Wall of Friends

Can you help us?  We are wanting to cover one wall in our house with reminders of those we love here.  Will you send a photo, bible verse, drawing, quote, etc... for us to hang on our wall in Ghana?  We need it soon, so send it quickly.  Here are a few of the special things that will be decorating our home in Ghana.

 Hand-colored pictures from Lanita.  One of my most precious friends downtown,  She is so talented at coloring, and she did these just for us!  So special!

 A drawing form Rachel Peterson.  She was in Ghana last March when we traveled to bring Godwin home.  She said she would draw anything for anyone in order to raise money for a mission trip she is taking.  So, we commissioned her for this piece of artwork.  Isn't it beautiful?  She drew how Ghana impacted her and the drawing of the hands was her rendition of the photo of Godwin's hand in mine.  Love it!

This collection holds clockwise: a drawing of the Wood family by my student, Sarah; a photo of a special friend who traveled to Ghana with us in 2005 and is now traveling all over the world; a picture of Chris and Neyonce from Water Angels; a Ghana collage created by Franklin; some ARTMail from the Colemans; and a special adoption announcement from Chad and Stephanie Bowling.  

And more special photos of families we love like the Raders, the Ochs, and the Stevensons!  

There are so many more, I can't share them all.  Anything is welcome and appreciated.

We want to cover one wall with things like this because we want to remember YOU!  Help us!

E-mail me for the address to send your special "something."  

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you...

Philippians 1:3

Amazing 24 Hours

About 24 hours ago, I opened a package from Reilynn.  Do you know God sends the most unexpected gifts to us?  Reilynn sent an early birthday package for me with SILLY, FUN stuff.  She even included noisemakers for the boys and silly string for Reid to cover me squirt all over me!  It was such a sweet treat from God!  Thank you, Reilynn.  You, my friend whom I've spent less than 48 hours with in my entire life, have blessed me tremendously with your thoughtfulness.  Thank you!

In the past 24 hours, some incredible GOD moments have taken place.  I want to share a few, because I am blown away by His hand moving all over the place!

1.)  Here's an email conversation I had yesterday from one of my students:

Dear Mrs. Beebe,

Me and my family have been praying for a while about Braden's friend in Ghana who you told us about at TC, that he could be adopted. We just found out that my grandmother's doctor is adopting a boy named P. from Ghana. Do you know if it is the same boy? He is about nine, his new family's name is McMichael. Know it's a long shot, but it would be neat!

Praying for y'all! Love,

-Caroline 


(Hope you don't mind the photo Caroline!)

Caroline,


Yes!  It is the same child.  God heard your prayer.  His picture is on our blog talking on the phone to Braden.   Yes,yes,yes P. is the child you prayed for!   Now, HE is coming home to a forever family!   Thank you for praying.  God always hears and answers!  I love your heart for these forgotten children because you remember them and pray!   Nothing is more powerful!

For Him,
Mrs. Beebe

Mrs. Beebe,
That's crazy!!! God is so cool! They must be so excited, and Braden too. Can't wait too tell Maymie about it! Isn't it awesome that God connects everybody like that?

Love, 

Caroline

Yes!  it is amazing how God connects everybody like that!!  WOW!  You are praying at least one little boy home!  (P. is in the middle of the photo.)


2.)  Last night, I sat on the couch talking with my friend, Janet.  Two years ago this friend of mine said, "We are not called to adopt.  We will support people who are adopting, but it's not for our family." 


However, God had other plans!  Through two separate trips to Ghana for their family, God changed their hearts.  They are in the process of adopting a little boy from Ghana.  God has changed her (and her husband's) heart so much that last night, she said this,


"I saw R's social welfare report today.  You know, before today he didn't have a past." Janet continues on through tears, "Now I have seen all that he's been through.  He's a child without parents.  He's seen their deaths.  He's left alone.  So, I don't think this is it.  Our house is big enough for more.  I said we could adopt more, and Mark just said, 'We'll see.'  But Robin, I am open to more!"


This child Janet is adopting is number FIVE for their family.  They have been blessed with four of their own the "old-fashioned" way...and she is now open to more!  Amazing!  


God's mercy and love for His children is now reflected even more in this amazing family!

This is a picture of my friend, Paige (left), and my friend, Janet (right).  Both of these families have seen GOD move on the hearts of their husbands toward adoption.  Both families are now adopting little ones!  I've witnessed GOD impact the hearts of these husbands to lead their families into the adoption journey.  Husbands who originally said, "NO WAY!"  


WOW!  More children will have forever families because these two said, "Yes, Lord."




