I have been home from Africa for just over a month and things have slowly gotten back to normal for me. I am plugging away at my new job, learning all sorts of things about taxes, accounting, and home entertainment equipment. While it’s been hard to adjust to life back in America, I know that God has a reason even for this season of my life. For those of you who know me well, you know that my heart is in Africa and my desire to be there is great. Part of the process of going there, is this thing called support raising, basically raising financial and prayer supporters for my time there. I have learned from other missionaries that this time can be the hardest and yet the greatest time. I have already started to see that.
While I have been home I have had at least one divine appointment a week. God has orchestrated meetings with people that I wouldn’t have thought possible. My first week home a friend I haven’t seen in 11 years contacted me via the internet and we got together for coffee. She is not a believer and when I was friends with her I always had a hard time sharing my faith. She knew that I went to church with my family but that was the extent of it. I prayed and had my sister praying for our time together because I knew I didn’t want to be ashamed of Christ, but old habits die hard. I had a chance to share what God was doing in my life and she thought it was great. She didn’t quite understand it all but God allowed her heart to be open enough to listen and even ask some questions. Something I never imagined.
I also have been able to talk to some of the women I work out with at the gym, to tell them why I was in Africa, why I want to go back and how I will do it all. They find it amazing that I would be willing to give up being in America to move to a place where electricity and running water are not always a guarantee. That I would love a people group so much that I would give up a career to love them and tell them about Jesus. One woman (not a Christian) was so touched by what I was doing that she told me she would love to help me out. It just blows my mind the way God puts these meetings together when you are not ashamed of Him, and how he always provides for us when we do what He has called us to do.
Some prayer requests I have right now would be:
– that I would continue to grow closer to God
– that hearts would be moved to partner with me in prayer and/or finances for this new stage of my life.
– that I would be a light to those I come in contact with
– that God would help me be content while I am here, even though I am so ready to be in Africa
Thank you all so much for your prayers.
Waiting on Him,
Christine
