The Circle Maker will absolutely revolutionize your prayer life. It is a book about praying circles around your biggest dreams and greatest fears. Chapter 15 encourages you to create a "Life Goal List." Author Mark Batterson explains that goals are a cause and effect of praying hard, they are a great way of thinking long, and they are a practical way of dreaming big. Goals are dreams with deadlines. Deadlines keep dreams alive and can bring dreams back to life. After finishing this book, I to made a Life Goal List. I followed his ten steps of goal setting.
1. Start with prayer.
2. Check your motives.
3. Think in categories.
4. Be specific.
5. Write it down and review it often.
6. Include others.
7. Celebrate along the way.
8. Dream big.
9. Think long.
10. Pray hard.
One by one, I began to ferociously write down my life-long dreams. They came pretty easily. I am a dreamer by nature. I have always set goals and have always done everything in my power to attain them. They poured out of me...my dreams for my career, for my future family, for my faith, for my marriage, etc. As I wrote them down, I looked at some thinking they were incredibly steep, not so much completely impossible, but divine intervention would be the only way to make them possible. I prayed over my list, tucked it away in my book, and moved on to another book, never knowing there would be a permanent link between the two. This time, I read another resource to once again ignite my dreams.
Kisses for Katie is a story of a young girl who goes on a mission trip to Uganda, Africa and never returns home. Her heart is so moved with compassion that she can't picture her life anywhere else but on the red dirt roads of Uganda, caring for the needs of the African children, even adopting 13 girls of her own. After traveling to Guatemala for a mission trip that same year, I was instantly drawn to Katie's story. In a small way, I could somehow relate to her emotions and calling and could understand her why when others who have never had that experience couldn't. Why she would leave a comfortable life behind and trade it for an unsafe, ever changing, and challenging one instead. Why she would adopt 13 young girls who desperately needed a mother, even though she felt undeserving to be labeled "mother material." Why she would give up her life and everything in it just to make a small impact in the life of the people of Uganda. After all, naysayers would say you can't change the world. Oh, but you could. We could.
In her book Katie shared a statistic. This statistic will NEVER leave my thoughts or my prayers. It has completely rocked my world.
"The truth is that there are children all over the world, sick, starving, dying, unloved, and uncared for. The truth is that there are 143 million orphaned children. 11 million who starve to death or die from preventable diseases. 8.5 million who work as child slaves, prostitutes, or under other horrific working conditions. 2.3 million who live with HIV. All of these add up to 164.8 million needy children. And at first glance that looks like a big number (an impossible number), but 2.1 BILLION people on this Earth proclaim to be Christians. The truth is that if only just 8% (Yes! Only 8%) of the Christians would care for one more child, THERE WOULD NOT BE ANY STATISTICS LEFT!"
I personally don't know how you cannot read that statistic and ask yourself, what can I do? The night I read that, I couldn't sleep. Where is my role in this, God? What is the part that I should play in the life of a needy child. How can I sleep in my comfortable bed, with a full stomach, and an enormous house and not be moved to offer myself or my resources?...I had to do something.
I had already experienced this feeling when we had gone to Guatemala for the first time. As we were riding the bus out to the orphanage, I couldn't shield my eyes from seeing the poverty, corruption, and unbearable living conditions of the people in third world countries. All week we worked with children who didn't know their mom or dad or who were left, abandoned, and unloved. You could see the hurt in their eyes. The emotional scars, that may never go away. As we wrapped up our week at the Agua Viva Children's Orphanage, my husband and I grappled with "our part." If we could have adopted them...we would have. Since we couldn't, our next best option was to sponsor them. We picked a family of three. Three siblings who had been abandoned on the streets, alone, and left to fend for themselves. Estella, Yesica, and Jhonathan. We pray for them and support them on a monthly basis. Why? It's just three children. You can't save them all. Well, my answer is simple. It's three more children who now know God's immense love. They are protected, loved, and supported at Agua Viva. But it didn't stop there for me. It just wasn't enough.
Guatemala ignited a passion. A passion for orphans. A passion for missions. A passion to look beyond my egotistical, self-centered life. I left Guatemala asking God the question...what is next? I want to save the world! After returning home to my comfortable American lifestyle, I was quickly reminded that I can't save the world, that is God's job. My job is simple. To be the hands and feet of Jesus. Wherever I go. And in whatever I do. Take care of the least of these is my calling. I couldn't stop thinking about Katie Davis and her book. I wanted desperat
ely to go to Africa. I want to hug and kiss the children. I want to feed and clothe the needy. I want to tell them about a God who loves them unconditionally. I wrote it down on my Life Goal List. The places I wanted to travel to for missions...Africa, Haiti, South America, China, Mexico. Going to Guatemala was great, but that's just one country out of 196 in the world! I wrote them down, prayed over them, and tucked them away once again. Little by little, in the last year, I marked a few things off of my Life Goal List. Small goals and a few bigger goals, but nothing of immense proportion...that was until this winter.
