Not another "pity" party!

As my 36th birthday approaches,

 I can't help but thank the Lord for the life He has given me.

Is it what I expected?

No, not at all.

Like most of my friends, I had expected that God would bring a godly man into my life, that I would be married and have a handful of children.

Yes, there is a bit of emptiness that comes with being this age and not having a family to fill your life, or a husband to be your partner, comrade,
 and friend in the good and bad times.

To be honest,

 I usually have a little birthday "pity party" 

for myself.

This party is not thrown with balloons 

or crepe paper, 

more like tissue paper and tears.

 I do still long to have the full life

 that many of you have,

but at the same time I know that 

God's way is best.

So that little "party" just lasts a few moments and then the blessings of the Lord flood my mind

and I think on how great the Lord is to me.

While I still believe that the Lord has a husband out there for me somewhere,

I know that even though I don't have someone to share life's moments with;

I DO have the Lord with me 

every hour of every day.

And day by day, as I continue on in this life, I know He is always by my side cheering me on, drying those tears in my little "pity party" moments, and blessing me with every spiritual blessing because I am His and He is mine.

This week, I thank the Lord that even though 

I do not have my own children 

to train and care for,

He has filled that void by making me a 

"half-day mommy"

 to eleven little smiling faces.

Although the week brought many laughs, 
as well as,  many times where 

I was at the end of my rope on patience,

I thank God every day for allowing me 

to be here with these precious little ones.

After all, what we really need in life 

is to be "needed" 

and useful for the glorifying of our God.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pictures above of the land around the farm where I live in Zambia
and the last picture is from my classroom at preschool.

Spiritual Warfare

The Bible tells us, as Christians, that there will be spiritual warfare in our lives.

Things may come up that are out of our control.  

We may even wonder why circumstances happen.

We can know that God has a purpose for everything 

and that

purpose is that He might be glorified through it.

Trials may even come to strengthen our faith-

Romans 4:20 

" He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; 

but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;"

I find right now that my faith is being strengthened.

This is our church, 

Village Bible Baptist Church 

in Hillcrest, KZN South Africa.

We are a small church.

Our Sunday morning usually looks like this,

but there are only a few faithful families.

You can

PRAY FOR OUR CHURCH:

1. FACILITIES- while I was in the USA, the building was broken into.

-Praise the Lord, no one was there and that they only took minor things

- Pray for a NEW BUILDING: the rent for the one in the above picture

 has been raised almost 50%.

We do not currently have a facility, 

so we have been meeting in my & other's homes for Sunday AM services.

One of the homes we met for church in.

2. FAMILIES - we have 4 families that come most of the time.

In each face that you see,

there are separate trials that are faced.

Each person is at a differant stage in their spiritual growth.

Each has a battle going on inside between the flesh and the spirit.

You can also pray for their and our safety.

Hillcrest is a big place for crime. 

One of the older couples above had a break-in recently.

The robbers broke into their home,

tied her up and put her in the bathtub,

while they robbed her.

Praise the Lord, she and her husband were unharmed!

You can pray for our Zulu young men.

They have so many temptations that they are faced with each day.

Many Zulus use the "cultural" excuse to sin.

For example - drinking, drugs, immorailty are all permissable in the Zulu culture.

Please pray that these young men will stand strong in the Lord and if they fall, 

that they will be willing to confess their sins to God and walk right.

Also pray for the single ladies in our church.

Many are going through times of discouragement,

loneliness, depression, lies from satan to compromise in order not to be alone.

Busyness takes up the lives of some to fill the gap of loneliness,

but sadly, it is not busyness for the Lord,

but rather more worldliness.

As you know, I have a huge burden for the single woman, because I am one.

I praise God for putting me in a ministry where I can 

encourage others through personal experience.

He has been my very present help & joy!

I can encourage these ladies that He is ALL WE NEED!!!

3. FAITHFULNESS- please pray for the faithfulness of the people.

Not a week goes by when one or more people 

are not at church because of one reason or another.

Satan does his best to keep people from growing.

This is one of the hardest things for a missionary working 

amongst the people here in South Africa.

People do not see the importance of being faithful to church.

We know that they cannot grow in Christ unless

 they are under the preaching and teaching of His Word.

2 Peter 3:18 

"But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 

To Him be glory both now and for ever. Amen."

Missionaries : Robbin & Jeff Demarest

There is so much unfaithfulness.

It can get frustrating from a missionary's perspective, 

because we are giving our all 

to help them grow in love and obedience to God, 

but yet they don't want to.

"Have they lost their love for God, Do they have a heart of rebellion, Are they really saved?"

these questions have come through my mind.

Robbin & I

After a time of feeling very frustrated and discouraged,

God reminded me that His will for me as a spiritual leader/missionary

is just to do His will - 

love & obey Him in my personal walk,

study His Word,

teach what He asks,

in love confront those who are disobedient to His Word,

lead those who are willing to grow in their spiritual growth,

and leave the convicting & chastening to God.

