Bit Eleven

ANNOUNCEMENT!!

Here are a couple of things for all of my faithful supporters to pray for:

Our ESL classes have become too large for our one teacher to handle on her own. We really need someone who has an interest in teaching English to refugees in Atlanta, GA. Our wonderful ESL teacher is willing to mentor someone who would be interested in helping her with this task. If you are interested, or if you know someone who is interested, please let me know. Otherwise, please keep this in your prayers! It is awesome to see how, when you are available to be God's helping hand in a community, he brings His children to you!

I recently discovered that my funding is almost run out. I can only live off of what I raise. I need about $400 per month for living expenses (gas, groceries, insurance, etc.). My plan was to be in ATL for at least the next 9 months. I praise God that He has given me the opportunity to be in a situation in which I must rely on Him 100%. I trust that He has a purpose for me here, so I know that He has a plan for me financially. Prayer through faith can move mountains, so please pray for God's blessings.

Thank you so much for your prayers! I would love to pray for you as well, so please let me know how I can lift you up in prayer.

In our Signs Study the other night (a time when we meet with Muslim & Christian friends to study the Qur'an together), a refugee from Sudan (a survivor of Darfur) made the comment that when we pray for others, not only do they receive a blessing from God, but we receive a blessing from Him as well! So, let's start praying for one another and let the blessings flow!!

Bit Ten

Beginning in 1 week, I will be leading out a prayer group at Josh's church (please keep this in your prayers). During the process of planning, I have learned a little more about this method of communication with God...

My thoughts on prayer:

Ephesians 6:18
“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”

Praise - Give thanks. Beginning the session with praise helps us to acknowledge the great things that God has already done. After we understand His glory and worthiness to be praised, we are humbled to come before Him with our requests.

Before moving from praising to petitioning God we must make sure that we are honestly asking for God's will to become our will so that when we present our requests, we are asking for what God wants to give us.

Petition - Ask a request of God. Petitioning God is more than just asking for what we want. Jesus told us in Matt. 7 that when we ask, we will be answered, but He also went on to say that when we seek, we will find. Therefore, before requesting an answer from God, we must learn how to seek Him. In doing this, we learn what to pray for, and we learn to seek His answer.
We are breaking ourselves down in order for God to fill us with a Spirit that longs to see Him glorified, and not simply longing to see ourselves satisfied.

Pay Attention – Listen for God to speak and watch for His answer. Praying doesn’t end when the request has been made. That’s only half of the process. Prayer is a two-way conversation with God, and so we must stop talking and listen as well. Listening for God can be done through meditation, but it also includes keeping an eye out to see how He satisfies our requests.

Bit Nine

It snowed!!!

Absolutely beautiful giant clumps of white snow fell for hours on March 1st! Out in Covington, there was at least 6 inches covering the ground! In Conyers, we had probably about half of that, but it was glorious! It stuck around for a few days, and then melted away, but it made me feel so happy to be in Georgia!


Unfortunately, my camera was dead, and I couldn't find my charger, so the few pictures I have are from Heidi's camera.

Another disappointing part of the day was that, when I left my house that morning, I hadn't planned on the weather taking such a snowy turn, so on the way to Covington, as the snow became heavier and heavier, I had no coat and no boots (just my crocs to cover my feet)! I still enjoyed watching the others build a snow kangaroo (pictured above) from inside the warm house!

Bit Eight

When Heidi suggested that I volunteer to visit a Muslim refugee family once a week so that I could begin a friendship and learn more about the culture, my gut reaction was, "um...what else could I do?" I've never been able to look at someone and say, "I'm going to be that person's friend!" In fact, the times when I've purposefully tried to make friends with people, it never turns out the way I expect. It's usually the people I don't feel pressured to get to know that I end up being good friends with. Therefore, I found it very doubtful that I could step into a Muslim's life and successfully make a friend.

I explained this to Kelly when she invited me to join her to visit her friend, Basimah (not her real name). Since it was not a situation in which I would feel any pressure to form a relationship, I agreed to go along. Kelly needed a ride, and I was anxious to see how this "forced friendship" worked.

We arrived at Basimah's apartment, but she was not home yet. However, four of her house-mates (all women) were home. Only one of them spoke English, and so she invited us in.

Immediately, I felt welcome. Walking into the apartment of a refugee is very different than walking into an American home. Yes, their living rooms are nothing to write home about - nothing on the walls, just a coupld of couches and a small TV on a tiny table, but there was something that made me feel comfortable enough to sit and talk.

The woman who spoke English, chatted with us as if we had met before, and the other three pulled out some chairs. They were content enough to smile and listen to our English conversation. Two children sat on the floor, watching cartoons.

Eventually, we were asked if we wanted some tea. I politely said yes, but had I known how amazing Somali tea is, I would have been much more emphatic! Somali tea is like a hot version of Southern Sweet tea, but better! There are some special spices in it that give it extra flavor. And I'm pretty sure they add about 3 spoon-fuls of sugar to each cup! It was delicious!

By the time Basimah arrived, Kelly and I were happily chatting with the residents of the apartment as if we lived there. We talked about how I was trying to learn Arabic and how poorly I was doing. We chatted about the weather, learned everyone's names & ages, and taught one of the girls a few words in English (although I'm pretty sure she understood us quite well already).

It was difficult to say goodbye to such a friendly group of women. I have changed my mind on how I feel about making friends with Muslim refugees. It's nothing like making an American friend. In America, it's inconvenient when someone drops in to say "hi." In Somalia, it's expected! I'm now looking forward to building relationships while I'm here.