A missionary came to speak at my dad's church. He talked about his organization and the work that they do...in Africa. After the service, my dad approached the missionary and said that he would love to go to Africa and the man, without hesitation, said, "Let's go." My dad called and told me about it and I really think my heart skipped a beat. This was it! This was my chance! My chance to accomplish one of my goals. Out of all of the countries I listed for missions, Africa was my biggest aspiration. God was finally giving me the opportunity! I had to take it! My husband on the other hand, is the more responsible one. We needed to find out how much it would cost. We needed to know where I was going. There was also no way we could afford for both of us to go. I would have to go without him. He asked questions like how are we going to pay for it? Will you be safe? What will you be doing? Oh ya...I guess we need to answer those don't we. He was more hesitant. I needed more convincing. So, I prayed. God give me a sign.
He did. The total of the trip was a pretty significant chunk of change. Quite honestly, money we didn't have. I promised Brendan, I would work, I would do anything to pay for it. I inquired about a special education summer school position (it is longer/more money than the regular ed summer school). They don't open it up for applications because they don't need a lot of teachers and they are usually filled by people who return every year...who have seniority over me. Well, they just happened to have one last position available! There was God sign #1. The date summer school ends...July 10th....when am I leaving for Africa....July 11th. There was God sign #2. Unfortunately, while it was a big portion, summer school still wasn't going to pay for all of the trip. So, I decided to tutor. I needed to have at least five kids sign up for tutoring and only one had really inquired...not a good sign. To date, I have had seven kids sign-up! Three that "heard" about me in passing that I didn't even know! Sign #3. Now with tutoring and summer school it completely covers my trip! To me those were the signs I was looking for. Not to mention the bible verses I read on a daily basis or the songs that come on the radio, or the conversations that come up with complete strangers!
So, there you have it! I will be traveling with my dad to Kenya, Africa this July. We will be working with Manna Worldwide. Click here to visit their website. We will be visiting schools, orphanages, and nutrition wellness centers. We will be working at these places, building a mud hut, and telling everyone we can about Jesus. Love has no specific language. It has no barriers on skin color. It has no recollection of income or disease. It's simple. I can hug, kiss, and hold the children in love. I can serve them in love. I can feed them in love. I can show them God's love. The missionary said that the people of Africa are so appreciative of the help and support that we will give. Many times they will ask you why you are there. Why you would come to help them when you live in such a beautiful place like America. The answer is simple. God wants me to. God wants me to share his love with others. God wants me to make sacrifices for the sake of another. God wants me to step out of my comfort zone and trust him. God wants me to be vulnerable and scared to see how he can provide. God wants me to be appreciative of what I have been blessed with. God wants me to.
It's no secret Africa has been the center of news in the last few years and even months with violence and corruption. The stronger the terrorists get, the more violence and destruction has occurred. The latest story being the hundreds of girls at a school being taken by a terrorist group and sold into sex trafficking in Nigeria. Many people who know I am going to Africa ask me if I will be safe. If I am scared. The reality is no, traveling out of the country anywhere, you are never guaranteed to be safe, especially in hostile places like Africa. But, my answer is that I am and will be protected by a greater power than terrorism. I am and will be protected by a greater power than hate. I am and will be protected by a greater power than violence. God has angel armies. It's like the Chris Tomlin song says, "I know who goes before me, I know who stands behind, the God of angel armies, is always by my side. The one who reigns forever, he is a friend of mine, the God of angel armies is always by my side."
Nothing ever worth fighting for was easy. I am currently reading another book by Mark Batterson, called All-In. The first chapter is ironically called, "Pack Your Coffin." He tells the story of a missionary who set sail for the South Pacific, knowing that every single missionary who had gone before him was martyred by the tribe. He did not fear for his life because he had already died to himself. His "coffin was packed." He lived there for thirty-five years among the tribe. When he died there, the tribe buried him, and on his coffin they wrote, "When he came there was no light. When he left there was no darkness." Mark Batterson goes on to share what I think sums up the reason I am going to Africa.
"When did we start believing that God wants to send us to safe places to do easy things? That faithfulness is holding down the fort? That playing it safe, is safe? That there is any greater privilege than sacrifice? That radical is anything but normal? The will of God is not an insurance plan. It's a daring plan. The complete surrender of your life to the cause of Christ isn't radical. It's normal. It's time to go all in and all out."
My excitement, overshadows my fear. My call to action, overshadows my doubts. My faith, overshadows my insecurities. God wants me to go to Africa, and so I will go. Here I am Lord, send me.
As I am in Africa, I plan to journal my daily experiences. When I return safely home, I will share my experience with you. My hope is that you will see God even half-way around the world, in the least likeliest of places doing the unimaginable, the unthinkable. And maybe...just maybe...I will have the opprotunity to leave some light.
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