels as though the Father is so distant, He's not. He is sitting right next to you just waiting for you to come to Him. Sometimes the Father has to break us down and that is not always fun. Sometimes we have to go through deep, dark valleys. But here is the cool thing, we have a faithful Father who desires nothing more than to help you out of that valley and put you back together again. I want to encourage you that when you have times like this, that you will cling to the Father. He is the giver of life and He is the one that brings New Life.


He is the reason I will fight through those bad days.


He is the reason I live in West Africa.