3.)  We received a comment on our blog from a family we have never met.  They are also following the Lord's call to adopt.  These precious strangers sent a gift to World Outreach to help us!  Reid responded to them with this e-mail:


Dear R Family,

Just got your comment on our blog - thank you for your gift. These blessings (encouraging gifts from unexpected places) are the ones that fill our sails with the joy of the Spirit and gratitude to our Father. You have truly blessed us.

We pray for our Father's ongoing favor in your adoption. I know He will bless you for loving the fatherless and providing a home for them - He certainly has blessed us beyond what we could have expected. Maybe we will get to see you when you travel to Ghana! Please keep in touch.

In His Service, 

Reid

Can you believe it?  From Strangers!  What a testimony to the people of God!  Incredible!

4.)  Then I received this FB message:

According to your blog and FB I know you are leaving soon. Not sure the date. But if you find any time at all I (desperately) would love to talk with you about your adoption. Or we can correspond by email if that would be better for times sake. The process, your journey, advice, prayer for our family and our friends walking this journey. After ministering in Rwanda for the past 6 years I know that a country can change its procedures and expectations about anything in a moment. So I'm not looking for a concrete way to move forward but for someone who has pioneered a road in some way. The only thing concrete I'm standing on is Christ. I want to be aware if maybe there are different venues that you may have taken than even the road we are on toward adoption and whom we are working with. I know this request is very selfish on my part asking for you to take time and talk with me. But I'm taking a chance in doing so. Praying for you and your family in this journey. My husband and I have talked about you all and we were ready to move our family to Rwanda 2 years ago, but knew it wasn't time. But God has our hearts moving toward Africa and now the adoption. My husband just got home from Ghana Sunday from a construction trip at an orphanage in Afalo. Thank you so much and blessings today.

So, today I called this woman I've never met.  I found myself blessed connecting with a sister in Christ who has a heart for orphans and for church planting!  While I was standing in WalMart talking with her on the phone, she says, "Can I pray for you?"  Seriously!  She prayed with me on the phone!  God sends encouragement in the most unexpected ways!  The entire conversation was such a blessing!

5.)  AND WONDERFUL NEWS THIS AFTERNOON - I read this wonderful news on Caring Bridge about the little girl, Molly, that we have been praying for.  She has been in the hospital for over 3 weeks enduring two major heart surgeries and many complications, but this is the GOD news for today:

WE ARE GOING HOME TOMORROW!!!! The doctors just made rounds and said the only thing keeping Molly here is her feeds, and we were managing that fine prior to surgery so we are going home tomorrow! Today will be a busy day with training on how to give her the Lovinox injections, learning her new meds (lots of them) and getting my discharge training including how the pacemaker works. I am sooooo excited!! I'm scared too, but so happy that we have made it this far. My iPod is on right now (as always) and it is playing "Mighty to Save" by Hillsong right as I am typing this. I cant tell you how much the music on that ipod has meant to me through this. With tears in my eyes, I am singing in my heart the words to this song. If I wasn't worried about scaring the neighbors, I'd be shouting it from the top of my lungs!!!!

Amanda, I'm shouting praises with you!  I'm so thankful you are all going to be back together as a family!  

6.)  This evening, I received an email from my friend Cheryl Coleman.  She and her husband are missionaries using art as a means to share the gospel.  Their prayer efforts and art ministry have impacted hundreds of youth for Christ.  They have used art to encourage and inspire people around the world.  Cheryl led our boys to help paint a cross which now hangs downtown at Water Angels ministry to the homeless. Cheryl's ARTMail team created personalized cards which we distributed to children in Ghana last year.  And, not only did Cheryl greatly encourage Franklin in his art, but she also gave Franklin the vision to paint a verse on the side of a building in a depressed area of downtown Knoxville.  Our family has been a part of Sun Loft ministry for several years and the Coleman family lives out their walk with Jesus!  This past weekend they participated in an art exhibit sharing with over 100 students the reality that, because of Christ, they CAN change the world.

Here are some of the reflections and questions, Cheryl and David posed to the youth (complete with pictures from our time with them from years ago.).  How would you answer these questions?

Rescued By Our Good Shepherd

Do you believe you can change the world? First, I must ask you– Have you been rescued? Do you have a Savior?

God’s Redeeming Love 

Do you believe in love? To change the world, you need to have the power to proclaim salvation in Jesus’ name—to receive the love of Christ.

Believing in Jesus name

 Do you believe in God’s Word and the power of prayer? To change the world, you need to be rightly connected to the heart of God.

Love Your Family

To change the world, you must love your family.

Serve Your Community

  To change the world, you must learn how to serve Christ in your community

In Christ Alone

To change the world, you must live for an audience of one.

Great Commission

Do you believe you can change the world? Do you really believe you can change the world? Do you?

So are you ready to be an agents of change in this world?

