Do I have what it takes?

Do I have what it takes? It’s a question I had before I left the states and it is still the main question after a year of being in Africa. It's a question that's shaped my past, and I think it will be a question that has the power to shape my present and my future.

I have a hunch that I'm not the only one. You and I don’t just ask ourselves this question, we spend our time trying to look for evidence of the answer. We look at the results of our work or relationships and we critique ourselves about the quality of our results. If we don’t find flawless execution and better-than-average results, we begin to critique our personalities, skill levels, and our natural abilities.

We find things that could have been done better if one of these things were different. We look at ourselves and notice we aren't perfectly suited for what we do today. We might look for something we are better at. We might start to avoid situations that make us uncomfortable. If we are really “spiritual,” we pray for God to improve us.

Soon, our gifts and talents are our Lord instead of Jesus.  

Do I have what it takes? That is not a question we need to answer. It’s a question we need to go to war against. It's a question in direct opposition at times with the question we should be asking.

We should be asking, "What does God want to do in our lives? What is he calling us too?"

Beloved, it's not even about the results. We are off track from the beginning if we think God wants more from us: more results, more success, or more impact. Jesus doesn’t want more from us, He wants more of us. He wants us to be consumed with Him because He designed us to be consumed by Him. When we are consumed by Him, we bring Him the most joy and we ourselves receive the most joy.

He wants to lead us to places where we will find more of Him not to find a more significant life. He wants us to stop trying to find the way we can bring him the most success and start trying to find the way we can find the most of Him 

The application of this differs slightly from person to person, but all followers of Jesus are, by nature, missionaries. We can stop asking if we are good missionaries and start asking instead, "Lord, where should we go? Lord, who should we talk to? And Lord, What do you want us to say to them?"

My guarantee is this: He will lead us not to comfortable places but to ones filled with more joy and more Jesus. 

God has us here for a reason

The last three months in Africa have been filled with illnesses and sicknesses that the Pierce family has never encountered stateside--funky, not-so-familiar names like Giardia, Amoebic Dysentery, and now Brucellosis.  As painful and inconvenient as these yucky bugs are, they pale in comparison to the suffering around us.  

My heart breaks when I see children walking around with poorly healed limbs, now debilitated, because they had to lie in bed while their bones healed improperly without a cast. Malnourished children, thyphoid, and tuberculosis are common. Men, women, and children die of unknown diseases, malnutrition, and complications that can’t be resolved.

I see the terrible suffering of these people each day. I want to do more. I want to give more. And maybe the Lord is asking me to. When I put it before the Lord, I can’t help but see a bigger picture.

As long as governments continue to worship the idols of power and wealth, and their allegiance is not to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords--wars and famine will happen. Medical development and farming will be limited due to instability and corruption. More and more people will die. Displacement and instability will limit access to basic medical care and sanitary living conditions.

Near the refugee camps in Ethiopia, housing is scarce. Families pile other displaced family members into their mudhuts, so when one person gets sick, everyone gets sick. I am brought to tears as tragedy continues to unfold before me. But the answer isn’t better healthcare. BILLIONS of Billions of dollars are sent to countries just like South Sudan every year to help save lives and improve access to healthcare. Why isn’t the aid working? We know the answer. This battle is not against flesh and blood. 

Why would we invest two years or more of our lives here unless we had hope? Hope that we might have the opportunity to serve, love, and disciple a few South Sudanese men and women. Hope that those who don’t know Him might come to know our only hope, Christ Jesus. Hope that those who DO know Christ as Lord might be encouraged that, despite the suffering and sorrow they are enduring, they are born again into a living hope that cannot be destroyed by war or famine.

Please join us in prayer for South Sudan. For the leaders. For the soldiers. For the widows. For the orphans. For the dying. For the lost.

God has us here for a reason. Despite the sadness and grief that we see and experience here, we are blessed to be here. We are blessed to war in prayer for this nation, for these people, and to gather you with us in this fight. Thank you for your support.

“Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the tactics of the Devil.  For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens.”

