We Long For You

I read this yesterday and couldn't help but to share.

"All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord; and all the families of the nations shall worship before him. For dominion belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations. To him, indeed, shall all who sleep in the earth bow down; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, and I shall live for him."

Psalm 22: 27-29

Reflecting on the Past

Tomorrow marks my half way point...I'm at a loss for words. I feel like I have never encountered and experienced so much in my life more than I have here, in just THREE months! It's hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that I arrived here on January 6th and spent a month in South Africa, sailed for two weeks and stayed in Cape Town for a little and have three months left in Sierra Leone. I am so thankful and beyond blessed to have been kept healthy and safe. I asked myself recently what have I learned thus far? Thought I'd share with you :)

1. The importance of stillness and silence. As a child, well, more like till the day before I left for this trip, my mother would ALWAYS annoyingly say to me, "Claire slow down! You are always in a rush! Stop and count to ten." Yes, it frustrated me but now I hate to say it but, she was right. HA Can't believe I just admitted that..I must be getting sick.

It's true though, there's something about just taking a minute whether in prayer or just sitting. In 1 Timothy it says, "We were called to lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity." How can we hear the gentle voice of God when here in Africa its over populated, people going non-stop, horns never to be silent.

"Do not adorn yourselves outwardly by braiding your hair, and by wearing gold ornaments or fine clothing; rather, let your adornment be the inner self with the lasting beauty of a GENTLE and QUIET spirit, which is very precious in God's sight." 1 Peter 3:3-4

2. How hungry and thirsty people are to feel loved yet, no matter the circumstance they will rejoice and be joyful. The living conditions here are so much worse than I expected and do they complain? No. It's humbling to interact with the people here and I just wish that half of their joy would rub off on me. I love this country and know the Lord is at work.

3. Blessed to live in Charlotte, NC. Beyond blessed that I have a Father and Mother who love God and each other. Beyond blessed that I have such great relationships with my older brother, Kyle and my younger sister, Emily.

4. "I want to go as far away from you as possible and I won't even miss you!!" Yep, this is what I would shout to my parents while we would be in the middle of an argument for something that was my fault. I suppose Africa is far enough..and ummmm I miss my family like crazy. Haha it's funny looking back now and realizing that God was at work then and still is now. Mom, correct me if I'm wrong but, I'm pretty sure we send at least 5 emails throughout the week and I call once a week. It makes my day when my Dad calls the front desk not knowing if I'm working or not and I say, "Africa Mercy. This is reception. How may I help you?" "Claire?" he says. Haha :)

5. I LOVE to read & discovered that here. My friends call me the book worm. Kyle used to always tell me that I could never read...it took time yet, feels so good to get back into his face!

6. THANKFUL. I have more than enough to be thankful for. I'm overwhelmed.

7. I love mangoes and the art in which you cut them to eat! SO fun! Oh, and the pineapple here is UNBELIEVABLE!

What's to come...

I just got involved in a small group and we'll be going through the Beth Moore "Loving Well" bible study! Also, next week I have the opportunity to watch a surgery!! And as usual more roommates leaving and more coming, its never ending.

Thats all for now friends :) Happy half-way!

Sweet, Sweet Goodbyes

The time has come. I have to say goodbye to a great friend, Adele. She leaves tomorrow and is off on to her next adventure, exploring through Europe. I am so excited for her and know she will have a great time but, I'm also very sad.

Yes, this is our feet/shins after a lovely game of soccer in Africa. Our roommates really love us when we walk in right after they have just cleaned the cabin :)

Who will I laugh with till I'm nausea? Who will play soccer with me and all the guys? Who will I bake with? Who will I have real conversations with? Who will make me more domesticated? Who will make fun of me and call me Edith?

She and I truly connected by both of us being 18 and taking this year after graduating as a gap year and exploring the world and ourselves. Adele and I have many great memories together and I cannot wait to go visit her in Canada! I know the Lord will use her for great things and I truly look up to her. Goodbye crazy 4418 roommate :(

Um..Excuse Me?

As Adele and I were roaming the markets, bargaining for fabric and soccer jerseys we came across a very interesting man. He looks at me and says,"Hello. How are you?" I reply nicly and turn away trying to keep moving. About 5 minutes later that same man runs up to me grabbing my hand and says, "Hello, are you married?" My  facial expression was who knows what but, I turned to Adele and just looked at her, speechless. She responds for me saying,"Yes, she is married and I am as well." We turned and walked away.

My friends had told me that it was very normal in West Africa to be asked such questions and to not worry if someone randomly comes to you and says," Will you be my wife?" Haha it just seems so silly to me. Never in the culture back home would you encounter as such a thing as this. Marriage back home is much more serious and intimate than it is here.

