Freedom from fear

This morning, during my devotional time, I was reading todays entry in "Voices of the Faithful" by Beth Moore. The story was about a village in Central Africa. They had put ash on the roads leading into and out of their village because they believed it kept out a demon that killed people. The verse for today was Hebrews 2:14-15 -- "He himself likewise partook of the same nature, that through death he might destroy him who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage."

Jesus frees us from the fear of death! Because he came to Earth and died, we have no reason to fear death. Please pray that the people of Africa would come to know that Jesus can free them from their fear of spirits and death. Pray that they would realize that through Jesus and a saving relationship with him, they have no reason to fear. Jesus tells us in John that he is the resurrection and the life and that if we believe in him we will never die!

Flying and friends

I just wanted everyone to know that I arrived safely in Virginia and with all my luggage! All my flights were smooth - practically no turbulence. None of my bags were over 50 pounds either - they were about 49 pounds though!

I've gotten settled into my room and have met many new people. Everyone is very supportive and friendly. It is really great to be around like-minded people - people with the same goals and calling as me.

The only thing that is not agreeing with me is the weather. It is so cold! I turn the heat on in my rooom at night and when I walk to breakfast in the morning there is frost on the ground. In Louisiana and Mississippi, we don't see frost until January!

I've been staying pretty busy, but I will try and post again. Keep praying for everyone and for me!

air conditioning and electricity

For the past few months, I have been crashing at my parents house. It has been quite an experience, seeing as I have lived on my own since 2005! Anyways, the air conditioning has ceased to work today. Now, may I remind you that we live in southeast Louisiana, just north of New Orleans. In October, the temperature can reach up to the high 80's. (I wear flip-flops until December!) I figure that God is just preparing me for the heat of West Africa where air conditioning is scarce. I think that I got plenty of no air conditioning practice when the hurricane hit earlier this summer and left us with no electricity for three days.

That's another thing God has been preparing me for. In Africa, electricity can be pretty unreliable. I will never forget my first night there when I was ten. We had just flown in from France and we were staying with another missionary family. My brother, sister, and I had just settled in to go to sleep, when the electricity went out. This was a darkness I had never experienced before. I could literally not see my hand in front of my face.

Now, years later, as I think about this story, I think about the other kind of darkness that Africa is in. I got to experience that darkness at a young age when my family and I lived in Togo (which is not far from Senegal). Ever since that time, my heart has been burdened for the people of Africa. God has been preparing me my whole life for this one specific time period in my life. Please pray for the people of Africa - that they would see the light in a dark world.

Anyways, I enjoy sharing pictures and I thought I would share one of my pictures from France with everyone! I love anything and everything French and getting to return there early in June was a real treat. This is one of my very favourite places on this planet - Mont St. Michel. It is a beautiful abbey set on an island. The neat thing about the island is that there is a village that surrounds the abbey. There are shops galore and cafes with yummy sandwiches, crepes, and coffee. Oh, and I can't forget about Orangina! Yummy!

Space bags

I have a new love - space bags.

These things are amazing! You can pack, like, six sweaters in a medium sized space bag, suck all the air out of the bag with a vacuum, and watch your sweaters shrink to take up half the space they did before! Amazing!

I'm hoping these space bags will help me condense the clothing I need for eight weeks in the varying climate of Virginia into one large suitcase. For those of you who know me quite well, you will know that this will be quite an achievement. I am not known for being a light packer! Plus, the weather can change quite a bit from October to December. And one more thing, I am from southeastern Louisiana, where it never really gets that cold! Oh my!

But back to the space bags. I also have some large ones. I put a blanket, my black pea coat, and two sweatshirs in a large one, sucked all the air out, and proceeded to put it in my suitcase along with the two medium sized space bags full of sweaters. I still have half a suitcase left to pack everything else in! Can I do it? Yes, I can! I do believe that my challenge to have just one suitcase might be feasible.

Now, if my luggage can just make it the whole way. Last time I flew there, my suitcase was lost.

By the way, here is a cute picture of my new baby kitten, Buster. He roamed into my yard a week ago skinny, covered in fleas, and filthy. He is quite the spoiled baby now!

Getting started

In about two weeks, I head off to the great state of Virginia for eight weeks. I'm pretty excited. If you don't know, I havent' been working for a few months, so I'm ready for something to do!

This first post isn't going to be much, but once I head up to training and then Africa, I'll post frequent updates, prayer requests, etc here. Please subscribe to my posts and keep me updated on yourself! I am very grateful that I'll have excellent internet access in Senegal (DSL!!!), so I'm not going to be completely cut off from life in the USA.

Just in case you didn't know, I'm heading to Senegal, West Africa for two years to be a homeschool teacher.

Your prayers and support are greatly appreciated! Come back soon and I'll have another post. I'll also make sure to post fun pictures of me living in Africa (they should be interesting! Ha!).