Ephesians 6: 11-12

We are just "Regular" Missionaries

In January, while in Kampala, we had the amazing joy of meeting with other refugee missionaries that had been working in South Sudan. We got to spend time with them in prayer for the South Sudanese people that we love so much.

But a question kept coming up as I was introduced to different people.

"What do you do there?"

An innocent question, but granted most of them were doctors or in charge of orphanages. They had, what I perceived to be, “real jobs."

“Ummm…” I would begin to respond. “We are just regular missionaries. We drill water wells and have radio towers that share the gospel through Bible stories, but my main focus is discipleship.”

They were always so excited and would talk about the need for discipleship in South Sudan. But somewhere in the back of my mind I felt small. I had to fight Satan's lies that my job wasn’t as important because I wasn’t a doctor or nurse.

In the midst of the trials, God continues to push us into beautiful discipleship relationships. As I was walking home this week with some new friends, Nyateth and Nyamulan, a child with special needs passed us by. I clearly heard the Lord say, “Go back. Pray for her."

I immediately obeyed, but not without questioning. “Lord, surely you aren’t wanting me to pray for healing. Do I have that much faith?” I began to pray and the Lord led me to pray blessings and protection over her--that she would know the love of her heavenly father and that others would love her in the same way.

That was it.

The girls were a little shocked that I would turn us back to pray for her. Nyateth and Nyamulan are teenagers. They enjoy spending time with us and it seems that they look up to the ladies on the team like big sisters.

This is what I do in Africa. I just live. And God uses it. He uses it to demonstrate his love for someone who might not always feel loved.  He uses our lives to demonstrate to James our guard what it means for Jared to love his wife and children well. He uses it to demonstrate forgiveness, as I have to ask for it often. It’s our lives on display to a watching people. It’s His light in us, shining in the darkness.

What a privilege we have! It’s an honor, and it’s beautiful.

You have the same privilege. Jesus calls us to make disciples. This is no menial task. It’s our lives, and--ultimately--it’s the eternal lives of others.

Be encouraged, beloved. He is worthy!

Life Without Clean Water

We arrived in Western Ethiopia, only to find that the housing arrangements we had made were no longer an option. We quickly had to find housing in a town overflowing with NGO workers.

There was only one option. We booked the rooms and started moving in. We quickly found several disappointments in the rooms, but the biggest one was that the water wasn’t working. Now, we are professionals at living without plumbing. But in Nasir, we have this beautiful thing called a water well.

Day one, the water we were brought looked clean. We bathed with it and began filtering it for drinking water.

Day two, the water we were brought was brown. Very, very brown.

The water had come from the river. The river that hundreds of people bathe in daily. Cars are washed in it, and occasionally you’ll see a herd of cattle bathing in it. And I’m sure you can imagine all of the other lovely things one would find in such a busy body of water.

What were we to do? It is the dry season here and water supplies are running low. “It should rain in a few days,” the staff at the guest house told us. So we braced ourselves and went a few days without bathing.

By God's grace, it did in fact rain.

During that interim period we purchased bottled water to do the daily necessities like brushing teeth and, of course, staying hydrated in 110 degree weather. But what about everyone else? In a place where bottled water costs more money than coca cola, we were fortunate. Not everyone here is as fortunate as we are.

We rarely get to see such a vivid picture of life without clean water. But this week, we did.

We appreciate more the work of Every Village and other organizations that work to bring clean water to people. Lives are saved because of it. Lives are saved over something I have taken for granted.

If you are the person who helps raise money for water wells, or if you are the person writing the check, thank you! We are so grateful for those that sacrifice to give the gift of water. 

God of Miracles

A few months ago in South Sudan, Brooke (my two-year-old) and I were hanging in a hammock. Abruptly, the string holding the hammock up snapped and we fell from about three to four feet above the ground. Brooke got out without a scratch. I had terrible pain in my tailbone, spine, and hip.

Because the clinic wasn’t easy to get to, I decided to give it a few days and see if it healed on its own. The pain was excruciating and only seemed to get worse. I stayed in bed for two full days, but on the third day, the pain was nearly gone.

