clair027

It's been a while since I've posted on our blog. There are many reasons. We've been blessed to spend time with our dear friends, the VHs, who were in country for their adoption. What a blessing for us! We've been without power sporadically which poses challenges for using the computer, charging our computer, and accessing the Internet. We've traveled to several outlying villages and most of these require a full day of time commitment. We've been meeting new people providing new contacts for work here. We've been meeting with other missionaries to see how/if we can come alongside them to assist with some things. We've been planning for outreaches and loving orphans holding them tightly when we are with them. Reid's been gathering documents, signatures, and approvals for his work permit. We've been unpacking boxes from our container. We've been busy. Mostly though, we've been seeking God. With all of these things I've listed ...

“The mission must never become greater than the Mission Giver - Jesus.” It’s been a while since I’ve been able to blog.  Some of the many reasons for my Internet absence has been no electricity, malaria, unpacking our container and trying to make our house a home, and, honestly, realizing my mission here at times is vastly different than what I’d expected. However, since my last post, God has done great and marvelous things for our family.   1.)  God is building our immune systems!  Reid was struck with malaria first, then Weston, then me.  This illness truly knocks people down.  For several days, I stayed in bed and could not be up for more than a few minutes because my head hurt so badly.  It was a declared time to rest - completely.  We were amazed by how people around us reached out to us to care for our family.  Our neighbors, the Devroys, helped us greatly with the boys.  They even bought ice packs for our fridge hoping to help sal...

Today we sent out our latest newsletter with an update on how God is moving in our lives.  It's such a privilege to share His Story and to know people care to read about what He's doing.  (If you are not receiving it, and would like to, please email me.)   It is such an encouragement when people jot a quick sentence or two of encouragement and send it to us.  Many days those surprise emails are life giving!  Or when I have a post on Facebook and friends say, "We're praying for you."  Or when one of us writes a blog post, and someone says, "Hey, we're with you.  Keep saying YES to Jesus."  These things remind us that all of God's people are a part of His work around the globe, and honestly when we know people are praying, we FEEL THEM!  Your words of encouragement spur us onward!  So, thank you to people who pray, who send encouragement, and those who let us know we are not alone.  We are grateful. For today's newsletter, our son, W...

I'm reading about all of the families in Tennessee without power.  Numerous posts on Facebook let me know to pray for power to be restored.  And, I am praying.  Especially for elderly people and families with little ones.  Living without electricity is challenging. So many things going on in my heart right now, do I dare share?  Am I willing to be vulnerable? Struggling with the answer.... Hmmmm.... Yes, I will write it.  (I hope you encountered the emotional tension I am feeling.) In America, when our family lost power due to storms, we always tried to make it fun.  The boys would play games.  After a terrible storm in High Point, we had friends come live with us for a week while their home was without power.  When I was little, I remember sleeping by the fireplace for a few nights while the snow kept the power off.  I remember being creative in my cooking in order to feed our family when electricity was not an option.    For ...

It would be silly to give the height of our attention and the exuberance of our celebration to the Olympic trials – they are only a foretaste of the real thing. It would be foolish of us to spend a week staying at the coast watching videos of people enjoying the beach and return home to say that we had a great time at the ocean without ever having gotten any sand between our toes or salt-water on our skin. The Spirit of God teaches us the same things about religious observances which are like mere shadows (Col 2:17) of the Person they signify. The main thing is Jesus but we miss him altogether if we give the substance of life to  "Christian"  habits. Jesus has given us commands that are to be obeyed but if we do not enjoy the person of Jesus intimately through His Holy Spirit, we are trying to enjoy a relationship with the shadow of a person while convincing ourselves that we really know Jesus personally. Without the fellowship of the Spirit of Jesus (Acts 16:7, 2 Cor 13:14),...

Today has been a great day.  I was at home with the boys for most of the day.  We went for a walk this morning, and then spent the afternoon making some "American" dishes to take to a July 4th party hosted by our friends at City of Refuge . With the challenge of finding American commodities to cook with, our family took green jello, fried potatoes, sweet tea and rice krispie treats -which were an enormous hit.  (So, please send more marshmallows!) Tonight we gathered with other American families serving here in Ghana to celebrate the Fourth of July.  I kept pinching myself because I couldn't believe that we are in Ghana, West Africa celebrating our country's Independence Day.    We gathered and prayed for our nation.  We prayed for the leaders and the upcoming elections.  We prayed for people to steward their blessings to help others.  We prayed for our families back home.  We prayed for the wildfires spreading in the west.  We pray...

There are several neighborhood children who hang out at our house a lot.  Kofe, Prince, Jospeh, Nana, and Kate are with us nearly everyday. Yesterday, we were gone for most of the day.  Within five minutes of coming home, there was a knock at our gate with five pairs of wide eyes peering over the metal bars, hoping for an invitation.  We invited them in and the kids played "capture the flag" for a while. Soon it started raining.  I used the "down time" opportunity to get to know them better.  I asked about school, what they liked to read, what they enjoyed doing, etc... One of my questions was, "Where do you go for fun?" Guess what their answer was? "Here," they said.  "Here?  Our house?" "Yes," they said.  In my mind, I couldn't believe that our home was the only place they could name where they went to have fun.  Wow!  What a responsibility we have for the community where we live.  I hope God will continue to lead us her...