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bluewatergigi
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Patrice Miles
Lenny
“You chose the wrong girl God!”
I can only imagine that this was what Mary thought when she was pregnant with Jesus or when Queen Esther was told by her Uncle to save the Jews.
“You chose the wrong girl God!”
2018 was a hard year. Many times I felt inadequate to handle this missionary life. From problems in the ministry, to wondering if everything would collapse, fatigue and sickness that made me want to curl up and die, seeing needs without the finances to help, spiritual warfare taking its toll on my staff and having absolutely no clue what to do. I truly was stripped of everything I thought was important and my bare branches were exposed.
“You chose the wrong girl God!”
“In spiritual winters, our fullness is thinned so that, undistracted by our giftings, we can focus on our character. In the absence of anything to measure, we are left with nothing to stare at except for our foundation. We begin to examine the motivations that support our deeds, the attitudes that support our words, the dead wood otherwise hidden beneath our busyness. Abundance may make us feel more productive, but emptiness has greater power to strengthen our souls.” Anonymous: Jesus Hidden Years…..my new favorite book!
In using my own strength to determine what I could or couldn’t do I inadvertently had removed God from the equation. Yes I loved Him, Yes I believed in Him, Yes I trusted Him and of course I spent time with Him everyday talking to Him about all these things.
So how did I get here?
How do I get out of it?
Look at how weak I am!
Look at my unbelief and how easily I am distracted and lose focus on You!
Why did You choose me to represent You to the lost when I am evidently lost myself.
2 Corinthians 12:9-11 But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Helplessness tests us and reveals what is really in our hearts. Dependence on God not self reliance is the true friend of our soul.
“My daughter, you are weak and that is why I chose you. Strength is not given, it is grown. Through Me you will help grow My kingdom and change lives. I chose the right girl!”
Personally, I do not know whether my dreams will be fulfilled or if my sweat, tears and prayers are just planting seeds for someone else to watch bloom. I do not know if like Esther, one day God will say, “I rose you up for just a time as this,” or if, like Mary the mother of Jesus, I will wait and watch my dreams be crucified before they know resurrection. I do not know……but then being all-knowing, is not my job.
Continue to pray for me and my family as we serve in Nigeria. If you would like to become a prayer partner and receive our weekly prayer requests click Prayer Partner.
At C.A.R.E. Africa we conduct one on one interview sessions with anyone who completes an application and meets our criteria. We use these one on one sessions to evaluate the applicant’s personal character and to see if what they filled out on the application several months ago is the same story they are telling us today. This process helps us separate those who would deceive us from those who are truly vulnerable women and children needing our help. After the interview we visit the home of the applicant. Their living situation will truly tell us if they are in need or not.
In July of this year C.A.R.E. Africa was conducting one of it’s interview sessions with a woman named Mrs Adeyemi. She had completed an application over a year ago. We had tried to call her but her number wasn’t working. Recently, her son tracked us down and gave us a note that read “Please help me, I want to go to school.” During the interview Mrs Adeyemi and her son were very quiet. Her body looked malnutritioned and her son, Michael, did not look well either. We visited their home and were saddened to see their living conditions. Inside was a 10×10 room that she and her two children slept in. The two mattresses were soaking wet and mold was growing up the walls. The smell was so bad I couldn’t even walk inside. I immediately wanted to take them into our program but at C.A.R.E. Africa we have a policy that we will do more research and pray for 30 days before taking anyone in.
My staff began their research. Mrs. Adeyemi’s neighbors reported that she would walk up and down the street yelling at them and used abusive language. Another neighbor explained how she was the second wife to a man in Lagos, Nigeria. He occasionally came to visit but didn’t take care of her or the children. We even heard that her husband was bringing marijuana for her to sell in Egbe. Overall the reports were not good and our staff were reconsidering taking her and Michael in.
We are happy to say that God has been using C.A.R.E. Africa and three sponsors to show Christ’s love to the Adeyemi family. We were able to fix up the 10 x 10 room they live in, buy new mattresses and bed posts, fix the roof so water will not enter into the room and also fix Mrs. Adeyemi’s grinding machine so she can be empowered. Michael is in school now and doing well and we will mentor and disciple his mother. Please pray for Mrs. Adeyemi that thru this ministry she will hear the gospel message and know that Jesus Christ loved her and died for her so that she might truly live! This is a story of the real Christmas message. Thank-you for us make this happen.
PVD or Parent Visitation Day is a day in Nigerian schools where the parents are invited to come and see what their child has been doing. Foundations Academy Egbe just had our first PVD day! As I walked around and observed the individual meetings with each child, caregiver and teacher I started to lose it. I had to go to the back of the center and cry outside so no one would see me. They were happy tears, thankful tears and tears of exhaustion. I experienced an overwhelming sense of joy and saw Christ’s love right in front of my face that day. These children were each told what they were doing well and how great they were. They were also told what they needed to work on. It was all done in a loving environment and the caregiver and the child were united. No shame, no fear and no judgement.
This school is the missing piece to the puzzle for our family based care program. We can disciple these kids, love these kids, preach to these kids, but when they spend 8 hours a day in a school system that fosters, shame, fear, cheating, bullying and promotion regardless of your ability to comprehend the subjects….we are fighting a losing battle. The C.A.R.E. Africa partnership with Foundations Academy completes our holistic approach to the care of the vulnerable children God has placed in our care. With C.A.R.E. Africa and Foundations Academy, we can now confidently say we are raising up a generation that will make a difference.
Miles In Missions 