As I begin to get acquainted with this major cultural difference, I promise you Dad that I will not come home married :)

Softening Heart

As I was sitting behind the desk late at night, bored, I asked myself the question…are we interested in reaching the people not only sitting out there in the villages of Freetown? What will we do for those back home? When those here receive that “golden ticket” that says we can do surgery on their bow leg, cleft lip, goiter we share the love of Christ with them. What about those in the city of Charlotte? We need to be aware of those out there in our own backyard searching for their “golden ticket” and desperate to receive hope and healing. One of the things I’ve already learned and been encouraged with when I come home in July is to share the love of Christ. I feel as if before my experience here, in my mind, I wanted to help those in need but my heart was not there. My heart has deepened for those who are desperate to be loved.

Rekindling With an Old Friend

This past Sunday a group of twelve guys or so and my room mate Adele and I, went out to play some soccer. I cannot tell you how amazing it was to play again. It's been a year since I've actually played so, I was very worried that I would make a fool of myself in front of these African guys who are incredible at the game. Thankfully I managed to actually keep my feet on the ground rather than be on the ground, surprise to you Dad..I know ;) Ah it feels so great to play the game again!

As you walk inside the gate to the dirt area, our so-called field, all the children just run to you and hold your hand saying ,"Hello! Hello! What is your name?". They are so precious. I wish you could see for yourself.

Soon, I will bring my camera out there and upload some photos!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Getting To Know Our New Country

As we departed the port at 6:15am on Saturday with bananas and bread in each hand, we were off to explore the land of Sierra Leone. I would say that this was one of those excursions where is was pure exploring. There are only two main roads (dirt ground) so, with not many options we figured it would just be fun to drive and stop at places that seemed interesting.

Stop 1: After having to manually shift into 4 wheel drive to conquer a very steep hill, we arrived at the Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Sanctuary. Now let me tell you, these monkey's were ridiculous. I suppose this stop was more like take a look, laugh, stretch your legs and cram back into the Land Rover.

Stop 2: Just down the road we discovered this gorgeous dam. This may have been the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen. As we walked across the dam, surrounded by the lovely hills and trees of this country, in awe of creation and how there is nothing like that feeling you have as you walk outdoors. My love for the outdoors was greatly deepened at that moment. Seeing the pure reflection in the water of the clouds in the blue sky and the lush greens hills made me so thankful that I have eyes to see, a nose to smell, ears to hear, and a mouth to taste expeditions as this.

Stop 3-5: All three of these stops consisted of finding random beaches and checking them out. Just remember, we're basically just driving where ever we see some sort of path and going with our gut that a beach is near in sight. As we drive through many people are out in their village just relaxing and are excited to show us their land and tell us all about it. The first beach was gorgeous...well, they all are really. See for yourself..when I post them ;)

Stop 6: This beach, Kent Beach, was seriously like one of those that you dream of. Unreal. A deserted beach, it was just the 20 of us enjoying a relaxing day in the clear blue water. We actually had to change into our suits in one of the little huts! So cool haha. They brought out plates of homeade rice and fesh baracuda with its teeth showing...so crazy!

All in all, I would say we were successful in our expedition and enjoyed a relaxing day after a full two weeks of non-stop chaos here on the ship.

Tozer..What a Brilliant Man

" The yearning to know what cannot be known, to comprehend the incomprehensible, to touch and taste the unapproachable, arises from the image of God in the nature of man. Deep calleth unto deep, and though polluted and landlocked by the mighty disaster theologians call the Fall, the soul senses its origin and longs to return to its source."

Through the Streets of Africa

I feel as if this is the part in my journey where it is hard to express what I smell, see, hear..all that I experience. It's almost as if I cannot emotionally connect with anyone back home anymore. The scents that make your nose squinch as you walk the dusty streets, the sights you see as people seem to just trample ontop of one another, and hearing the sweet voice of the children as we leave the port gate and enter into the city as they all say, "Hello, Hello!" will never bring such joy to anyone unless you can experience it for yourself.

Yes, I feel way out of my comfort zone. Yes, I've never felt so many eyes staring at me. Yes, it's scary being a little white blonde girl walking the streets, truly defines a minority here in Freetown.

But, being surrounded by such poverty and such beautiful friendly people that live out there in the villages has truly shown me the love of Christ and the amazing work he has planned for us here. I'm ready.

SIERRA LEONE

Here are just a few photos that I took as we entered into the city of Freetown, Sierra Leone!

Please keep the people of Sierra Leone in your prayers. Thank you so much for all of your support!

Hopefully there will be more photos to come but, we are told its not very smart to take our camera's out into the markets and villages. It's a whole new world out there friends. Unbelievable.