A few verses of encouragement when going through spiritual warfare-

1Timothy 6:12 

"Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, 

whereunto thou art also called,

 and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses."

Romans 4:20  

"He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief;

 but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;"

2Corinthians 10:4 

"(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, 

but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)"

 Ephesians 6:10

 "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, 

and in the power of His might."

Ephesians 6:12 

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, 

but against principalities, against powers, 

against the rulers of the darkness of this world,

 against spiritual wickedness in high places."

My heart's desire is not to have my eyes on people,

but on the One who sent me to South Africa

to do the work He has called me to do.

May we each be Faithful to the one who is the Author & Finisher of our faith.

Hebrews 12:1a&2

"...Let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

 Looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith; 

who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross,

 despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."

A Promise & Blessings

For over a month now one of my dear friends from a church in MD

 has been asking me to come back to visit her church before I leave for the mission field. 

 Her and "the girls" (what I call them) wanted us to all get a chance to spend some time together. 

 Last weekend, I did not have a scheduled meeting,

 so I attended their church (one of my supporting churches).

As I headed out to visit my praying supporters at Hunt Valley Baptist Church in MD, 

I rounded a corner and saw a beautiful rainbow.

God placed that in the sky for each of us that day.

How does God speak to you through a rainbow?

Rainbows always remind me of God's promises.

I asked the Lord, as I drove, "Lord, what promise can I claim from You today?"

The promise that He brought to me was -

Matthew 28:20
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

"I am with you always"...

What a promise!

He is always with me,

as I make phone calls,

schedule meetings,

drive long distances,

make important, life changing decisions,

choose what to leave behind when packing for the mission field,

and today,

as I drove yet another distance

to attend a church pastored by my old youth pastor,

 attended by dear old friends and new ones...

What promises would He fulfill in my life today?

In my mind, I was going to update my praying friends 

on how my support was coming along,

get to catch up on how my friends are doing,

 and of course spend some quality time with "the Girls".

God had a better plan!

As soon as I got out of the car in the church parking lot, a dear little boy came running to me all excited, because he was getting baptized.

That is exciting!

I was blessed to be able to see, not only him, but 6 others baptized that day!

In the lobby, I found some dear friends to chat with.

Like me, they too were excited that I will be leaving soon for South Africa.

HVBC Missions Wall

One of my favorite young ladies was so excited to see me.

She asked how I was and chatted away to me 

(I believe God will use her in missions one day).

She informed me that they were having a special day in the bus ministry 

and she could not talk long because her mother needed her help.

To make a long story a little shorter,

I ended up helping a little with their bus ministry.

They were doing special breakfast treats for their special program

 and needed help pouring the juice.

What a blessing to have so many kids in one place!

I guess I feel more at home with the children 

and long for my new ministry among the Zulu kids in South Africa.

A great challenge was given from God's Word.

I think 4 kids responded to the invitation.

While my head was bowed, a hand reached up and tapped me on the shoulder,

"Would you come and talk with one of these girls?"

Would I ???  Of course!!!!

I had the priviledge to lead a young lady named Mackenzie to the Lord!

God's promise to be with me was true!

I don't know about you, but whenever I go through the Scriptures, 

while leading a child to Christ,

 I am always praying on the inside- "Lord, please help them 

to understand Your Word and to believe in their heart".

You know, Mackenzie was just so ready.  

She had been coming on the bus for a while now and knew she needed to be saved.

No, she does not understand everything in the Bible,

but she had the faith of a little child (Mt. 18:2-5; 19:13,14).

After Sunday School, I quickly went upstairs 

(a little late because of talking with Mackenzie).

I was blessed to sit in a pew with a new family

 (at least new since I had been there 2 yrs. ago).

It was great to hear Pastor Bottrell preach again and to be in a growing church.

the "Girls" at our picnic lunch

For lunch, "the Girls" and I went out to Oregon Ridge Park

for a picnic lunch.

We had a delicious spread, lots of laughs and blessed fellowship.

They are truly my "sisters".  I love the times we spend together!

Me & "the Girls"

It is always a delight to serve the Lord.

These ladies are also faithful servants at their church.

I guess that is why we like to spend time together, because we have alot in common!

The full outcome of my day was truly unexpected, but I saw the Lord work 

and His promises fulfilled.

Love Is In the Air

Love is literally in the air at my house this week.

One of my favorite things to do is craft something 

out of the supplies I have just lying around.

With Valentines Day being today 

and the girls coming to camp this weekend to learn about 

True Love= Knowing Jesus,

 I decided to make something that would remind us of that Love.

The verse that God has really impressed on my heart lately is the verse below.

1John 4:12 

"No man hath seen God at any time. 

If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, 

and His love is perfected in us."

My love for those around me is far from perfect.  

It is a human love.

God's love is a supernatural love.

His love

breaks all ties,

calms all fears,

gives us boldness when we feel overtaken,

makes us strong when we are weak,

hides our sins in the deepest sea,...

I could go on and on about God's love.

Being single, I do not have anyone who loves me romantically.

God has been everything I ever really needed.

