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Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Greetings from Africa!


So far, my short time in Africa have been filled with a lot of praises! There were some complications getting a flight into South Sudan, so I actually spent more time in Uganda and some time in Kenya! Here are some of the ways God has been so gracious to me in the past two and a half weeks:

On my flight I was still feeling a little sad about leaving home, but I ended up sitting next to a pastor! His name was David and he was on his way to Uganda to speak at a pastors conference. We had a really good talk about missions and he reminded me of so many passages where God talks about his love for the nations. That conversation left me feeling so encouraged and excited!

I also got to spend Thanksgiving with Kim! We had a huge thanksgiving dinner with the other GSF missionaries and I got to meet all the kiddos at Good Shepherd’s Fold and see her ministry there! After that, Kim came back to Kampala with me and showed me around the city a little bit. Someone suggested we go visit a mosque, and that was definitely an eye opening experience for both of us and definitely deepened our prayers for those who don’t yet know Christ as their savior. I was so thankful to get to spend time with Kim and I think we both left feeling encouraged and blessed!

After spending time with Kim, it worked out that I was able to attend a Short Term Retreat for the Eastern Region with Seb and Danielle (they are the Central Region Short Term Coordinator and Administrator). It was really awesome to meet other short termers and hear about their experiences so far. It was also a great way for me to be more thoughtful about particular things for my time in South Sudan. One of my favorite parts was sitting in on a meeting (yes, I voluntarily sat in on a 3 hour meeting because it was so interesting!) with Seb, Danielle, and the coordinator for the Eastern Region. As they were asking each other questions and strategizing new plans, it was so evident how much they really care for not just the short term program as a whole, but for each individual short termers’ spiritual growth. And it was really great getting to know Seb and Danielle better…they’re hilarious! Despite the 15-16 hour bus ride from Kampala to Nairobi and then back again, they still agreed to drag me along J

After two weeks of trying to figure out how to get me to South Sudan, we finally had a plan! (Thanks Danielle!) I admit, I was getting kind of antsy to get there. I loved my time in Nairobi and Kampala, but a big part of me just wished to be settled in at Nagishot. But God used his word and people to remind me to trust in His sovereign plan. And after an 8 hour car drive to a new city, spending the night for 7 hours, and then a 1 hour flight...I made it to Nagishot!!

Thank you all so much for covering me in your prayers! Already in my time in Africa, God has been teaching me to be flexible, challenging me to trust and rely on Him fully, showing me the idols of my heart, and reminding me of his power, might, and steadfast love for me and His people. A few prayer requests for now...

  • For God’s grace in adjusting to a new place, getting used to a new culture, trying to learn a new language, etc. For God to show me how to love selflessly and to fully invest in the people I meet.
  • For boldness for the sake of the gospel, that no fear would hinder me from sharing Christ’s love
  • I’ll be doing a homestay and living with a Didinga family for a week. Please pray for God to open my eyes to how I can love the Didinga better and for new relationships to grow with this family.
  • For wisdom and discernment for Abbi and me as we pray about what our discipleship ministry will look like
  • Pat and Geoff as they are on home assignment until April. Please pray for a blessed time with their daughters during Christmas and good rest amidst a lot of travel.
Visiting GSF in Uganda!

With Kim at GSF!

Visiting a Mosque in Kampala

Kampala

Smacking lips with a giraffe



Flying into Nagishot!

Aerial view of Nagishot

Finally made it! Praise God!

Thursday, November 20, 2014

AIM Orientation and Rafikis

Earlier this month I went to my AIM orientation in Peachtree City, GA and it was great!

It was exciting to finally get to meet the AIM staff whom I’ve been emailing back and forth with the past few months. Finally got to put a face to the name!  They’ve been so helpful and I am also so thankful for the orientation they planned for us! I loved getting to learn more about AIM and the organization’s bigger vision and structure. It’s a lot bigger than I thought, with sending offices all over the world! One morning, we got to join the staff in their morning prayer for an unreached people group. Also, on our last day they had a luncheon for us and at the end the entire staff sang their own special version of “Edelweiss” to send us off. They are the best!

Even though orientation was only two days, they managed to pack a lot in! We always opened with worship. The seminars were a range of different topics including why we go on missions, spiritual warfare, cultural lessons, preparing to share our own stories, and logistics like banking, travel, and setting up a blog. Although there was a lot to take in, it never felt tiring or overwhelming and I’m thankful for the time and care that Stephanie, Rachel, and Ryan put into planning for us!


Savannah, Holly, Whitney, Peter, Brittany, Emily, Lean at AIM Orientation!
One of the best parts was getting to meet the other short-term missionaries! We didn’t know each other going into it and we’re not going to the same place or doing the same things, but it was awesome to see the kind of instant bond that goes into knowing that we all love the same God and want to serve Him and love others in Africa. There are eight of us total, going to Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, South Sudan, and Madagascar. It was really comforting getting to know each other, sharing our excitements and fears, our struggles and praises, asking each other questions. It is a comfort just knowing that we’re all in the same boat and are not alone in what we’ve been thinking/feeling regarding our upcoming missions trips. One of the girls was actually heading out that weekend, and on our last night we all got to pray for her!

“Rafiki” means “friend” in Swahili and in a few days we all became rafikis forever :)

Nagishot village from above

Hard at work

From the skies

Some local villagers

Hello soon, Nagishot!

