The Story God Wrote For Me

June 6, 2011 @ 10:48pm One sunny day a fisherman walked to a little pond and sat down. He didn’t do anything but just  watched the surface of the little pond, he watched the tiny minnows swimming just below the surface, he watched the big fish jump and leap up in the air and watched them smack the surface as their weight drove them back down to the depths. He watched the birds soar high above, and he watched the snake in the grass that was watching him. He watched the whole pond and then he got off and walked away.  Just below the surface one little fish named Barnabus stopped suddenly and looked up towards the dark shadow that fell over the pond......"oh, just that funny looking tree again” but he ignored it and he kept swimming and playing with his friend. That night he went home and his momma told him that he needed to stop playing all day long and he needed to start paying attention to the way the pond was changing. It isn't safe for you anymore, you are getting b

Hello Friends, It has been an interesting past 57 days in the USA. I returned home (AL) from Niger, West Africa on March 20, 2011. The first 4 days I spent time at different revivals that were going on in different churches. I left for my sister's bridal shower party for 2 days, returned back to Andalusia and had 4 days filled with doctor appointments, getting ready and filing taxes and then returned to Atlanta for a 8 days for my sister's wedding and babysat my adorable niece and nephew while my sister went on her honeymoon. Then I returned home for a day then left for a sound/lighting job in New Orleans with Mike, after 3 days, I returned home went and had a MRI and another doctor’s appointment with my surgeon and then the next week I had surgery on my left shoulder. Apparently, I really did "bring it" to my P90X Yoga X disc and I managed to tear my glenoid labrum in my left shoulder about 3 weeks before I left Niger. That plus a few other things managed to "

March 21, 2011 So an update from the “home front”. I attempted to leave Niger as scheduled on March 18 but after about 2 plus hours in the Air France booking office I didn’t get to leave as scheduled. My travel agent booked my return flight home when he booked my original flight to leave back in April of 2010. I had already confirmed my flight back with the Air France website, their customer service and I had already been assigned a seat (44A) in my name but they said they didn’t have a ticket number for me so therefore they couldn’t let me board……crazy! I learned one lesson…….I thought I was a stubborn person but Africans beat me in the stubborn range…. Very disappointing and maddening since it was a simple mistake on Air France’s part and should have been fixed ASAP. So I went back home and just prayed. I’m a firm believer in the saying there is a reason and a purpose for everything so I just had to stand strong and believe that Jesus had a reason. The next morning my supervisor a

Where do I start? I’m leaving Niamey in exactly 25 hours. I will arrive in Paris on March 18th and will be staying there for 3 days. I will arrive in ATL on Monday around 4:00pm (GA time). Depending on how tired I am and how late it is I will probably stay in Newnan with Daddy and be leaving for Andalusia by Tuesday AM. So I hope to see all of you very soon, Lord Willing. When God first told me to come to Niger, I could have never imagined what all would take place once I arrived. I have learned so much and part of me is terrified that when I get back home to the States I will forget what I’ve learned and who I have become. I’ve had trials but my faith in God has grown stronger than ever and I love my Savior more now than I did before I came out to this desert. The hardest trial I had in Niamey was the malaria. I first “obtained” malaria in late August and had it reoccur for the months of September, October, and November. I joke around and call them Malaria #1, #2, #3, and #4 but ho

So I am leaving Niger 2 weeks from today. I am already feeling the stress and rush out the American lifestyle and I have not even made it back yet. This week I have had to deal with my bank account being short of some money and trying to figure out why and how, after secure emails, phone calls, and it still isn't worked out and nobody can tell me what happened to the check. Pray it is worked out soon because missing money stresses me out BIG TIME. Then I found out today that my P.O. Box that I've had for 12 years is needing me to come in and update some information, and only the box holder can update this information and bring in 2 forms of identification and if I don't come in then my P.O. Box is going to be closed......urghhh....then I’m trying to get my taxes ready because I won't have time to work on them once I get home and I have to file them 2 days after I land and trying to deal with all of this right now isn't really working for me so can we just hit the Am

My days in Niger are waning...29 days left,...I’m moving in with my friend, Kat on Monday. I think if I ever had a twin sister that she would have been the perfect one :) I have not even begun to pack yet. I'm a last minute kind of girl when it comes to packing....Michael got on to me many times about not packing for Niger. I think I started packing on Saturday and I left Tuesday headed for ATL and left Wednesday for Niger...but I think better under pressure at times. So moving again I began to think of how many times I have moved in my life......I have moved 9 times in the US and 4 times in Niger.....he he...so I am an expert packer by now...my husband just didn't realize it :) BUT I have already began giving away stuff so my packing shouldn't be anything like it was when I moved into this beautiful little apartment in September. I am proud to say that some African women will be sporting my American shirts and African skirts/outfits :) I have alot of stuff still to give aw

Hello my friend, Today was a different type of day. I was faced with decisions that normally would be easy to make but today I had a hard time trying to figure out the answer. Simple normal questions found me in moments of duh! I don't know what I'm doing....and I am normally not like that......here are some of the simple questions that left me feeling "duh"..... • How many groceries should I buy? I have to move in less than 2 weeks and I don't know where exactly I am moving for sure yet so how much stuff do I want to move down the hill or to the other potential place? • How much money should I take out of the ATM? I am selling my motorcycle so I will have CFA's in March but what about for rent, food, and the rest of stuff for February and March until I leave. Balancing and budgeting money in another currency is slightly weird and confusing at times! ;) • How much stuff should I go ahead and give away (ex: African clothes, and left over stuff I brought fr

Today has been a very thought filled day. I’m sitting outside looking at the beautiful sunset in 95 degree heat with birds flying and chirping all around me. I’m blessed to be able to be here in Africa. All day long, I am reminded of how much Jesus Christ loves me and everywhere I look, I see proof of HIS love. I only wish the people here in Niger and the lost people of the whole world could see that Jesus Christ loves them and is helping them even though they do not know it yet. But that is why I am here isn’t it? Why? Jesus created me and he planned the calling for my life. Jesus knew I would be here in Niger for 9 months before I was even formed in my momma’s belly (Jeremiah 1:5). I couldn’t have planned it myself and I definitely couldn’t have made it in my life by myself. Many people I know thought I would not make it here in Niger. They were right, I did not make it by myself, Jesus Christ was there in front of me leading and guiding each step. He is my strength, my hope and the

First, I have to apologize for my lack of blogging the past month. Michael arrived in Niamey on December 17, 2010 and stayed until January 13, 2011. We had an awesome and amazing time together here and I was sad when he left. However, Michael & I both know that whatever God is asking us to do is so much better than what we could want for ourselves so we trust God completely and we have peace. During his time in Niger, Michael was able to minister with Kimberly and me at kids club. The children loved his singing and his guitar and have missed Michael and his guitar since he left Niger. We also did a lot of computer repair work and networking stuff at the school while he was here which has helped me out a lot. We were able to go and spend the night with the Stokes in a village. We had a translator to help speak to the people and I was blessed to have the opportunity to tell a Bible story to the children of the village. Michael was able to “try” some real village food and somehow he d