Friday, June 27, 2014

Saturdays at New Day

Saturdays around New Day are a little different. In the afternoon, the orphanage hosts Kids Club for the kids from surrounding villages. They come, and get to play on the playground or soccer field for about an hour and a half. After that, they have a short Bible lesson and then they are fed a large meal that is prepared by ladies from the local church. There are usually about 80 - 120 kids. This is the biggest meal the kids will have all week and a great opportunity to feed them the Word as well. It is amazing to see young kids carrying the even younger kids on their backs all the way here. They never stop caring for them and watching over them, even when they are given the chance to forget about life for an hour and just be kids. The kids sang all of the books of the Bible (in Tonga of course) and worked on learning the memory verse for the week. The lesson was about being a cheerful giver which takes on a while new meaning when what you have to give may literally be ALL you have. In the States, we struggle with just giving from a savings account or giving our time to ministry and never actually giving until in hurts.

Watching babies shiver from the cold because they don't have the proper nutrition to keep themselves warm will put a whole new spin on just flipping on the heat or going through the drive-thru.

There's a quote that goes "If you want to go with God, you can't stay where you're at." While I decided to take this in a physical sense this summer, I also love what this quote is saying about our spiritual lives. When you give your life to Christ, your life shouldn't stay the way it is. If nothing in you is changing, something isn't right. God does not call us to stay. He may call you to physically stay where you are, but we should be growing in Him everyday. You are call to go out into your community and move as the Holy Spirit is moving in people around you.

The Holy spirit is constantly moving.

He is moving in our hearts, in our homes, in our communities, and around the world - Go with God.

Saturday, June 21, 2014

Let It Go Down To The River To Pray

Today, I was able to go to Darbi's youth girl's Bible study which is just across the river from New Day. Darbi goes each week and 3-5 girls from the surrounding village come to be fed the Word. They are doing a study on Esther and today was focused on when Esther is brought to come before the king as he chooses a wife. Esther is taken into the custody of Hegai and the maiden pleased him. As the young ladies are being prepared to go before the king, they are given beauty treatments. The girls learned that they must be beautiful on the inside to shine a light in the world. While they were listening to the lesson two of the other interns and I were able to give the girls "beauty treatments"by putting lotion on their hands and painting their fingernails. For these girl I pray that as they are preparing to go before their Heavenly King, that they give their hearts some beauty treatments and sine like a star in the darkness around them.


Tonight, we had a bonfire for all of the Americans where we roasted hotdogs and had s'mores. After some testimonies and share time, we sang some songs. It was a good time to reflect on the day and remember why we are here. 


The end of song time around the bonfire broke out into "Let It Go" so some of the younger crowd went back to watch Frozen to sing along with all the songs. Sometimes, you just need to let it go and belt it out! 


Until next time...

Thursday, June 19, 2014

The Road Less Traveled

Hello from Africa!

I made it safe and sound and have been having a great time! After traveling from Memphis to Dallas to London to South Africa to ZAMBIA, we jumped in the care and drove for several more hours to finally make it to New Day Orphanage after dark. On the way, we stopped off in a town and I had my first Zambian meal...pizza in the car! But we also got some grilled corn from a street vendor to throw in some Zambian culture!


The kids have all been great and I am slowly learning names and faces. My first morning here included some painting, but after the hard work we piled 21 kids and 6 adults into a truck and got to take the kids to a giant pit that was dug out to use for dirt for the roads leading to New day. They had a blast in this jungle gym of God's creations. Then we cam back and played on the real jungle gym as well as my hammock, which they were amazed by.


 

Today was quite a busy day. One of the other interns and I spent the morning volunteering at Mapanza clinic. In Zambia, this is child health week. Parents are encouraged to bring their children to the clinic for routine vaccinations, polio vaccine, vitamin A supplements, and de-wormers. Each child was weighed and their information recorded on their medical record cards. Then, I had to determine which vaccinations were needed and send them in the right direction. The language barrier was difficult and conversation mostly consisted of giggles and looks. The children are terrified of white people and were less than happy to even step on/ hand on the scale. After piles and piles of records, we were nowhere close to finished when we had to head back to the orphanage.



In the afternoon, we headed out on the road less traveled...literally. The bumpiness of the roads or the "African massage" is pretty crazy! But we all made it without whiplash or seatbelt lacerations. We went to a new village Bible study. Seeing the village was great. The people live in shacks, cooking over fires with a baby on every mother's back or unashamedly on her breast. The kids far outnumbered the adults as five of the women were all married to one of the men. There is a large emphasis on the law in churches surrounding these villages, so the people get caught up in topics like the Sabbath and washing only on Sunday. We were able to answer some questions and hopefully clear a few things up for them. Just in the little time they have been reaching out to this village, three women have prayed to receive Christ. They have crossed some cultural boundaries by going in a different direction than their husband (yes, they are all sister wives) but it seems to be encouraging the village to open their hearts to what we are saying. The children sit and listen, even if some of them seem to not be paying attention. I pray that their brains are taking it all in like a sponge. After some singing and dancing, we headed back.



Keep praying that these villages continue to hear the word that they would choose tot ake the road less traveled and follow Jesus with their whole hearts.


More adventures await, until next time!



Sunday, June 15, 2014

MEMPHIS to DALLAS to LONDON to SOUTH AFRICA

As I type these words, Ashley is flying over Zimbabwe - 36 hours of flying down...


She has been traveling since 12:00pm Central Time Saturday, 6/14/14.
We have been able to talk to her several times since her departure - she texted confirmation of their safe arrival in Europe at 3:30AM. She seems to be in good but tired spirits - the flight to London was completely full {with plenty of british accents}. The biggest mishap so far was a coffee stain down the front of her shirt, sounds manageable to me! 

