A new dedication...

Ok so I have an idea for this blog. As you know I have decided to join MSF (Doctors Without Borders) when I finish my degree for nursing. Only that is four years away and too long for me to wait. Thus, I dedicate to pray for a country each week. To research on something that they are struggling with and to make time to go to God in prayer for them. I may not be able to be with them in the flesh but I will do the next best thing.

This week my prayers will be for Uganda. Northern Uganda to be exact. Over 3,000 children are currently suffering from an illness called Nodding Disease. The medical teams still are unsure of exactly what is causing these breakouts as the children will experience physical stunting, seizures and brain damage from it. They believe it has something to do with a deficiency in vitamin B6 and the parasitic worm Onchocerca Volvulus, which causes river blindness and is carried by the Black Fly.

I will be posting weekly these countries and would be over joyed if you could join me in praying for these people.

We are so blessed to be safe and warm, with a roof over our head and food in our bellies. Our life may not be perfect and we may even lose a job or house, but compared to these people we are abundantly blessed. 

Let us therefore, join hearts and hands to be a voice to the voiceless. Let us take a stand and seek our Lord and Savior on their behalf. Let us love this world as Jesus did.


For more information on the Nodding Disease in North Uganda see below -

http://www.ebony.com/black-listed/wellness-empowerment/ugandan-children-suffering-disabling-disease#axzz2ZiSziubS

http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/19/world/africa/uganda-nodding-disease/index.html

In the blank spaces

We all experience times in our life when it seems that our days are wasting away with no purpose or fulfillment. Many times it is our doing because we are afraid to take a leap of faith and follow the calling God has set before us. Yet many times, it is God who calls us to these seasons of... waiting.

I recently experienced one of these some time back. At first it was terrible. I was so anxious. I wanted to do something with my life. I wanted to go somewhere and now. I didn't want to wait even another day. I was restless and worried. Most of all I had my eyes focused on the past with no hope or care for the future. I was honestly convinced - I know it's weird - that the Lord would return in the year 2012. I thought there was no point of planning a life past that because it would never exist. As you can imagine my surprise when January 1st 2013 rolled into view.

I realized that I had wasted so much time just sitting around and refusing that there could be a year past 2012. I realized that it had kept me from coming to know the calling God had for my life. It kept me from pursuing this calling. It kept me looking back and wishing I could turn back the clock of time, sure that time was soon to be up. Boy was I wrong.

So what happened after I realized I could have a future? I saw myself helping the poorest of the poor and most needy in unnamed villages of far away places... yet I didn't know how to get there. I didn't know where I had to start.

I prayed for months seeking guidance. I searched the web for organizations and programs that would get me out into the mission field. I dreamed dreams and sought the advice of other missionaries. While many roads presented themselves, none seemed right. I thought I was just being indecisive and unmotivated. I thought I would lose interest and eventually give up searching. I prayed but it seemed no one answered. Until I finally typed in the url to a link I had received - and later forgotten - months before.

DoctorsWithoutBorders (MSF). While not Christian, they do bring hope to the most needy. They are the voice of the voiceless. I realized that I could do that and, with shining the light of Christ, be a witness to so many.

But I needed training. They were not amateurs in their field and neither could I be. I needed four years of training to be exact and another two of experience. Thus I start my journey of becoming a nurse, beginning with my generals at the local community college.

I am excited to begin in the fall and with this new dream ahead of me I can now look ahead instead of behind. I still cherish the past dearly but I do not live in it. I do not desire to bring it back but rather to take on tomorrow.

My point brings me to, first off: DO NOT ASSUME THE DAYS OF YOUR FUTURE BUT RATHER EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED. Don't be narrow-minded of what you think tomorrow holds, keeping you from truly understanding what could and what God wills to happen.

Secondly: WHEN YOU SEEK HIM AND HIS ANSWER IS "WAIT"... THEN WAIT. Do not take your life into your own hands. His timing is perfect and those seasons in your life when it seems like all your doing is waiting for an answer, don't lose hope. These are the blank spaces of your life. But in truth they are more important than we can know. They are to prepare, to equip, to strengthen and to draw us closer to Him. To wait on the Lord is to seek Him and yearn for Him. It means to abide in Him and lean only on His understanding. It means to trust.

Don't take these times for granted. Don't waste them. Use them as an opportunity. Fill these blank spaces with a passion to seek God and shine His light to all you meet.

Take heart therefore. Be not anxious or impatient but anticipate the wonderful plans God has for your future. He does have plans for you. Plans He wrote out before you were born. Plans that He is overjoyed to begin in your life. So rejoice! Take joy that you have a promising future with Him.

IYC...

It has been way too long since the last post I published here on ThotSimplicity. I deeply apologize as my computer has been under repair for sometime. Long story short, the screen cracked but it was replaced. =) I am glad to be back.

In the last post I mentioned something of an Indian Youth Camp where my sister and I were going to volunteer as room staff and counselors for the kids. Indeed, it was well worth the time off work. We went to bless the kids but I believe we got blessed in return. I could just feel the Lord moving in that camp.

One of my girls got saved! And was able to let go of the sorrow she had carried with her for so long. Another was finally able to see that the power of God is much stronger then the Devil's and that she could be safe in the arms of Jesus. A boy from another dorm was miraculously healed while at worship one evening. He had broken his leg and was unable to walk, yet moments after he was prayed over, he stood up and told his testimony to the crowd. Left and right kids professed the name of Jesus and so many saw the hope of tomorrow and were stirred to live whole heatedly for Christ.

