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Friday, November 9, 2007
Thursday, November 8, 2007
What a trip! :)... I'm speechless (well, sort of)...
Hi everybody... well, I'm officially a slacker. It's taken me a week to write a post since we safely arrived back in America last Wednesday night (Halloween of all days). It's funny how easy it is to just get BUSY. Busy with work, busy with whatever, just busy with life. Honestly, 2 plus weeks in Africa seemed to me a whole lot longer than 2 plus weeks here ever does, and this first week back home definitely FLEW by. But it's really great to be home. It's great to see and talk to a lot of you who were praying for us while we were over there... and now, I owe everyone a wrap-up post and lots of pictures and the bottom line is: I've been a slacker but here it finally is :)
So as I've been reflecting on this amazing trip to Burkina Faso (and just how amazing our God is for blessing me with that experience!) since I've been back, it's honestly been hard to find the words and I'm not really sure what to say... so I'm going to share with you some of my last journal entry from our trip (written on the 31st):
"I love this day! This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it! This has been a great day full of 'travel mercies' - God is sovreign - He's made our travels smooth, safe & speedy, and at the moment Jason and I are 'high-browing' it in the Delta Airlines Crown Royal Club (Thanks Dad!) sipping coffee, doing the USA Today crossword puzzle, reading 'Streams' & waiting for our flight home to P-town from here in Hotlanta. The last 27 hours of travelling have gone pretty perfectly with only 8 to go! Man, 35 hours is a solid lil' journey, but I think we're wusses compared to Bible times when they hoofed it for days upon days through desert and stuff... we've got it so rough, we sit on a plane for 11 or so hours at a time, watch movies or read or sleep... the fun part's been getting through baggage and customs in all the African, non-English-speaking countries... all part of the adventure and I love it! :)
... before I write anymore I'm going to finish reading Romans 8... OK, wow, I just did :)
So much in that chapter, very rich, very awesome. 'Streams in the Desert' today was Romans 8:26-27: talking about how the Holy Spirit is able to intercede in prayer for us and pray for the will of God in our lives even when we don't have the words to pray ourselves - how cool is that??!! I also love how at the end of Ch. 8 it talks about how nothing can separate us from the Love of God! Nothing! Rom. 8:31: "If God is for us, then who can be against us?" As we live in the Spirit, "we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us" (verse 37).
And wow, verse 28: First, we're called according to His purpose; verse 29 says He foreknew us, and that He predestined us to be conformed to the image of His Son... and He keeps working on us, conforming us into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ! Thank you Lord! Keep working on me Father! I pray for eternal perspective Lord, I pray that my work this week is for Your Kingdom and I pray that the time I spend with people back home would be a blessing to them, I pray that You come first Lord and that my time spent getting to hang out with Christina and others is glorifying to You. God, I pray that I remember that You delight in even the smallest details of my life. Thank you for loving me unconditionally Lord Jesus, help me to love everyone like that!
Lord, if it's Your will, help me to grow and blossom the ministry in Burkina Faso to spread the Gospel and grow your Church there, that I would never forget to pray for these wonderful people. For the pastors I met (Daniel, Salomon, Marcel) their families, their health, their work to grow and expand the churches there, their church, school, and pastor training center building efforts. For rain, for food, for medicine, but most importantly that the Gospel, that the Word of God spreads like wildfire throughout Burkina Faso, throughout West Africa, throughout all of Africa, into Europe. Lord, my prayer is that the Gospel hits Europe like a tsunami, that the growth of the Christian church hits Europe and all would be saved!
Also Lord, if it's your will for a kids camp in Burkina Faso to happen in 2008, I pray that You would work out all the details and that could happen and that I could be a part of it :)
Thanks for this trip as the plane now descends into Portland, thank you so much for getting us home safely. I love you Lord!"
Well, as the trip continues to sink in as I get more time to reflect, I'm excited to share more with all of you as I get to see you. I just want to say again thank you SO much for all your thoughts, prayers, comments and support! I could not have made the trip without them. Praise God, He is Faithful and He always provides!
In Him,
Ryan
So as I've been reflecting on this amazing trip to Burkina Faso (and just how amazing our God is for blessing me with that experience!) since I've been back, it's honestly been hard to find the words and I'm not really sure what to say... so I'm going to share with you some of my last journal entry from our trip (written on the 31st):
"I love this day! This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it! This has been a great day full of 'travel mercies' - God is sovreign - He's made our travels smooth, safe & speedy, and at the moment Jason and I are 'high-browing' it in the Delta Airlines Crown Royal Club (Thanks Dad!) sipping coffee, doing the USA Today crossword puzzle, reading 'Streams' & waiting for our flight home to P-town from here in Hotlanta. The last 27 hours of travelling have gone pretty perfectly with only 8 to go! Man, 35 hours is a solid lil' journey, but I think we're wusses compared to Bible times when they hoofed it for days upon days through desert and stuff... we've got it so rough, we sit on a plane for 11 or so hours at a time, watch movies or read or sleep... the fun part's been getting through baggage and customs in all the African, non-English-speaking countries... all part of the adventure and I love it! :)
... before I write anymore I'm going to finish reading Romans 8... OK, wow, I just did :)
So much in that chapter, very rich, very awesome. 'Streams in the Desert' today was Romans 8:26-27: talking about how the Holy Spirit is able to intercede in prayer for us and pray for the will of God in our lives even when we don't have the words to pray ourselves - how cool is that??!! I also love how at the end of Ch. 8 it talks about how nothing can separate us from the Love of God! Nothing! Rom. 8:31: "If God is for us, then who can be against us?" As we live in the Spirit, "we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us" (verse 37).
And wow, verse 28: First, we're called according to His purpose; verse 29 says He foreknew us, and that He predestined us to be conformed to the image of His Son... and He keeps working on us, conforming us into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ! Thank you Lord! Keep working on me Father! I pray for eternal perspective Lord, I pray that my work this week is for Your Kingdom and I pray that the time I spend with people back home would be a blessing to them, I pray that You come first Lord and that my time spent getting to hang out with Christina and others is glorifying to You. God, I pray that I remember that You delight in even the smallest details of my life. Thank you for loving me unconditionally Lord Jesus, help me to love everyone like that!
Lord, if it's Your will, help me to grow and blossom the ministry in Burkina Faso to spread the Gospel and grow your Church there, that I would never forget to pray for these wonderful people. For the pastors I met (Daniel, Salomon, Marcel) their families, their health, their work to grow and expand the churches there, their church, school, and pastor training center building efforts. For rain, for food, for medicine, but most importantly that the Gospel, that the Word of God spreads like wildfire throughout Burkina Faso, throughout West Africa, throughout all of Africa, into Europe. Lord, my prayer is that the Gospel hits Europe like a tsunami, that the growth of the Christian church hits Europe and all would be saved!
Also Lord, if it's your will for a kids camp in Burkina Faso to happen in 2008, I pray that You would work out all the details and that could happen and that I could be a part of it :)
Thanks for this trip as the plane now descends into Portland, thank you so much for getting us home safely. I love you Lord!"
Well, as the trip continues to sink in as I get more time to reflect, I'm excited to share more with all of you as I get to see you. I just want to say again thank you SO much for all your thoughts, prayers, comments and support! I could not have made the trip without them. Praise God, He is Faithful and He always provides!
In Him,
Ryan
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