Thursday, July 25, 2013

Girl Power

Culture. It is a strong force. It influences our behavior, shapes our daily life, and even is a foundational part of our identity. Culture can shape us in a lot of ways. Often times, it is shaping us in ways we are not even aware of because it just seems so normal, so common, that’s just how everyone lives. Other times we may be very aware of the pressure to conform to our culture’s standards of beliefs and behaviors.

The pressure on teenage girls to find their worth in their ability to be attractive to boys is a prime example. I’m seeing more and more that this place is no exception to that pressure. It is not uncommon for girls here to have a child at a young age and even to be married at a young age, and thus forcing them to drop out of school. There are many reasons for these things; a family may want to ensure their daughter’s dowry and so choose a husband for her. A girl may fear that her parents will force her to marry someone she does not like, and so she will get pregnant by a boy she likes.

These are some of my friends from church. Some days they stop by the compound for
morning devotions during their break at school.
They are no exception to the pressures and challenges girls face here.

And for the boys, well, sex before marriage is practically expected, not from the culture as a whole but from their peers, which is not at all different from the Western world.

Christianity is growing in South Sudan, and I am seeing the Church being strengthened in this area but Bible teaching is still limited. There are many who cannot read and who do not own Bibles. It is easy to fall back on one’s culture or to give in to the pressure.


With this need so prevalent in the community, we desire to seek God’s help. This Saturday, July 27th, In Deed and Truth is hosting a Purity Seminar for teenage girls in the area. With the help of some friends of mine, Stephanie, Stephanie, and new Mango Ministries teammate Tiana, we hope to create a time for these girls to discuss the challenges they face and find hope in the value God has given them. Would you pray for us and every girl (we’re hoping for about 30) who will attend as we seek God’s truth to overcome the pressures of culture and the temptation of sin in living transformed lives for God’s glory! 

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Dependency

There are many lessons available for learning quite frequently in my life it seems. Now, whether I have the patience, the will, the keen eye to notice and learn them is a different story. But, I hope these blunders can be looked back upon as a comedy rather than a tragedy, for I love to learn.

Some lessons, well, they come in stages and are to be built upon. For me, one of those recurring lessons is dependence. I have always been one to seek God’s plans for my life. I’m not afraid to dream big, for I know he has big plans. But my default in discovering those plans is to say to God, “Wow, that’s a great plan. That’s amazing. Ok, I’ll get back to you with how it’s going in a little while. Thanks for this ‘next step.’” You see, I love to get God’s input about what to do, but as soon as I feel like he is revealing those things to me, I immediately try to make them happen with my own strength and abilities, instead of allowing Him to make them happen through me. It’s quite a struggle for me.


When I was in college, I had some fish. Now, one of those fish, an angel fish named Romeo, decided one day to jump right out of the tank. No one was around, and sadly we all know what happens to a fish out of water. It can’t survive. At first I thought this fish’s need for water was like my dependency on God. That I was fully surrounded by him and if I didn't depend on him I was jumping out of the water. That if I would not depend on him, I could not survive. On a deep, eternal level, that is true. I realized though, on a day to day level of following after God and being obedient to his will, that dependency looks a little different.


Take this flower, for example. What does it need to survive? The sun. And in which direction do flowers grow? Toward the sun. They intentionally seek out the direction of their source of life. They move toward it. When they don’t get enough sunlight, they become weak and unhealthy. The same is true for my dependency on God, I must strive to seek him out. I am not simply submerged in his sustenance and must not jump out of it completely – like that little fish out of the water. I must be intentional in consciously being aware that He alone is my source of strength and even life. I must seek, little by little in all the daily activities, the source of my strength. When that becomes a focus, then my actions will be based on that truth, rather than my stubbornness to try and do things myself. I can choose to depend on him to make the small things happen and have eternal value, or I can depend on myself, and often be faced with those failures. Let me get more practical. I can choose to depend on God to make CHE better and effective in these new communities, or I can rely on my own strength, feeling as though the success of the program depends on my ability to encourage and follow up with the new trainers. I can seek God to be my strength to work through me, trusting him to help me to know how to do that the best that I can, or racking my brain trying plan the best way for me to do these things. Not that it’s a bad thing to plan or seek advice from experience and trained people, but it’s important to know who really makes it happen; to know who really brings transformation.


One thing I also noticed about flowers, when they are getting the proper amount of sunlight, they have the strength to survive the night without light. When I know and acknowledge that God is my source and it is only through him that I can do anything he asks of me, then I will have the strength to keep going, even when he doesn't seem near. The effects of His work in me are still taking place, as he leads me on to be used by him.

My prayer is that we all may learn a little more what it means to be dependent upon our mighty creator and loving father; that we may experience walking in surrender to him, feeling the goodness of life with him. And as we surrender, may our eyes be opened to how much more is possible through Him than through ourselves.
Here some new trainers take tea with CHE Trainer Pasquale from Kullo (far right)
Would you pray for me that in my last month here in Tonj I can be completely dependent upon God for the work of this ministry and these CHE communities. Pray also that our CHE teams and communities will also experience that dependence upon God. Pray for our first group of communities as they finish up committee training and prepare for selection of CHEs to lead home visits:

1.       Guaria
2.       Kullo
3.       Malony
4.       Lurchuk
5.       Tonj

And for our new, second group of communities in this area (those trained in May) as they work to complete their first seed project, form a prayer team, and build a dish rack for their home:

1.       Warrak
2.       Bobi
3.       Robyibi
4.       Timthok
5.       Werkok


Grace and Peace to you in becoming dependent upon our great God.