Saying Bye to Momo

So this weekend we said goodbye to our Japanese student. Momo was with us for the month of August. She was beautiful and delightful, agreeable in every way. The students come to America to see the sights and practice their English. The program we are involved in is called Mission to Japan and the students come knowing that Bible classes are part of the program, though most of them have no religion at all. Japan is a country whose people give very little thought about God. Momo told me that before she came to America she did not think about God and had no opportunity to learn about God. That is not uncommon, but rather the norm for Japanese youth. We open our home to them to allow them to see what American families are like. We welcome them to our table and our hearts, but the truth is, with all my heart I want them to meet Jesus. Even now, I am moved to tears thinking about any of our students coming to believe in Christ and to follow His teachings for the rest of their lives. To meet them again in Heaven is my heart's desire. So we invite them to witness our messy lives, our imperfect homes, our parenting, pets, and marriages hoping that somehow in the midst of it all they might have their eyes opened by the One who loves them and that somehow they might get a glimpse of our passion for Jesus and His passion for them. If they can see Him then all the sacrifices will have been worth it. It's not the hardest thing in the world one can do for Jesus, but it is hard....BUT if they see Him then it is all worth it and that is why we continue to do it even though it is difficult. Momo was able to see Ellie's baptism at church two weeks ago. She told me that she was "touched in her heart" though she didn't understand why. I pray that she will continue to wonder about that. We had a lot of time to talk together, just the two of us, and I pray that those conversations will be replayed in her mind over the next few weeks as she moves back into her normal lives. I pray that God will bring Christians into her life and that everywhere she turns she will meet people who know Christ, though she had never noticed them before. I pray that she will read the Bible she was given and be swept away by God's love and plan for her life. I pray for her eternal salvation.

Is hosting difficult? Yes. Is it worth it? Absolutely. Will we do it again? Most definitely. Hosting a person from another country is like going on a missions trip without ever leaving the comfort of your own bed.....I wonder what my bed in Axum will be like??? Stay tuned....

Heading to Ethiopia

It's been years, literally, since I've blogged. I wouldn't have thought that much time had passed, but it has....years...wow. There is certainly no way to catch up the last 3 years here and really that's not the point of this post, but I am stunned that life just flies on by as though it were nothing but a moment when in reality we have lived a ton of life in the last 3 years.

On September 1st I will be traveling with a group of fellow Christ followers from Mosaic Church to Axum, Ethiopia. We are a group of twelve, seven women and five men, who desire to bring hope to hurting people. There are two surgeons in our group and several nurses who will be working in the local hospital there. The rest of us will be working with a team at Operation Rescue Ethiopia which is located nearby in Adwa. ORE is a non-profit organization who's objective is to take orphans, street children and extremely poor children from their vulnerable situations and help them to achieve their maximum potential-academically, physically, emotionally and spiritually. We will lead the children through some Bible classes and serve the workers there in any way that we can. ORE is one of the ministries that Mosaic Church partners with. I am so privileged and excited to have this opportunity to travel to Ethiopia to share the love of Christ.

Why go to Ethiopia?, you might ask. Well, let me give you a little background to this story. I became enthralled with Ethiopia several years ago when I read a book titled, "There is No Me Without You". I think Ellie was two at the time. As a result of reading that book I decided we needed to adopt from Ethiopia. Shocking, right? I asked David out on a date and told him about my desire. He assured me that our family was full. Still, my heart had been challenged and changed. My mind had been opened to the pain of this ravaged country and its hurting children.(Though we weren't called to adopt, we did begin to sponsor a young Ethiopian boy named Alemgena). Then, three years or so after reading the book, we were called to be a part of Mosaic Church where the pastor and his wife "happened" to be in the process of adopting four children from Ethiopia. If we weren't called to adopt from Ethiopia I could certainly pray for and embrace those who were and so I did. These beautiful children have been a part of our church family for over 3 years now and Ethiopia has become even more dear to me.

My heart is so full as I anticipate traveling to a country who's children have already touched my heart. Please pray for our team that we will be a light that shines brightly, a love that loves deeply and eyes that see the value of every single person we meet. May we represent God well and make His glory known as we serve in His name. He doesn't need us, but He has welcomed us into this story. I am humbled and amazed.

Our Team:

God bless,