Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Praise Him

"I want to worship You
Jesus, I want to worship You
I don't know what to say,
and I don't know what to do
but I want to worship You!"

I don't like to say good bye
I praise God for each moment of this journey so far
I praise Him for every person I've got to share a bit of live with
I praise Him for the all the beauty He has created, people and nature
I praise Him for cherry juice, routie and mango smoothie
I praise Him for sunshine, and for rain
I praise Him for the newborns I've held in my arms
I praise Him for friendships that has been made
I praise Him for the late evenings in a rotten house, watching the stars through the big holes in the roof
I praise Him for the smile of each child I've hugged
I praise God for my father and mother, which I love so very high, who's always there for me, who never hits me with a bat for no reason, but do everything they possibly can to show me how much they love me
I praise Him for lizards that eats some of the millions of mosquitoes
I praise Him for the awesome worship times in small, dilapidated houses
I praise Him for the opportunity to be a difference in someone's life
I praise Him for the journey ahead, into the Amazone
I praise Him because He is worthy to be praised!!!

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

What if I stumble?

"what if I stumble? what if I fall?...
will the love continue when my walk has become a crawl?
what if I stumble, and what if I fall?"

I am just a girl who desires to live her life for Jesus. that doesn't make me perfect. I stumble and fall, make mistakes over and over again. Staying in Guyana has been really hard in many ways. and the last week have been more tears and pain than joy. but God can use every circumstances to teach us something, and draw us closer to Him. I learned a great lesson last week. we've been praying for rain for weeks now, and people really suffer when the rain don't fall. as I was cleaning the fence, from the inside out, God spoke to me about cleaning my own heart. He told me I had let pride snik in, pride that hindered Him to rain down His blessings over me. as I asked for forgiveness, the heaven opened and the rain fell like crazy. and since that day it has rained. over the land, and in my heart. new peace, new joy.

But the main reason why I went on this trip, was to travel, explore, see more of God through His creation, new cultures, new people, worship Him with my guitar and new songs everywhere. and that is not a part of my day anymore, so I've decided to leave Guyana. It has been six intense weeks. I've been extremely happy, and extremely sad, discurraged and lonely. It is hard to travel alone, learning to know a new culture alone, with nobody there who understands, no one to share with, we need people around us. and the more I am away from my friends and family, the more I realize how improtant they are to me, how deep I love them all. But travelling alone also teaches you thing you couldn't learn together with someone, and I've never experienced God's faithfulness in a greater way. He has brought me through this time, and made me stronger in Him.

continue to pray for me in Brazil...
love

Saturday, November 14, 2009

perspective

Guyana is different, and it's alike any other nation. a lot of things are not as they should be. electrical companies comes regularly to cut off the electricity from our poor neighbors. the news are full of suicide, demon possession, murders. everyone knows somebody who is being sexual abused, or mistreated. children and adults. I know a few already... just across the street...

The last days has taken forever. the medicine which I got for the nail boor knocked me out- and at the same time enabled me to sleep.. that has lead to hours - days on my back, too worn out to do anything but thinking, missing my family, missing my friends.. feeling lonely, though I know I'm not. I want to go home, or travel further, but I know God wants me to be right here for this special time, the days are just so s l o w... But the man stopped complaining about not having shoes when he met a man without a leg..Yesterday I went to the hospital. I met Nyelini, who had been sitting next to her son's bed the last three weeks. her eyes were drowsy, because of lack of sleep, she had a fever, and she carried the pain of her little one. two months old, and the tiniest baby I'd ever seen. His lounges didn't work properly, and he was only getting worse.. the child next to his bed was already dead. I realized my days are wonderful... and if nothing else, I can spend my time praying for those who really suffer!

Please pray with me for this little boy, that God will do a miracle!
Pray for rain. a lot of people don't have water.

(God has humor: I felt so lonely the other day, and prayed that God would send someone to me from my nation, to talk to, who would understand, the next day the head line in the news paper said that Erik Solheim had come to Guyana....)

Sunday, November 8, 2009

embrace life in every way...always

God creates beauty out of brokenness. the seed needs to break before the plant can come up from the ground. the egg needs to break before the chicken can come out and start to grow. Brokenness is not about the sircumstances, but about our reply om what happens. the same sun that melts the butter, hardens the clay. when challenges appears, we can either choose to run away from them or we can embrace them, knowing that God's truth and faithfulness will carry us through. how will we ever grow if we are not willing to face - and overcome the challenges...

Life is a journey, it takes you to the high mountains, and it brings you down in the deep valleys. I've experienced this in an intense way the last week. spiritually, menthally, and physically. one day on a mountain top - the next in the deep valley. it teaches me so much, sometimes too much, more than I can bear. it fills me to the fullest - and it totally wears me out. Both brings me om my knees. one in greatest awe of God, the other in greatest dependancy of Him.

Right now I'm having a hard time accepting some of the things in this culture. I'm forced to use my money to buy new clothes - because what i have is not good enough for this culture. it makes me angry and frustrated. why should I spend money buying clothes I don't need, when i know so many who really need the money - for food...
Everytime someone yells I feel it like a slap in my face - and that's the way people communicate with each other...
Everytime I hear the neighbors hitting their children, I cry - and that happens pretty often.

This weekend i've been working with some of the guys, breaking down a building, so we can build a basketball court on the land instead. by the end of the last day I managed to step on a piece of wood, and two long rusty nails went through my shoe and into my foot. A guy named James had to come and drag the nails out of my foot. unfortunately my tetanus shot had expired, and the hospital were closed. but they cleaned my foot, and burned inside the wounds - like they do in Guyana. (yes, it was pretty painful). today I went to the hospital to see a doctor. I got the injection and some antibiotics..

But even if some days are a bit challenging, God keeps filling me with His love, and I enjoy to build and grow in my relationship with my Father. I talked to a woman in the hospital with incredibly pains. I prayed with her, and I asked her "do you know that Jesus loves you? do you know that you are His precious daugther?" she looked at me, her sad face was now shining, and she said; "yes, I know! - because I can see it in your eyes. God's love shines through you. thank you!" Those moments is what keeps me here, and makes me believe it's worth it...

Please pray for protection from any illness. every day I am surrounded by sick people.
Pray for strength and a owerflow of joy!
yours in Christ - jannemor