Held...In her Father's arms

Words seem so hard to find. Anicette was taken into her Father's arms on Monday morning (http://alirae.net/blog/archives/371-speak.html) . Heaven rejoices to have such a precious little girl join them. Her family left to grieve and return to their village, empty and broken. We can only pray that they too, would be held in the arms of the Father.

Held (Natalie Grant)
Two months is too little
They let him go
They had no sudden healing
To think that providence
Would take a child from his mother
While she prays, is appalling
Who told us we'd be rescued
What has changed and
Why should we be saved from nightmares
We're asking why this happens to us
Who have died to live, it's unfair

This is what it means to be held
How it feels, when the sacred is torn from your life
And you survive
This is what it is to be loved and to know
That the promise was when everything fell
We'd be held

This hand is bitterness
We want to taste it and
Let the hatred numb our sorrows
The wise hand opens slowly
To lilies of the valley and tomorrow

This is what it means to be held
How it feels, when the sacred is torn from your life
And you survive
This is what it is to be loved and to know
That the promise was when everything fell
We'd be held

Hold them Father. Please, just hold them.

Anicette

I mentioned this little baby in a previous blog. Here is an update...please pray for the beautiful baby girl, Anicette.




This is taken from my friend Ali's blog...
http://alirae.net/blog/archives/370-baby-ani.html

Jehovah Jireh...my provider.

"You can be sure that God will take care of everything you need, his generosity exceeding even yours in the glory that pours from Jesus." (Philippians 4:19, The Message)

It was only my second day on the ship when the principal of the Academy, Nikki, told us about her dream to take the teaching staff to a Christian Education conference in Kenya over the Easter break. The conference would give us the opportunity to network with many other missionary schools around Africa, attend MANY workshops about effectively teaching "third-culture kids" in a Christian environment and just a chance to get away as a staff and grow professionally, spiritually and as a team.

For a couple of months, we would hear of groups of people who were considering full support for us to go. It often seemed as though we were on a roller coaster of 'Yes, we are going! Oh wait...maybe not". As a teaching staff of 12 supported missionaries, paying for this conference individually was just not going to be possible. Yet we continued to pray that if God wanted us to go, He would provide the way.

With only about 4 weeks before the conference, we realized that a final decision was necessary. We brainstormed ways to try to fundraise the money we needed to go to this conference. This brainstorming session lead to, among other ideas, an Auction of Dreams, with each teacher providing a service that other crew members could 'buy' with the money going towards the conference/travel costs. Here are some pictures of the event.


Ben, our PE teacher and auctioneer for the evening!


Estelle (Kindergarten teacher) and I decided to perform a little "whistle while you work" song and dance for our 'Maid For A Day' service.


Kim (English High School Teacher) showing the homemade bagels (made by husband of the Grade 1 teacher-Shelly)


Haley (Grade 4/5 teacher), offering a weekend breakfast and lunch service.

In total, there were 24 items/services auctioned off. We thank God SO much for those who participated in our auction! He has, through many servant-hearted people, provided in full. We are going to Kenya!!

French

My family will attest to the fact that I have never been a fan of French. I guess I understand why it is taught in school as Canada is officially a 'bilingual' country. However, my childish eyes were never able to see the value in learning French, as I always imaginined myself remaining in Ontario, a predominantly English province.

My oldest brother has always been passionate for the language. I gave him alot of grief about the hours he would spend repeating French phrases from the computer in his room, adjoined to my room by a thin, non-soundproof wall. I now wish that I had listened harder.

I remember the general phrases to 'get by'.
Bonjour. Je m'appelle Danae. Comment t'appelle tu? Au revoir.
But by saying these, people get excited that you know French...and continue in French conversations. Problem.
"Je ne parle pas français" is not a fun response to the excitement.

I still find it quite humourous that God placed me in Benin and Togo, where the national language is French. I think God wanted to teach me a lesson about those who are stubborn. Or maybe a lesson about humility (Danae pre-Mercy Ships: "I can get by with English JUST fine!")

This said, I have a prayer request.
I have approached our Staff Development department and have joined the team of people learning French via Rosetta Stone- a wonderful computer program for those wanting to learn a new language! I've been quite consistent in my lessons and so far, have been learning quite a bit! In fact, I was very encouraged today when I went to church and could translate certain words in my head before the translator would say them aloud.

But I have a long way to go. I really desire to be able to know enough French to at least understand those I interact with here. I would LOVE to be able to have conversations with the Togolese children I am tutoring in a local village.

I never thought I would say this (and Calvin, if you are reading this, I apologize from deep in my heart for not listening to your wise advice about learning French)but I would LOVE to speak French!

Serve.

I will admit, my first few months on the ship in Benin were a huge time of adjustment: adjusting to ship life, meeting new people, and above all, wrapping my head around how to apply what I had spent the last 4 years learning in school and actually teach a classroom of children. On top of this task, the Academy is going through an accreditation process with ACSI (Association of Christian Schools International) which requires more paperwork, meetings and well….just time.

Honestly, my expectations of working on the Africa Mercy were wonderful…but a little unrealistic. I imagined myself teaching during the day and then having the opportunity to go out and serve the people of West Africa in my free time. I wanted to get involved with every ministry and visit the hospital patients daily. I wanted to build relationships with the local people and really begin to understand a day in the life of someone from Benin (and now Togo). Like I said, wonderful expectations! After spending countless hours on weekends and evenings in my classroom, frustrated that I wasn’t getting the opportunity to SERVE as much as I had wanted to, God began to show me what it really means to serve. He really began to teach me what it means to be a part of the ‘Body of Christ’.

In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we're talking about is Christ's body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn't amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ's body, let's just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren't.
Romans 12:4-6, The Message


I realized that my first and foremost purpose in being on board the Africa Mercy, was to teach. I began to have a peace that by ‘being what I was made to be’ and doing what I was called to do, that I really WAS serving the poor of West Africa. God wasn’t expecting me to do my ‘job’ and THEN start serving after hours…but instead He was expecting me to serve Him by doing by best at what He called me to do.

The beautiful thing about this realization was that it somehow gave me greater purpose. And in feeling a deeper purpose, I began to have more passion and energy. God has begun to open up opportunities to actually use the additional passion and energy to get involved with the local people and join land-based ministries. He is showing me how to have balance to do both now.

With his strength. In His timing. With the passion He places in my heart.