Though I am human and desire a physical love, 

the supernatural and perfect love that God shows to me is the greatest thing that any person could ever have.

He knows the desires of my heart,

my innermost thoughts,

my strengths and my weaknesses,

and yet -

He still loves me more than any other human being ever could.

What love!

How is it exemplified?

By the death of His Only Son 

so that I might be free from the penalty of sin - DEATH!

I John 4:17 shows me that God will perfect my love 

by the way He uses me to glorify Him in this world.

You too can have that 

PERFECT LOVE!

To see instructions on how to make this PERFECT LOVE banner, 

verses, and small hearts click here

A Lesson in Silence

I have been working on a post that I have written in the course of the last 4 days.  

It has been something that has been deep on my mind and heart.  

Yesterday, I printed it off to proof read it.  You see, I wanted it to say 

exactly what it should say.  

I was very meticulous about making sure no one could read anything into it, 

that is was God-honoring, encouraging to the believers, and an inspiration for us to press on for Christ.  

After days of work, I finally felt it was at the place where I could post it.  

So again I reprinted it.  

The post was 5 pages long with scribbled notes here and there.  

I had some friends read it over.  

They started reading and said to me, "who did you write this too?.  

I said "Oh, I told you I am going to post this on my blog".  

They looked at me and then back at the pages and continued to read.  

"Well, what do you think?", I said.  

"Wow" was their remark.  

"You certainly were honest and brought out the truth, 

but I am not sure that your readers can handle this".  

After a bit of discussion, I decided not to post that article.  

It was too controversial.  

I know, by now you are intrigued and want to know what it was about.  

Well, in a nutshell - I shared my heart.  

The article concerned my disgust with 

the typical Christian singles "victim mentality", 

my personal struggles with being taken seriously as a missionary, 

the joy and peace that God gives you as you serve Him in your singleness, how He is with me in the lonely times, 

encouragement to all woman  to obey and serve God no matter your life situation (married and single), ....  and much more.

As you can see, the subject was very heavy and at times very personal.  Maybe one day I will publish it, but for now -

(as my friends say-) "the world is not ready for it". 

(Ecclesiastes 3:1,7 "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:"..."a time to keep silent and a time to speak.")

This is just not the season.

What made me desire to write such an article? 

The words from the mouth of a fellow missionary 

(kind of like the straw that broke the camel's back) 

gave me the desire to "set the world straight".  

It is sad how even God's people can 

hurt and discourage others with their words.

I know that there are people that I have hurt with my words.  

Lord, forgive me if I have ever been 

negative to Your leading in someone else's life.  

Each of us know how words can hurt.  

May we be sensitive enough to God, 

that we encourage the fellow believers, 

instead of harming them in the name of good.

There were even times in Christ's earthly ministry 

where He was so sensitive to God, 

that He did not even utter a word (Mt 27:12;Mk 15:3).  

God knows that these issues are heavy on my heart.  

Lord, help me to know when it is honoring to You 

that I speak and when to keep silent.

Friend, Farm, Fun

Winter time for me, means that I can go out and visit 

some new churches that I have not been to.

It is a delight of mine to meet other believers 

and to have wonderful fellowship with them.

When I don't have a meeting, I look for a like-minded church to visit 

in hopes of getting invited to come back later 

to share my ministry with the church.

My friend Ann

Last weekend I visited two churches in Lebanon, PA.

I had the added blessing of being able 

to spend some time with my dear friend Ann.

Ann was a missionary to the inner city kids in the Philadelphia area.

               She lived in the city and has served the Lord faithfully 
                                    since she was a teenager.

Now she is blessed to live on this beautiful farm in the country.

Her days are still filled with the sound of children 

chattering and playing outside.

There are also peaceful quiet moments where she can spend more time studying His Word 

and encouraging other believers.

When you live on a farm, there is alot of work to be done, 

so she helps the farmer and his wife by watching the kids.

She is like a mother, grandmother, sister, part time homeschool teacher, 

arts and craft teacher, hard worker, missionary,....

Anns crafts

Ann is truly a modern day portrayal of the Proverbs 31 Woman.

 Proverbs 31:13 

"She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands."

Ann loves to make beautiful things.

God has truly given her the gift of making something beautiful out of nothing.

During my visit, she taught me to knit this pretty scarf.

Since the weekend I have made more scarves and have also taught my mom.

More than making the scarves, I enjoy the times we spent together learning, talking, and making something beautiful.

The scarf I made during this visit will always be precious to me, 

representing the special memories I have with her.

During my visit, we also talked of God's faithfulness to us as we serve Him.

He always provides for our needs and lovingly leads us in His will.

I am so thankful that God has placed His faithful servants in my life.

They have already gone before me and have valuable life lessons to share with others, like me.

The Bible says we should be learning from the older folks.

 1Pe 5:1 ¶ The elders which are among you I exhort, 

who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, 

and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:

 1Pe 5:5 ¶ Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. 

Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: 

for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

Who are you learning from and 

what spiritual life lessons have you passed on to the younger generation?