The past week has definitely been an adventurous week!
On Monday
night the team went to the night market and ate Balot (incubated duck egg), chicken intestines, and cow's blood (GROSS)!
Thursday night we had a rat
in our apartment. I'm very thankful for Erin and Savannah who where
brave enough to chase the rat out of the apartment!
Saturday, we went to
the falls and swam in the spring water from a mountain, which was really
cold, and then hiked to a village. To get to the village, I had to face
one of my biggest fears and walk across a swinging bridge. The village
broke my heart! After we has a good day of swimming we decided to walk
to the main road and get a ride back to town. The walk took 2 1/2 hours
and we walked 9.5 kilometers (which is about 6 miles)! Can I just say
that I was sore the next day!
Today (Monday), Erin and I made gumbo for the staff while Katlin and Savannah made no bake cookies for the kids afternoon
snack. It was fun to be in the kitchen and introducing new things to the
staff and kids!
Here is a BIG PRAYER REQUEST: We are starting our last week of work
tomorrow, and we need prayer as we start to say good-bye to the kids and
staff. I cannot believe that it is the end of the summer! I have truly
enjoyed this summer. God has taught me more that I ever expected. The
Kayleigh that left at the beginning of the summer is not the same
Kayleigh that will be coming home next week! My prayer is that when I
return home I don't return to my normal routine, but I keep God the
center of my life. Leaning on God is the only way to live! This summer I
have learned to solely lean on God... not to rely on technology and the
world to help me.
It is going to be extremely hard to say good-bye to the friends we have
made while we have been here. But the hardest part will be telling the
kids bye. A piece of my heart will be left here!
Kayleigh
It has been a rough two weeks. The babies had the stomach virus last
week, and in return for changing the diapers and cleaning up the spit-up
they decided that I need the stomach virus too! Even though it was hard
being on the other side of the world sick I rested in the fact that God
has right by my side! We serve such an awesome God that he cares enough
about me to comfort me while I was sick.
Though the past two weeks have
been hard, God is really doing a great work it my life. He continues to
challenge me everyday. Through Nehemiah Teams we are required to
memorize scripture. This is a practice I have not been really
disciplined in. I would come up with lame excuses like "I can't
memorize" or "I really just don't have the time"... well has God shown me
wrong. I have learned how amazing it is to throw scripture in Satan's
face when he starts to attack us.
Also God is teaching me that the Great
Commission is FINISH-ABLE. Did you catch that? It is finish-able. And
not only can it be finished, but it can also be finished in this
generation. God does not give us anything we can not finish. The Great
Commission though is not a call from God, but it is a requirement. God
gives us the responsibility to finish the Great Commission. We should
consider it a privilege that God would lets do his work. I pray that
each that read this will start to pray and see how YOU can help finish the
Great Commission. We serve such an awesome God!
-Kayleigh
I hope everyone is having a great summer! God has been so gracious to me
this week. I worked on the help shift a lot the past two weeks. It was
humbling. I helped cook, I did some sewing (that was an experience),
helped with laundry, and scrubbed base boards. I also help with the
school at Ruel. I worked with two of the boys who are a little behind in
some of their school work. I love each kid here... they all hold a special place
in my heart. This week we received a new child for adoption. She is
scared of us because we are white, but is starting to warm up to us.
Pray for her and her comfort and peace as she starts her time here.
The past 2 Sundays we have attended 2 different local churches. They
both were such a blessing. The Holy Spirit was present in both services.
This week has been easier to handle than the previous weeks. I am getting used to the culture
and to the heat. God has already done such a great work
in my life in just the short time I've been here. Continue to pray for the team and
Ruel Foundation as God works here.
-Kayleigh
God is doing a lot of work in my heart. He is shaping my heart to
be more like His in the sense that I am realizing the largeness of the
world, and the importance of reaching out into it.
There is so much
more to being a Christian than simply being comfortable and worrying about yourself. There
is a world of hurting, broken people out there. And Jesus has filled the
void in my heart, but He does not want me to stop there.
He wants to
fill the void in theirs too. That’s why he commanded us to GO and to
MAKE DISCIPLES of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
There is power, healing, & unexplainable
joy in the presence of Jesus, and this joy was meant to be shared. The
gospel was brought to me because it is always on its way to someone
else.
I don’t know why I am so reluctant to share it when I’m living my
everyday life at home. I guess God has challenged us with so many
superficial differences such as skin color, language, culture, etc. But
these are only false barriers; color of our blood is all the same!
I am
realizing that I am so quick to let these things discourage me from
starting conversations, especially life-giving conversations about
Jesus. But I am realizing my selfishness as I look back on so many
missed opportunities to speak to people and love people who are
different from me.
Every second of every day, I should be asking myself
one simple question: What would Jesus do?
I’ll tell you what Jesus would
do- Jesus would break through the facade of culture barriers and SPEAK
LIFE INTO PEOPLE, no matter how different they are. Think of the
Samaritan woman. And the leaper. And the tax collector.
Jesus never
addressed these people based on how others viewed them. He saw these
people for exactly who they were- human beings, precious souls with
brokenness inside them and a desperate need to be healed by His words.
I
have read these various scriptures time after time, yet on a daily
basis I forget to live them out! I am usually too caught up in my to-do
list, too focused on my present task. But my task, whatever it may be,
is SURELY not nearly as big a priority as the person I am walking right
past and the opportunity I am passing up to introduce them to their
almighty Savior who died for them.
-Savannah