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Grace Upon Grace


Lately, I’ve been sharing more at my church and other places and talking with more people about my upcoming time in South Sudan. And there are times when it’s pretty overwhelming, but at the end of the day I’m so much more overwhelmed with God’s grace to me through the love and support of my brothers and sisters in Christ.

I have an awesome MST (missionary support team)! I know they are covering me in prayer, have already devoted much time and energy to helping me prepare, and have just been pretty amazing, supportive, and loving sisters in Christ :) I love it when friends randomly text me to see how the process is going and see I’m doing. And I’m thankful for the friends who text or email to help keep me accountable to get my work done. It’s been great to have so many questions from church family who are so caring.

This week in particular has been FULL of encouragement, so I wanted to share my week!

Sunday: I attended a prayer meeting that focuses on missions and it was encouraging to hear people’s hearts for the nations in such specific (if sometimes unexpected!) ways!

Monday: I shared for a few minutes at a class called Perspectives, and it was such a blessing! I was able to share a little about how God has been growing my heart for missions and shared more details about South Sudan and what I’ll be doing. And then a class of about 50 people prayed for me :) After the class was done, I was able to talk to a lot of people and it was just SO refreshing to be in a room full of people who are EXCITED and PASSIONATE about missions.

Tuesday: Had an MST meeting (for another missionary at my church) and had a great time of fellowship and prayer. And I ALWAYS leave feeling energized and convicted after talking with this girl.

Wednesday: Spent time with my youngest niece and nephew and loved every minute of it. I’ve gotta spend as much time with them as I can before I go!

Thursday: Went to my new small group for this season and spent the evening studying the beginning of Acts and talking about transformation, sharing openly about areas we’d like to grow in, and praying for specific people we want to share the Gospel with. I really love my small group :)

Friday: A different small group from my church invited me to come share with them. And after only being there for a little while, I left feeling so loved and genuinely cared for by my church family, many of whom I was just meeting for the first time! They jokingly mentioned they were “grilling” me with questions, but the comment “You sound like her father!” made me feel so thankful for the fatherly concern. After I shared, they prayed for me and as I was walking out the door they already had ideas for a care package of things I might need. I was really touched by their thoughtfulness and example of Christ-like love.

Saturday: I unexpectedly got to spend time with a cousin who hugged me tight, handed me a card and a check, and said she’s praying for me!

At the beginning of this post, I said things were overwhelming. But a more honest and accurate way to describe my heart and attitude last week is anxious and discouraged. But as I look back on the week and I look at this list, I see tangible evidences of God’s goodness. When I choose not to be blinded by my sins of selfishness, pride, fear of man, and lack of trust….the truth of God’s sovereignty is so much more evident.  It’s my prayer that in all circumstances I would choose Christ and praise God for His grace upon grace upon grace.



Headed to South Sudan!


Hello! If I haven’t had the chance to meet you in person yet, I’m Lisa :) Over the past few years, there’s been a lot going on and God has been SO good in it all! So I just want to share with you guys a little bit about how God has been at work in my life and also how He led me to go to South Sudan for seven months!

I became more aware of missions through Intervarsity Christian Fellowship while I was in college. But I have to be honest; back then my focus was more on the physical need, rather than the spiritual need. I was taking many Sociology classes and was in a city and university where conversations regarding social justice issues were common and regular. I wanted to see clean water, healthcare, education, and food given to those in need. And while none of these things are bad to desire, I was completely ignoring the only need in anyone’s life: Jesus Christ. I was too busy caring about the physical and social injustices to realize that clean water, food, education, etc. do not give eternal life--only Jesus Christ can do that.

It wasn’t until the last few years post-college that God changed my heart. He graciously humbled me, showed me the gravity of my sin, and reminded me of my desperate need for a savior. The more I grew in understanding God’s grace in my own life, the more God gave me the desire to see others’ lives transformed by the gospel.

In March 2013 I went to Kenya on a short-term mission; that trip was really huge in my decision to go for a longer period of time. In Kenya, it was really amazing to be able to serve alongside and see God’s church in another country. I had really only been exposed to American missionaries going out to the field, and it was such eye-opening grace to see Kenyans serving Kenyans, and even Kenyans going to neighboring countries to minister to those in need. When I was little, I remember thinking at one point that all Christians had to be Chinese because all the Christians I knew were Chinese. I laugh about that now, yet twenty years later I was still in that place of being so blind to the beauty of God’s church around the world.

After Kenya, I thought more seriously about going for longer than a week. And it took an entire year for me to actually decide to go and turn in my application in 2014. And I can’t tell you how excited I am!! On November 25, 2014, I’ll be leaving for South Sudan for seven months with a missions organization called Africa Inland Mission. More specifically, I’ll be living in a village called Nagishot and living amongst an unreached people group called the Didinga people. I’ll be joining long-term missionaries and helping with administrative work, teaching, and discipleship of women and youth. More info on South Sudan and the Didinga people can be found on the Links page.

As I’m continually convicted about how to live intentionally and eternally minded here in the states AND preparing to go to South Sudan for seven months, I am encouraged by this picture of Heaven from Revelation 7:9-12:


After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”


Thanks so much for reading this lengthy post and for your support, prayers, and encouragements! Walking alongside brothers and sisters in Christ, friends, and family has been such a blessing and I’m thankful!