It was our third year and Lord willing, I will do anything to return again. I love those kids and over the years I've begun to develop relationships with them. Friendships that go beyond the borders of camp and last longer, giving us the opportunity to continually speak into their lives. God bless those native children. God bless them abundantly.

Random Thoughts

Summer is indeed coming quicker than a fat mouse can run to the cheddar (cheesy analogy I know; no pun intended). But I am so ready for these warm months. My favorite season of the year is almost here! And what's to spin it off? Indian Youth Camp!
Based from the camp in Hungry Horse we bus in Native Americans from all the reservations in Montana. From Rocky Boy, to Browning, to Fort Peck and Crow, we house hundreds of people. For the third year, my sister and I will be volunteering as Room Staff. I am so excited. And we head out this Sunday! May God keep everyone safe as we prepare for five days of adventurous, crazy, fun; bringing the love of God to all present.
Aside from that, work is picking up like there's no tomorrow. You know those folks who slip in the door seconds before you can turn the lock? Yep. The first of many. But I'm ready. I only pity my boss for my absence for a whole week. May our merciful Lord be with her.
To top this random post I suppose I should mention my sister in the kitchen admiring the art of onions going bad. But don't be worried. There's no mold (thank goodness) and this is just one of my sister's attributes that makes her original. Lol. I should probably go help her make dinner.

A voice to the voiceless

So the previous post, you might have been curious as to what I was specifically talking about. Curious? Well, I dare say... I'll remain silent on the matter. Lol But I will dare to share some other bit of great news.
Over the past few months - or rather since last fall - I have been quietly contemplating the idea of going to school again. I had always loved studying but was afraid I would be wasting time in a four walled room when I could be spending it out and doing something. It took me a long time to finally realize that in order to do what God had called me to, I needed to attend college and be trained. In what you might say?
Have you ever heard of Doctors Without Borders? In short, it's an independent organization of well trained medical staff who travel oversea to aid those who are less fortunate. Anyone from victims of natural or man-made disasters, to the ill fallen of plagues and diseases, to the casualties of war to pretty much anyone else who are neglected. They address the governments and other social organizations to help the needy of their country and ultimately be the voice for the voiceless. With the help of God they can give the inflicted hope... hope for another day and hope for many more days after that. If you are interested in reading more, you can visit their site at: http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/
I too have always wanted to help the most needed. Those who no one else would help. I didn't care about the danger (though I would be careful, such a trivial thing never mattered to me). Honestly, how could I live so comfortably in America when people struggle to survive everyday in other countries?
After much praying the Lord at last revealed the plans He had for my future. Plans that involved Doctors Without Borders. He showed me small glimpses of what He wanted me to do and where He wanted me to be; a short picture of what He had in store for me, and such was enough. Before I knew it, I was sending in my application for admission and writing essays for scholarships. So now as I await my eligibility for school grants, I prepare for the coming adventure ahead.
I know I cannot afford this next step. I could not even afford a month of the schooling I need, but God will provide a way. He always does even if it be at the eleventh hour. I'm happy because I get to trust in Him, knowing I am finally beginning the journey of my life long dream. If only it could happen sooner. Lol

All I can think of is when I finally get to board that plane and travel across seas. When I finally get to carry the hurting children. When I finally get to hold the hand of the elderly. When I will finally look into their faces and smile and tell them there is hope. When I get to tell them that their cry was heard. When I get to tell them about Jesus. That day I eagerly await for.

In the dawn of a new day

What do you do when your greatest fear becomes reality? What do you do when your life, the way you always knew it, is threatening to change? The things you always thought you could lean back on, knowing there you will always be safe, suddenly seem to crumble beneath your feet. You try everything to gather the pieces and put them back together but for some reason they aren't fitting. Life as you know it is changing and way faster than you ever imagined or wanted. Can you go through with your promises? Have you the strength to accept this new morning? I never realized how stubborn and resistant I was until now. I new I never was good with change but this...?
Lord, give me the strength to face today. Give me the courage to push on. I may be blind to what lies ahead but You are not. I know in You I can peacefully rest. For but one thing I know will never change. On it will I make my foundation. You are my foundation Jesus, and on Your Word will I build my fortress and set my life.

God's Canvas

This afternoon my family drove up this long dusty road. Potholes scattered left and right as it slowly wound around the mountainside and up to the snowline of the Bob Marshall. Everything was so beautiful and green. I could hardly believe it. It made me wonder how often we witness the beauty of God's creation and yet hardly take notice. Perhaps our eyes are so spoiled we begin to take advantage of what we see and soon forget to see it altogether.
Today, for the first time in weeks, I bothered to lift my gaze from the ground at my feet. Yes, the sky was mostly overcast and yes, a slight wind blew. Yet even so were the trees majestically tall and thick. So were the rivers running rapidly, springing from the icy cold depths of the snowfields. Lower down, the green grass of meadows poked above the blankets of whiteness as the first of the spring blooms dared to lift their heads. Up higher, the cliffs hung with some so precariously. Just the slightest nudge it seemed and half the mountain would tumble down.
God created all of this. He etched the valleys, molded the mountains, drew the paths of the mighty rivers and built the rocky towers that rested so carefully in its place. He breathed out the blanketing clouds, and He lit the suns flame to keep us warm. Our God is so powerful and creative and He took the time to decorate this earth that He placed us on. He gave us beautiful places to call our home and every new day He paints a new canvas for us to enjoy. So smile today and lift up your eyes to this masterpiece, because never will there be another like it.