Church

Attended church in yaounde at the Hilton Hotel.  The church is an international church attended by many missionaries from all different church backgrounds.  It’s not a typical African church, which is probably one of the reasons we attended today, in that it runs on a schedule much like we would find here in America.  Drew and I were both struck during the message, which was on living outside your comfort zone, how different that would have been heard back in Minnesota.  Here we were surrounded by people who have left their comfort of family, homes, jobs and are living in a foreign country.  In my opionion, these people are living far outside their comfort zone and yet they still needed to hear that message.  In discussing this with Drew, it seems that our comfort is more a “spiritual” place rather than just the physical needs we think of.  Anytime we are in a place where we do not need to rely on God’s help but rather our own efforts, we are living in a place of comfort.  I know that before the day was over I would experience just a little of being completely dependent on God, but I will save that for another blog.

                                                                                                                                              

A fun thing that happened at church today just showed me how God really does care about us as individuals and He loves to indulge us in the things we take delight in.  Our niece Kaley is a student at St. Kate’s University and lives with our family.  She is part of this mission team and will be staying with us in Ndu for 2 weeks.  This trip is far outside Kaley’s comfort zone, she had never even been in an airport before leaving last Thursday.  At times leading up to this trip I wondered if this was even a good fit for Kaley for a few different reasons.  One reason I questioned whether Africa was a good fit is that Kaley hates hot weather – but now that we are heading to Ndu she will no longer have to endure the heat and humidity.  The other thing that made me wonder if this was a good fit is that Kaley is completely obsesses with Asian culture – specifically Korean.  She has been teaching herself Korean and when her studies allow, she spends hours watching Korean variety shows and reality Tv on her computer.  Kaley would love to go to Korea someday and maybe even teach there when she is finished with school. Needless to say, I wasn’t sure how Africa was part of God’s plan for Kaley but I have been so excited to see her step out in faith and join us.  Imagine my delight (and Kaley’s), when we walked into this little fellowship of believers and the worship leader was a young Korean man.  I almost laughed out loud when he shared between the songs about not being “freaked out” but completely trusting God wherever He takes you.  If you know Kaley even a little, you know she uses the term “freaked out” quite frequently – probably because many things freak her out, like bugs, heat, people she doesn’t know touching her or invading her personal space (all the things you find in Africa).  It made me smile when I envisioned God going to such care to speak directly to the heart of my niece.  It blows my mind how much God loves us and wants to bless us.