An Adventurous Weekend In Africa

Hello My Sweet Friends and Family!


I am back from my home away from home :) Shana Rutz and I, or Shanna squared as we are now called, had the most amazing trip! I know I say this every time, but this really was my favorite visit to Sierra Leone. My heart is more connected with our African family than ever before. I have a treasure of memories stored in my heart and have been pondering them day after day.


I had the honor of spending a lot of time with Pastor Hassan and Pastor Abraham. They are precious men of God who I can say with great confidence are working for food that does not spoil. Their chief focus is to see the good news of the gospel preached through words and actions throughout the poorest, most desolate and overlooked places in their nation. Whatever church they plant, school they start, need they meet is all a way to present the gospel to the people of their country. I truly believe their desire is to see men, women and children come close to the One who has the power to save, heal and make whole.


We went away for the weekend with them and two of my African sons. It was an adventure filled with laughter, tears, eating meals together, singing worship songs and deep discussions about the God we all love so much. It was a gift to me that I will always treasure. It was an experience that deepened our bond as one family in Christ.


Our first stop was in a town called Makeni were Pastor Bo and his wife, Teresa lead a church. We helped interview teachers for a school in a village out in the country called Matumbo. This was very interesting. The applicants were asked to come work even though they may not be paid for up to 3 months. They were asked to prove they would be faithful to their wives and also to teach the children about Christ. The applicants all agreed to these conditions. Very different from an American interview :) Shana and I wandered around the village and talked and laughed and prayed with the people. AAAWWW it was just so perfect! I wish you all could have been with me.


Next, we headed to Matumbo. A woman named Katherine Sanders collected over 1,000 pair of shoes and had them shipped on a container. We had the joy of delivering these shoes. We took 800 pair to the students at a school in Matumbo. This is a remote village that children walk for miles to attend. The shoes were necessary for them to attend classes. God did something special for me. He connected me with a teacher who is a single mom of a 3 year old little girl. (He has given me a special heart for single moms). I loved ministering to her so much! She is so precious. Shana was able to find her a pair of shoes too. I hope to see her again!


Then we drove a few hours in the rain and mud through the bush to a REALLY remote village called Mansumana. After crossing a river on a very, scary ferry we could go no further because of the mud. We took another route to try to find lodging for the night and met a little boy on the side of the road. Pastor Hassan immediately insisted we stop so we could give the little boy a pair of shoes. This was my favorite part! We all got out in the rain and mud while one of my African sons, Solomon helped the little boy find a pair of shoes that fit.


This is our God, He would drive hours in the rain and mud, through impassable roads, just to give us a pair of shoes so we might know His love and care for us!


I didn't mind the rain, I didn't mind the VERY bumpy roads, I didn't mind the long, full day of ministry in the heat and chaos....no I didn't mind at all because there was a deep peace and joy on the inside of me knowing that I was doing His will, doing what He would do if He were on the earth, and I was doing this along side those I love deeply! In fact, though my day started while it was still dark and went late into the night, I didn't want it to end. I wanted to take in all that He wanted to show me.


The next day Pastor Hassan spent the first several hours studying and preparing for the message he was preaching later that afternoon. Me, Shana and the boys walked around the town we were staying in. Bakarr had gone to high school in this town so we stopped at one of his friends' houses. A man came up to us and gave us a track and witnessed to us while we were there. I loved this! Absolutely loved it! The deep desire for the gospel to go forth was evident every where I turned. This has spurred me on to boldly share Christ more with those in my own country!

We headed back to Makeni for an afternoon Thanksgiving service at a church there. This small congregation that meets in a make-shift tin building with a dirt floor was celebrating one year of their gatherings. Pastor Hassan was the guest speaker. Several of our kids from the home came to help with the service. It was a precious time! Shana and I were able to hold babies and talk with the women after the service before heading out again.

Next we visited a facility that housed blind chidren. It was not a home. It was an old slughter house for animals. The living conditions were terrible. It broke my heart. The children were joyful. A little girl happily sang a song for us and we were able to give her a pair of shoes. The few staff members were able to express their trust in God to provide despite the bleak living conditions. I left here with a very heavy heart.

We still had shoes left so we drove for a few hours and stopped at another village to deliver the rest of them. It was late at night and raining but the pastor and his wife met us on the road with smiling faces. We filled blankets full of shoes and piled them on the porch of one of the homes.

