Humility in America
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 "do in" my shoulder. So for the first month I was home I don't really remember much because I was so busy and everything was kinda like a dream. After surgery I don't remember much but I have finally came out of my "post-surgery coma" phase and thought I would write about the different emotions I’ve had since returning home. My husband has been a saint...hold on a SAINT since I've returned home. When I first got home, I was very sad and felt lost as to what I was doing. The American culture and I had a hate relationship for the first few weeks. I got mad at myself alot, I got mad at other people alot, I got mad at America, and I got mad at Christians being so wrapped up in America. Then I went through the emotions of - I had a ministry and purpose in Niger to being back in the USA and I am doing nothing. That feeling got 10x’s worse when I had shoulder surgery. I have had to wear an immobilizer on my left arm since April 21. The bad side = I’m left handed so I’m even more immobilized ;) Since the surgery my husband has had to get me dressed, clean up vomit, brush my hair, tie my shoes, put my hair up in ponytails, cut my food for me, run back and forth to the store for ice and deal with my anger (at being immobilized), and the many many tears that came after the anger. I think at some point he might have wanted to send me back to Niger (ha ha) but he has been amazing. I told him after almost 9 years of being married (July 20) remember that the part in the vows about "for better or worse" well this is the worse part. I'm usually very independent and this has been a very humbling experience for me. I learned humility in Niger and now I've had a dose of it in America. Thank you God for keeping me humble so that I might depend on you!
Other issues Mike has had fun with is my clothing.....just this past week he and my good friend Liz finally told me I couldn't wear my African skirts anymore.....yeh I was still wearing them in America just with different tops and shoes but I like the skirts for a number of reasons. Reason to wear skirts: 1. They helped me remember Africa. They helped me remember the kids, and all the missionaries that are still there. 2. I wore skirts for 9 months and it feels very strange to wear jeans again....they are NOT comfortable and shorts feel weirdly immodest now. So anyways with the help of Liz I was able to wear my jeans in Nevada and have been wearing them since....the getting someone else to un and re button and zip your pants every time you go to the bathroom is a little annoying but I'm learning how to get over it.
I've been faced with other things back in the USA too. I've had problems feeling useless and not working. I can't work right now until July due to my shoulder surgery but besides that I went from being a missionary in a Muslim world and working for God to not doing anything. I don't have a ministry right now and maybe that is my ministry. To trust God and to WAIT. Learning to wait on God is another lesson from God that I still need to remember and learn daily…don’t get ahead of God. I have had the opportunity to go to two churches in my area and share my testimony and 171 slideshow about Niger. By sharing about Niger it has helped me feel like I'm still involved in Niger even though I'm still over here. One thing that I've began to tell myself is that I don't have to be in Niger to be a missionary. Although I would love to be with Mike in Africa full time very soon I've started looking at each opportunity here in the USA as a ministry opportunity and it has made a very big difference in the way I look at my life here. As Christians, we should be ministering in every possible way in our lives. If it is by visiting and praying with the sick, encouraging a Christian who is having a hard time, or spending time with a person who doesn't have anyone else to love them then that is what we should do. We should be a light to the darkness, we should shine Christ's love in this dark world that the devil loves to use to hurt and destroy Christians, and we should be the Lord's soldiers and pray through someone's hard time. I pray God will help me to do this daily!
I'm going to be at Crossway Ministries tomorrow night so please pray that God will lead me to say the right thing at the right time for the right person and that I will yield to the Spirit.
Please continue to pray for Niger, the ministries that are still going on in Niger, the missionaries and people sacrificing time with their families to serve God with the whole heart, and pray that the Muslim's hearts would be softened.
Please also pray for a close family member. She is a very special and caring person and she needs your prayer. Please pray God would reveal himself to her and the family in such a way that there is no mistaking his WILL. Pray for peace for the family and her and for her to feel God in a way that she has never felt his love and peace before in her life.
God Bless,
Stacey
P.S. Mike & I are both planning to go back to Niger on January 27 - February 5, 2012 as a mission trip. If anyone is seriously interested about going, please let me know.