A few days ago, another accident occurred. I found Brooke trying to climb down the stairs that has just been mopped. I scolded her and warned her that she could fall and get hurt. I swiftly picked her up and, at that very moment, we both went sliding down the staircase--her head hitting every step.

Miraculously, Brooke escaped with just a small bump on her forehead. My fate didn’t look as promising. My hand was badly mangled and fingers weren’t pointed in normal directions. The X-ray technician said it looked bad. The British doctor with 30-plus years of experience said I definitely had one, possibly two bones broken in my hand. Then the X-rays came back. “Did they x-ray the correct hand?” the doctor asked. Indeed they had. Second miracle of the day--I had escaped the fall with some bruising and swelling, but NOTHING broken.

1. Our God is one of miracles. If you need a miracle today, no matter how big or small, call on some brothers or sisters and have them pray with you. Let's lift one another up, encourage one another and ask God to show us His power.

2. I grew up without my father. It wasn’t the ideal situation, but God is our perfect father. He is there when we fall. In the small falls and the big ones. If you don’t know God as father, ask Him to show you. I pray that you will know Him as He is. One of perfect love, perfect strength, one who is passionate about you!

3. This is for parents: As I slid down the stairs with Brooke in my arms, every part of me wanted to protect her from the fall. But there was nothing I could do. The situation was completely out of my control. We don’t have control of our kids, but praise God that they are His. Let’s be faithful to shepherd them, care for them, and love them well. But at the end of the day, they are His children. Praise God! The perfect father, who looks after His sheep. He’s bigger, stronger and greater than anything I can offer them in my own flesh. 

Waiting

We wait and we watch. We wait as fragile peace is compromised. We are forced to watch as innocent people are abused and killed by those fighting for power.

As I watch, ceasefire or not, I see only one solution.

One way that South Sudan will be changed. One way it can be saved.

Of course it’s the gospel, but just to be more specific--I am not just talking about individuals being rescued from their sin and missing out on the punishment of that sin. I mean the gospel lived out in lives. I mean the kingdom advanced so completely in human hearts that they forgive the unforgivable. I mean people knowing Jesus to the extent that they don’t need other things. I mean that they know the fullness of Jesus and don't need more revenge, power, significance, or money.

Personally, I have days where I feel the undertow of all of those “more” desires in myself and have little hope of ever seeing these things happen. I also have days where I can feel the strength of the Spirit in me and I know that it already has satisfied me.

I have hope for the people of South Sudan because it is never too late and it is never too far gone. I know this because of my own story and because of the stories from scripture.

I have hope for South Sudan because our God is not only big enough, He has done it before.

I have hope for South Sudan because I know the power of the gospel to transform.

As you pray with us for the nation of South Sudan and her people, pray with faith-filled confidence.

Pray with hope. Pray with the awareness of the power and majesty of our King.

LOVE

LOVE,  I want to tell you about what He’s been showing us about His love for us and His love for others.

God loves you and me. This BIG God came in the flesh to a pain-filled world, becoming the perfect sacrifice and taking our punishment for sin.

I know the beautiful and precious story of the gospel very well. It’s the only story I hear over and over again that can still bring tears to my eyes.

As God has been showing me His desire for me to live a life as a servant, He took me to the cross.

Philippians 2:5-8

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God,
 did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing
 by taking the very nature of a servant,
 being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man,
 he humbled himself
 by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!

It was in His love for us that He humbled himself. And so as I was seeking a formula for how to become a humble person, he showed me.

It is loving others. 

Now how in the world am I supposed to do that? How can I love someone sacrificially as Christ did? We know that it’s Christ in us loving others. But I wanted to know what specifically is keeping this hindered in my life. 

And then He showed me.

I can’t love others sacrificially until I better grasp His love for me. I have this idol of self, which just won’t go away. He loves you and me perfectly. He loves us better than we love ourselves. When I get that, I can let go of trying to protect myself and love others freely. 

I want that! Don’t you?

I’m praying: God, help me to better know your love for me. Help me to let go of myself so I’m freed up to love others. And then Lord, FILL me with your love. May it pour out, may it overflow.