Of course, goodbye's were bitter sweet - I am so proud of her for stepping out alone and trusting God to guide her on this spirit led adventure. We thank each and every one of you for your continued prayers and support. 


More updates to come as I receive them - If you have not done so already, follow along on Facebook HERE - https://www.facebook.com/AshleyGoestoZambia.






Thursday, June 12, 2014

Ashley Goes To Zambia


Today, we are introducing the newest part of wandering hearts. Ashley has written for the blog before but we are making it official that this will now be a shared space between two sisters. We hope that you click "follow" and join along her summer adventures! 


Hello blogger world!

I’m the middle sister and the newbie to the blog scene. In just TWO short days I will be packing my bags and heading to AFRICA! I will be staying at New Day orphanage in Choma, Zambia for about 5 weeks. I will be using this blog to document some of my adventures to share with friends and family. As the hour of departure quickly approaches, I am filled with so many mixed emotions. Sadness, excitement, fear, anticipation all come in waves as I think of leaving home for more than 30 days to adventure across the world away from those I love. 

I just have to remember that I am going to share the love of Jesus with those who may have never heard it before. I am on a purpose filled trip and I know that He is always with me. It’s time to put on the full armor of God and head out into the battlefield. 

But first…I need to finish packing! 

Monday, June 9, 2014

It's Adoption Day!!

Excuse my while I go chase down my heart that was stolen away today in a court room - Surprise! Today was adoption day for the Arthur Family!!

This big sister thing has happened to me once before, at the ripe old age of two - can't say I remember the details but I'm sure it was a jovial feeling - Today, I got another chance to witness a member being added to my family and WOW, it has got to be one of the most incredible feelings in the world. 

Her precious story had a beginning before she ever breathed in her first breath, before she was conceived - 
it was a God story and it was meant to be told...

Through this process, I have watched my parents go over the concept of baby M being a member of THIS forever family so many times. I have seen them worry {for her sake} about race, about age & about culture but never about faith. I am not a parent but I can imagine thinking about her future, about what she will face in the coming years and how we, as a family, will handle it. You see, foster care is part of her story. There is no taking that away, no sweeping it under the rug - because for this story to be beautiful, it has to start from the beginning. 
What satan meant for evil, God meant for good. 
Foster care can be an ugly monster - I have learned that for our family, the words 'foster care' can almost literally translate into faith. Faith guides the insane decision to say "yes" to a call from DCS to a newborn still at the hospital waiting for a stranger to pick her up and take her home. Faith has brought us here and faith has brought HER here - to this very moment. Faith will forever more be part of her name, part of her story.

This is a story that should be told. 

Her heritage is one that will be so completely unique - I envy the power of a story like hers. I am so thankful this story is close to its beginning - today is the first day of the rest of her life, praise Jesus for that. 

It most certainly will not always be an easy ride but then again, 
no ones journey is. 

Oh sweet baby M, we are ready to walk with you, to do life alongside you and to have the honor to watch you grow. To date, being a big sister to you and Ash is the single biggest privilege I have been given. I pray that you walk with Jesus, that one day He claims your heart and you allow him to consume your deepest passions. My dear sister, HE has given you such a story to tell the world - use it and I know for certain HE will work through it. May we never forget to give all the praise and glory to Christ - for HE has brought us together and I will be forever thankful for that.

I love you,
Welcome to the family!


Learned she could escape the chair at month 8, got brave at month 9 and ditched the chair
First Birthday in Nashville! 

Friday, June 6, 2014

Shoutout to Singles

With the hype of wedding season in full swing and having a twenty two year old sister, this time of year has brought many new engagements and marriages in our circle of friends. But it has also brought out the “always a bridesmaid” attitude in many of the bystanders left to awkwardly wait for the bouquet throw to publicly announce that they are indeed single. And it’s not just relationships. I have seen many young ladies struggling with restlessness and discontentment in their lives. I strongly believe that it is in this season of life in which many young people begin to lower their standards. They give up on the idea of that perfect someone.They give up on the calling they felt in their lives as they started college because it’s been a long process and they just can’t feel that excitement anymore. If all of their friends have it, they must be doing something wrong- setting unrealistic expectations- not being attractive enough-whatever it may be that they convince themselves of. SO to all of you singles out there, just remember that your standards are never too high. No one is perfect, but if our relationship is supposed to be a mirror of Christ with his church then our partner should be striving to be Christ-like. I don’t think that a truly Godly man is a common thing, so if it’s taking awhile to find, you are probably doing something right. 

Isaiah 30:18
“Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!”

Over and over in the Bible, God calls those He loves to wait. But the time of waiting brought immeasurable blessings and without it, their lives would not have reflected the glory of God in the same way.

Psalm 40:1
“I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry.”

Abraham, Sarah, Jacob, Joseph, Hannah…you are not alone! In your time of waiting remember that God is wise, sovereign, and compassionate. 

Lamentations 3:25
“The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.”

Through her waiting, Sarah’s pregnancy was a testimony of Christ in her life. She waited 90 years…Because she was not content in the waiting, she caused her husband to be unfaithful and caused all kinds of trouble for others involved. 

Psalm 73:26
“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

So in a time of “what in the world am I doing with my life?” may God be your strength when you are weak, may you find comfort in the Word when there are no hugs to be found, may you be fully satisfied in the love of Christ when the world is throwing you unrest, and may your life always be grounded in Him when you can’t seem to find where to plant your feet. 
2 Corinthians 4:16-18

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that for outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”



Thursday, June 5, 2014

California In Pictures

 

The mountains are calling and I must go... 
-John Muir

Give me some grace here, it was FREEZING! 
And then, the epic Californian road trip was over and the sunset was enjoyed while sitting next to the golden gate.  Oh Cali - thank you for the memories.

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