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 "do in" my shoulder. So for the first month I was home I don't really remember much because I was so busy and everything was kinda like a dream. After surgery I don't remember much but I have finally came out of my "post-surgery coma" phase and thought I would write about the different emotions I’ve had since returning home. My husband has been a saint...hold on a SAINT since I've returned home. When I first got home, I was very sad and felt lost as to what I was doing. The American culture and I had a hate relationship for the first few weeks. I got mad at myself alot, I got mad at other people alot, I got mad at America, and I got mad at Christians being so wrapped up in America. Then I went through the emotions of - I had a ministry and purpose in Niger to being back in the USA and I am doing nothing. That feeling got 10x’s worse when I had shoulder surgery. I have had to wear an immobilizer on my left arm since April 21. The bad side = I’m left handed so I’m even more immobilized ;) Since the surgery my husband has had to get me dressed, clean up vomit, brush my hair, tie my shoes, put my hair up in ponytails, cut my food for me, run back and forth to the store for ice and deal with my anger (at being immobilized), and the many many tears that came after the anger. I think at some point he might have wanted to send me back to Niger (ha ha) but he has been amazing. I told him after almost 9 years of being married (July 20) remember that the part in the vows about "for better or worse" well this is the worse part. I'm usually very independent and this has been a very humbling experience for me. I learned humility in Niger and now I've had a dose of it in America. Thank you God for keeping me humble so that I might depend on you!
Other issues Mike has had fun with is my clothing.....just this past week he and my good friend Liz finally told me I couldn't wear my African skirts anymore.....yeh I was still wearing them in America just with different tops and shoes but I like the skirts for a number of reasons. Reason to wear skirts: 1. They helped me remember Africa. They helped me remember the kids, and all the missionaries that are still there. 2. I wore skirts for 9 months and it feels very strange to wear jeans again....they are NOT comfortable and shorts feel weirdly immodest now. So anyways with the help of Liz I was able to wear my jeans in Nevada and have been wearing them since....the getting someone else to un and re button and zip your pants every time you go to the bathroom is a little annoying but I'm learning how to get over it.
I've been faced with other things back in the USA too. I've had problems feeling useless and not working. I can't work right now until July due to my shoulder surgery but besides that I went from being a missionary in a Muslim world and working for God to not doing anything. I don't have a ministry right now and maybe that is my ministry. To trust God and to WAIT. Learning to wait on God is another lesson from God that I still need to remember and learn daily…don’t get ahead of God. I have had the opportunity to go to two churches in my area and share my testimony and 171 slideshow about Niger. By sharing about Niger it has helped me feel like I'm still involved in Niger even though I'm still over here. One thing that I've began to tell myself is that I don't have to be in Niger to be a missionary. Although I would love to be with Mike in Africa full time very soon I've started looking at each opportunity here in the USA as a ministry opportunity and it has made a very big difference in the way I look at my life here. As Christians, we should be ministering in every possible way in our lives. If it is by visiting and praying with the sick, encouraging a Christian who is having a hard time, or spending time with a person who doesn't have anyone else to love them then that is what we should do. We should be a light to the darkness, we should shine Christ's love in this dark world that the devil loves to use to hurt and destroy Christians, and we should be the Lord's soldiers and pray through someone's hard time. I pray God will help me to do this daily!
I'm going to be at Crossway Ministries tomorrow night so please pray that God will lead me to say the right thing at the right time for the right person and that I will yield to the Spirit.
Please continue to pray for Niger, the ministries that are still going on in Niger, the missionaries and people sacrificing time with their families to serve God with the whole heart, and pray that the Muslim's hearts would be softened.
Please also pray for a close family member. She is a very special and caring person and she needs your prayer. Please pray God would reveal himself to her and the family in such a way that there is no mistaking his WILL. Pray for peace for the family and her and for her to feel God in a way that she has never felt his love and peace before in her life.
God Bless,
Stacey
P.S. Mike & I are both planning to go back to Niger on January 27 - February 5, 2012 as a mission trip. If anyone is seriously interested about going, please let me know.
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