Stirrings

We’re nearing the end end of our summer here in Cairo. Two weeks left. Two weeks in which we’ll see what God has up His sleeve.

It’s hard to encapsulate all that this summer has entailed. It’s been a such a different summer than any other. But I want to try and share a few reflections.

I’ve really been touched by seeing the Lord work in the lives of the youthworks participants and staff. It’s refreshed me to see people time and time again turn to the Lord in all their brokenness, pain, confusion – to turn to Jesus and be met with that supernatural hope, love, and peace. I’ve been blessed to see the Lord encourage His people that He is near, He does care, and He has such great plans for them.

One of the highlights for me this summer has been meeting with an eleven year old boy and tutoring him in his home in the projects twice a week. If you read my blog a bit, you may remember me speaking of starting to give guitar lessons to the kids in Cairo. He was my first eager pupil, but after he skipped out on summer school this summer, I felt the guitar lessons should be a reward for sticking with something and honoring a commitment. So I created a summer school for him, at his kitchen table.

Twice a week we meet for an hour and a half and we go over multiplication and reading and spend some time looking at proverbs and what it means to walk with wisdom. The deal I made was that he had to meet with me the rest of the summer to earn guitar lessons in the fall. And so far he is doing AMAZING. He works hard and even enjoys it – I love it when I see him act like a kid and giggle when I tease him as we work together. He comes from a very hard home life, has a very strong will, and a very tough exterior. But somehow, by God’s grace, it all melts away for an hour and half as we focus on developing him into the person God desires him to be. I had a moment last week when he was working on a worksheet at the kitchen table and I looked out the window to the left and saw a group of his friends playing basketball on the courts outside and I could see out the back door his next door neighbor and friend trying to shoot craps on the door step. In the midst of all the distraction and reality of where he lives, there he was working hard on his 5 times table. I was proud of him and so thankful to God for being present in that place.

Another highlight for me is actually the rebuke of the Lord in my life. Sounds strange, but true. Proverbs talks about a wise person being one who hears rebuke and receives it. This summer the Lord has been pretty good about kicking me in the butt. And I’m growing in my ability to receive it ). I’ve really felt called out by the Spirit concerning some callings or giftings that I’ve been running away from for a while, for various reasons. God has been bringing me to a place this summer of basically me throwing in the towel. If things stirrings in my life of teaching or worship or leading are things You put in me for Your purposes, than I say “okay” God. Let’s begin to walk more fully in these areas, but help me to not be half hearted and help me to be trained up and developed in these areas so I can walk in the fullness of what you’ve called me to.

Our staff embarks on yet another season of transition. We are moving out of our building at the end of September. It’s been home to my ministry for 5 years. But we’re transitioning. We’re not leaving the community, just not working out of that building. We may be moving over to use Hannah’s House for a while as God leads. Along with that transition comes the questions of what is God calling us to in this new season? Join us, please in praying for God’s direction and leading!

Closing in on the halfway point…

This Sunday marks the beginning of week four of our summer programming. The YouthWorks program here is moving and shaking with the Spirit of God. It’s been awesome to watch God transform teenagers and adult leaders each week in such powerful ways. We have been blessed in the midst by having so many willing, excited youth come and love and serve our very own community.

Here’s some highlights:

- praying with multiple youth in the evenings for God to move in power and healing in their lives and seeing before my eyes that sweet gift of the body of Christ being the body of Christ through these youth.

-Beginning a prayer ministry at the community cookouts. God has shown up so sweetly, healing pains, a broken thumb, and ministering to the heart of abused children underneath the simple prayer tent.

-Taking a prayer journey with a church that came here for YouthWorks. Their adult leader grew up in this area and had a heart to come pray in a nearby community called Thebes. She has felt led, along with her youth to pray in places that are significant to reconciliation in our country. She remembers growing up here and hearing about a tree called “The hanging tree” where African Americans were hung many years ago. She remembers every time she would see the tree there was a dead animal underneath it, like the ground was cursed. Well, to try and make a long story short. When this woman, Shawna showed up in Cairo saying she wanted to pray in Thebes, it made perfect since to us because Kristy had purchased land in Thebes because God told her to, but was never sure why. We believe now, Shawna gave us insight into the importance of that area, and the need for prayer for healing and reconcilation there. So we journeyed out and stood at the back of the court house in Thebes, the same court house where Dred Scot (first slave to be freed) was actually declared free (he was later declared property again by the supreme court). We declared again, freedom over the land and repentance for the sins there. It was very powerful converging of God moving His people around and helping us understand more of what he was doing in the area.

-Dishon, the Kids Club staff for YouthWorks was invited to give the message at the Methodist church in town. This was truly a move of the spirit and a great blessing to all who attended. God is doing some special things in this church which has opened up its doors to host Kids Club this summer. The congregation has now begun to pray in the Kids Club room after church!!

ee-eye-ee-eye-oh.

It all began with a simple veggie garden.

Then we got a porch kitten, named Ember. He is quite affectionate, adventurous, and SOCIAL. He cuddles well, and having grown up with an allergy to cats, even I admit, I am quite taken.

Then came the arrival of the chickens. Three of them. Birgitta, Juanita, and Sally. But Juanita escaped the coup twice, and after some puzzled postmen next door saw her under their car, they decided to ship her off to a farm in Mounds, because who has chickens in Cairo, honestly? But this was for the best, because Juanita was kind of a bully to Sally. So the chickens are more peaceful, now live in a creme de la creme chicken coup built by the head farmer and have thus far laid 7 eggs!

Then Ember, being the socialite he is, invited a friend back to his place.

Enter unnamed large cat. Unnamed large cat has transitioned from hissing at us all the time to tolerating our affections. We have attempted to remove unnamed large cat once by taking him to the local street cat colony in town, only to find unnamed large cat back the next day assuming ours was his new home. This is an inaccurate assumption, but due to having no place to bring him, we are unsure at this point how to convince him otherwise. And since he’s been biding his time, he has invited a friend too.

Cue unnamed small kitten with dirty nose. Cute, but squeamish and very hard to catch. Currently trying to relocate hard to catch kitten to local cat colony.

In addition to all our veggies we now have potatoes growing and corn. Love it.
But one item in the farm remains my favorite.

Annabelle is growing quite fond of all of her farm friends and playmates. I am very thrilled she has not eaten one cat.

And then of course there’s the head farmer, builder of chicken coup, and perhaps suffering from too much sun. )