You can change the world by putting your faith in Christ alone. 

Trust Jesus as your Savior and walk in faith today!

Our truth for life verse today— 

“We live by faith, not by sight.” 2 Cor. 5:7

We are all called to be world changers.  There are so many ways to impact this world with Truth.  We can encourage.  We can send a birthday surprise to someone.  We can care for orphans through prayer.  We can fight for them in the spiritual realm.  We can adopt a child - changing one life forever.  We can sit at the bedside of a sick child providing comfort through our presence.  Through the Internet, we can contact people we don't even know and encourage them.  (Tonight I am a huge fan of technology.)  We can pray for others - even if they are standing in WalMart.  We can use art, or any other personal giftings from the Lord, to spread the HOPE and LOVE of Jesus to a lost and dying world.  We can live "on mission" to share the hope of Jesus with everyone.

From young kids to adults, everyone I wrote about above is a world changer.  Will you be one too?

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
    be acceptable in your sight,
    O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Psalm 19:14

Whom Shall I SEND?

May 2, 2012 was the first “Sending Off” for our family.  Our LIFEGroup hosted a night in our honor to commission us to GO to Ghana.  They are sending us to do God's work.

This significant ceremony was so special to us.  The friends in this group have walked “life” with us closely for the past four years.  We have grown together, laughed together, served together and cried together.  (Tonight I did a LOT of crying!  In fact, kids were praying that “Mrs. Beebe wouldn’t cry!”  Well, sorry!)

The commissioning ceremony took place in a perfect setting - a backyard.  Being outside in God’s creation seemed so fitting.  Beautifully simple.  

Kids played baseball.  Little ones ziplined.  Our first “gluten-free” potluck was delicious.  (Everyone needs friends who will throw a party and meet special dietary needs!  Even families without gluten limitations created Gluten-free food!  WOW!  Now, that is true friendship!)

I love the pictures from tonight.  (thanks Steph!)  Nothing is posed - our group is not a “posing” kind of group.  These friends are simply striving strongly to follow Christ.  Every family is giving their life away in tangible ways and it’s been AMAZING to see everything Christ has done.  What started with four families really living outwardly focused, quickly added other families already living the same way.  Within the families represented, there are 21 adopted children within 15 families, and we are waiting for 8 more children from 3 different countries!  Incredible!

These families have “spurred us on.”  They have “sharpened us.”  Friends are encouraging friends to really “do” what God says to do, and not just talk about it.  Everyone has stepped into life together to impact this world with the love of Christ.  As we studied scripture, we realized our lives needed to be a reflection of what the Bible teaches and how Jesus lived.  It was wonderful to worship, serve, and grow alongside others following hard after Jesus.  Even our boys have found friends who will stand beside them at all times.  

Every family spoke blessing over us.  They shared words that felt undeserved, yet each thing said could only testify to what God is doing in us.  His work in our lives has been reflected beautifully to those closest to us.  After each person spoke, I wanted to say, “I would say the same to you...I would say the same to you...”  These friends have inspired and challenged us with what it means to really give everything to Jesus.  Everything.

Although tears were heavy for me - Kristie and Janet both stepped into the tears with me.   (Thank you, friends, for expressing the "feeling" of all of this!  And, Sydney, wow!  YOU led the way by sharing your heart for orphans!  Thank you for living out your faith at such a young age!  What an inspiration you are!)

At the end of the evening, everyone signed a covenant committing to pray over eight specific areas for our family.  This body of prayer warriors are willing to intercede on our behalf for the following areas: marriage  (Eph 5:25,33), children (Eph. 6:4), spirituality (Col. 1:27-28), family (1 Cor 4:12), education (Deut 6:7), finances (Mark 25:14), ministry (Luke 12:48), and physical health (1 Cor 6:19-20).

Words are inadequate to express how much we will miss you!    Our lives are forever changed because of the families in this group.  Thank you all for impacting our lives with your rich love for Christ.  It’s evident.  

We carry a piece of each of you with us to Ghana -

 Bales, Bowlings, Brownings, Dempsters, Flores, Millers, Moses (across the miles, you are still a part of us), O'Learys, Roberts, Rogers (still feel like you are with us), Sodonis’s, Tegelaars, Weatherlys, and Von Hagens. No one could have “sent” us better.  Thank you for taking the responsibility of “sending” so seriously.  You have loved us well.  We love you.  Always.


Thank you for sending us in the name of Jesus.

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 

“Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” 

Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”  

Isaiah 6:8

Slight Gap

We praise god for all He has done to rise up partners in His work for Ghana.  We rejoice because of His provision for our family.  We stand amazed by all of His people who have committed to love orphans and spread the hope of Jesus throughout Ghana.  

