Je ne parle pas francais...but I'm going anyway.

Bonjour! In five days, I will be boarding a plane with eight other people on a mission trip to Paris, France. I was excited, until it really hit me today that this is really happening, and then a little fear and doubt started to creep in. I start to think: "What are you doing?" "And just who do you think you are?" "What in the world are you going to do to help?" "You are not very good with words and speaking to people." "You don't even speak French for crying out loud!" Ok, ok...yes I know, Je ne parle pas francais...but I'm going anyway. And that is all God asks us to do. I was reminded of that this morning in church. The pastor said something that calmed my fears: "God doesn't call the equipped, but He equips those He calls." Wow...did you catch that? Because it took me a minute. Think about Moses. The guy had a speaking problem and God wanted him to lead the people. Huh? Can you imagine the taunts from the people: "Hey Moses....I'm sorry man...can you speak a little louder...what did you say?" And Moses had no problem pointing out his faults to God. He said: "O, Lord, I'm not very good with words. I never have been, and I'm not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled." But God answers: "Who makes a person's mouth? Who decides whether people speak or don't speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the LORD? Now go, I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say." Exodus 4:10-12 How cool is that? It reminds me that all God asks is that I go. He will help me with the words. And I pray with all my heart that if my words come out tangled, then my actions will speak louder. I have been practicing my French this weekend and I plan to practice everyday this week. But in the end, I know that the thing that will make the most difference in the lives of the people I connect with next week, will be the language that comes from the heart. The language of the love and salvation of Jesus. And that is THE language we all need to know and speak. Please pray for us if you will. Jesus t'aime. Au revoir.

To understand is to experience.

I got food poisoning this week. It has been one of the worst experiences ever. I haven't been that sick in awhile. In fact, I'm still recovering. I feel like I have a food hangover. I feel like I've been hit and don't know quite how to get back up. I don't know what it is I ate, and I certainly didn't mean for this to happen, but it did...with a vengeance. I found myself in the position of the patients I work with who are going through cancer treatment. Fever, chills, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, and a lot of other stuff I will spare you. All of a sudden I was forced to stop my life for a little bit, and I didn't want to. I imagine that is how my patients feel as well. I kept thinking about all of the advice I give to them as they are going through all of this and all I could think was..."Wow, you really don't understand how difficult this is for them." "You want me to eat? How, when all I can do is look at a toilet bowl when I do?" "Drink fluids? , yeah, whatever...I don't even want to swallow my own spit!" These were just some of the conversations I had with myself. The worst part is that I was alone. I've been petsitting for a friend, so I was going through this by myself...except when the little doggie would look give me a lick from time to time. No one to cover me up, no one to say "Can I get you anything sweetie pie?". But it is ok, I am a big girl now...I guess. So I did what a big girl would do...I cried. Then I prayed. What do I do wrong God? Don't you see that I have a lot to do this week? I can't be sick...I've got to go to work to help everyone else who is sick! But then I heard God speaking to my heart. "Sometimes we go through bad stuff, not because of something we've done on purpose, but because this is not a perfect world, and those bad things happen sometimes. But the cool thing is that because you experienced this and I was there to help you through it, you can much better understand and help someone else now." Fun experience? No! But you can bet it will be an experience that I will never forget. It will help me to be much more empathetic and understanding to my patients than I was before, and therefore.... it was worth it.
"All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us." 2 Corinithians 1:3-4