With a thankful heart . . .

Here is a blog entry that I wrote a few days ago, but wasn't able to post. Sorry for the lack of pictures . . . I will post some pictures in the next few days . . . Thank you for your prayers and support over the past few days. Please keep praying for our city . . .


“Do you miss being with your family today?” I asked Joseph, a two year short-termer as we drove to our big Thanksgiving dinner including all the American missionaries in Jos. “Well yes, but the moment I drive into Gyero and all the children coming running out greeting me and hugging me, I remember why I’m here” was his response. As our conversation continued we discussed what a strange thing it is for someone to leave everything, their friends, family, modern living conviences to move to somewhere like Africa for a few months or a few years. It is a bit of an odd and counter-cultural idea from an outsiders perspective, but Joseph and I both agreed that we are abundantly thankful for this opportunity we have had to live in Nigeria. Our lives have forever been changed by the people we have met and we have had the opportunity to see a new face of God. God is so much bigger than we ever give him credit for!

I made a list of things that I’m thankful for this morning. The thing I love most about doing this is that every time I make a list of things I’m thankful for it’s always mostly comprised of names of people . . . my friends and family (and of course coffee and sunshine J). The list of people who God has used in my life keeps getting longer and longer and now includes people from all over the World. If I have this many brothers and sisters in Christ now, while I’m living in this World, I can’t imagine how joyful it will be when we all reach Heaven to be with our Father together! What a party!

Over the past few days, as God has been teaching me to have a more thankful and content heart and has been showing me what it means to be at peace with him by trusting in him, I woke up with one very tangible lesson about thankfulness and peace.

Yesterday was a local election day in Jos. This meant that we weren’t allowed to travel, well at least until 4:00pm . . . so a few of the girls and I decided that we would stay with our kids in Gyero, since we wouldn’t be able to travel around. That was about the extent of how we were affected and about the extent to which I even thought about it until this morning. I woke up this morning at 6:00am and carried out my normal morning routine, reading my Bible, emailing and actually getting to talk to Sean on the phone!

Just as I was about to jump in the shower to get started on the busy day I had planned ahead of me, Chris our compound dad, came by knocking on my door. He proceeded to inform me that there is a lot of political unrest due to yesterday’s election and schools and houses are being burned and all of the firework sounding noise I had been hearing were actually gun shots going off. . . so needless to say we aren’t allowed to go anywhere today. The sky is filled with black smoke and the air smells of fire and although the streets are incredibly quite, not a motorbike or car in sight, the sound of gunfire ringing through the city is a loud enough reminder that this is not a city at peace at the moment.

What a reminder to be thankful for what we have at home. Although our elections at home seem to get heated, with nasty commercials and long political debates, our houses aren’t in danger of being burned and we don’t have to listen to gunfire breaking through the peace of our cities. We all have so much to be thankful for.

Even in the midst of this current chaos, God has reminded me that each step of everyday is a gift from him, and we are called to trust in him for each of those steps we take. As we trust in him our hearts are filled with his peace. We don’t have to, or need to know what’s coming next, we just need to trust that God knows and that he is good. We don’t even have to thank him for the circumstances we presently find ourselves in, we have to trust him and thank him for who he is, in spite of those circumstances, an almighty, powerful and ever present God.

Please keep our city Jos in your prayers today. Pray for the people whose homes have been burned, and please pray for those who have been injured by gunfire. Please pray that God’s peace would reign in Nigeria today.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 4:6-7