Just as I loved all the ministry packed into our two day trip, I loved the hours of time in the car having conversations about eternal things that last. At one point I asked Pastor Hassan, "How do you choose what projects to take on?" His response was, "If something breaks my heart, I pray and ask God to provide. Sister, you have to have faith. What is impossible with man is possible with God." He then told me, "I am something like a dreamer. I start things and then pass them on to others to run while I oversee. Even now I want to focus on just preaching the gospel." This man is not Jesus, he is not perfect, but his life has been devoted to doing the will of God in his impoverished country where many have been left with great needs and no hope as the result of a brutal war. I have seen with my own eyes and now know with my heart, is not easy, it is messy, it has brought trials, heart ache, persecution, sleepless nights, great temptation, slanderous accusations, betrayel of close friends, health problems, stress, exhaustion, seperation from those he loves and much, much more. His ministry is not glamorous. Who wants to drive hours to remote villages to deliver shoes so children can go to school, so children can know the provision of God? Who wants to preach to small congregregations in stuffy tin buildings with dirt floors. Who wants to make sure blind children are not overlooked? Who wants to be responsible for 100 orphans being fed, clothed and educated so they might be the Nehemiahs of their nation? Who wants to do all of this and so much more so that many would put their hope and trust in the One, True living God? Now, I can say I do because I have watched the lives and doctrine closely of those who are living their lives to do these things and more. Just as I want to honor my pastors here in America for following the call of God to lead and shepherd and meet the spiritual and physical needs of our own nation, I also want to honor Pastor Hassan. I believe we give honor where honor is due. I believe our Heroes should be those who make us want to be more like Christ. Hassan is one of those men for me now more than ever.


We are the body of Christ. We were created to be interdependant on one another. Where one is weak, another can help. God uses the lowly, despised things of the world to shame those who are wise in their own eyes.


I have so much more to share with you, so I hope you will keep reading in the days to come as I try to share with you the message I feel God has given me to bring back to my sweet American family.


I am not exalting men, I am exalting God.

I saw God shining brightly through the imperfection of human men. This is what amazes me. We are so weak. Our hearts are wicked and decieve us. Yet, the God of the universe chooses to use us, the weak, the lowly, the sinful, to prove Himself strong and powerful...to show His love to the poor and needy, to the strong and powerful, to glorify His son through our broken lives. So, while we know perfection is not attainable this side of eternity, yet we still strive for this. But what IS attainable is to be fully devoted to Him and His causes. When we seek Him with our whole heart, He pours out grace over all of our many imperfections, His love covers the multitude of sin living in our hearts day to day and He shines bright enough to be glorified through our fragile lives! He is the Treasure living inside of us. His is the power at work within us. So we bow down to Him, submit to Him and trust Him to be God through us. In doing this He is exalted in all the earth.

I was continually faced with my own weakness and inability to meet the most minor needs. But over and over and OVER He reminded me, HE IS ABLE. I did not go to Africa just to feed orphans. I went to Africa to glorify Him and allow Him to do whatever He chose through me for the two short weeks I was there. As my husband reminded me one night on the phone as I cried over my inability to meet all of the needs I was faced with...He did not call us because we were qualified. No, the ones who think they are qualified are the least likely to be used. It is the broken and contrite heart that He wants. It is the life that says, "I am nothing without You," that He desires to use. It is the person who lays down his life, his plans, his everything so that Christ can have complete reign. He is strong enough in our weakness. THERE IS NO OTHER GOD LIKE HIM!

I have returned to America realizing I have nothing to offer that He doesn't provide from His own hand...and whatever He provides is the right amount to give. He alone knows what is needed, I only need to keep my eyes focus on the eternal One, the eternal things that last and trust Him to live through me. Food is temporary, shoes are temporary, education is temporary, but relationships are eternal. My relationship with my sweet Savior and the people He has called me to do life with are more of my focus now. Everything we do should bring us closer to Him and the people He came to save.

So much more to come. I can't wait to write about our time with the precious children of the Wellington Orphanage.

Remember, OUR GOD IS ABLE, even when we are not!

(My camera is on its way from the London airport where I left it on the plane...thank God for Fed Ex! Pictures to come soon, Lord, willing).