We have written very sparingly on this blog about our financial need.  We see this as an avenue for us to share everything the Lord is doing in our lives.  However, this week we learned that our support base is dropping by 5% due to a job change of one of our partners.  We are so thankful for everything this family has done to help us, but need your help to fill in the gap.  This drops our support to 93% and we trust the Lord to provide what is needed.

Our one-way plane tickets are purchased for departure June 12th.  With everything we need to accomplish between now and then, it would be nearly impossible for us to meet with people to ask for support.  Would you pray about helping to fill in the remaining 7%?  We greatly need your help.  We board a plane in 34 days.  

Most mission boards will not allow their missionaries to depart without 100% partnership, and most recommend a 10% cushion for support that drops off.  Friends, we are not at 100%, but we know God is calling us to leave with or without the committed support.  It certainly would be easier to GO knowing we have full support, but we are going either way because we serve a God who says, “Trust me!”  And we do.

Please pray for God to provide this final amount before we depart.  We realize without it, our stress could be much greater.  Additionally, with full support, our efforts will be completely on ministry and not on trying to raise this remaining amount from overseas.  Please pray for God’s perfect provision for our family.  We know, beyond a show of a doubt, He will provide what we need.  He always has.

Friends, if the Lord leads you, we would be grateful for your help to accomplish what God is calling us to do.  Partnering with us is easy.  Click here for more information or click on the Partner With Us button on the right blog sidebar.  Monthly support of any amount would close this gap - even one-time gifts will help.  Please pray about joining in what the Lord is doing in Ghana, West Africa!

Who covers the heavens with clouds, 

Who provides rain for the earth,

Who makes grass to grow on the mountains.

He gives to the beast its food,

And to the young ravens which cry.

The does not delight in the strength of a horse;

He does not take pleasure in the legs of a man.

The Lord favors those who fear Him,

Those who wait for His lovingkindness.

Psalm 148:8-11


For those who have asked, our wish list has been updated.  Email me and we can arrange a pick up.  Thanks for helping in this way as well!  We are grateful for YOU!


On May 15, 2012 - God has provided another 1%!  Yeah-Rah!  We are now at 94%
On May 18, 2012 - God has provided another 2%!  Whoo-Hoo!  Thank you Lord for providing through your faithful servants!  Yeah-Rah!

It's the People

We have just arrived home and finished unloading the car from a wonderful weekend in High Point, NC.  We had an amazing weekend with friends, and enjoyed an beautiful worship service this morning with our friends at CBC.  I hope to blog more about the weekend and other events from this past week, but needed to record something tonight before I forget.  Forgive me if the writing is not polished.  It's late, but I feel I need to write it.

"For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears; not so that you would be made sorrowful, but that you may know the love which I have especially for you."

2 Corinthians 2:4

"...He on whom we have set our hope.  And He will yet deliver us, You also joining in helping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many."  

2 Corinthians 1:10b -11

We left High Point around 4:20 pm, it's now 10:55 pm as I begin tapping out this post on the keyboard.

We said our final goodbyes and then hit the road to head home from High Point.  It's a long ride, so we decided to fill up before leaving town.  We stopped for gas as the Wilco on Main Street.  Everyone went inside to prepare for the long ride.  (i.e. Go to the restroom!)

I grabbed a water and turn around to see Braden hidden behind a coke display beginning to cry - really, really cry.   Squeezing his eyes shut trying not to show his emotion, he couldn't help himself.  The flood was coming.  Sudden.  Unexpected.  He buckled his body into me.

Holding him close, I asked what was wrong and he cried out, "I don't want to leave!  I don't want to leave!" he sobbed into my shirt.  (We weren't even out of High Point yet.)

"You don't want to leave High Point or America?"  I asked.

"I don't want to leave everybody here.  We're leaving everybody." he choked out.

"Oh Honey.  It's alright.  Shhh.  It's alright.  I'm so sorry this hurts so much.  Shhh...  It's okay"

It took several minutes for Braden to calm down before we could return to the van.   The waves come so unexpectedly.  How is an 8 year old to work through all he's feeling?

Several hours later, we stopped again.  Franklin accidentally spilled a drink on a sketch he'd been working on for me for Mother's Day.  He had completed most of it, and it was beautiful - a landscapes with a path surrounded by a leaned fence leading into the mountains.  The drawing was probably the best he'd done of a landscape.  He'd titled it, "The Journey."  He's been working on it for weeks.  For me.

Because of the coke spill, he immediately crumpled up the picture and screamed out, "It's ruined!"  With the wad in his hands, he beelined for the trashcan.  Tears coming.

"NOOOOO!!!" I screamed.  "Give it to me.  It was to be a gift for me.  DO NOT THROW IT AWAY."

"But it's ruined." Franklin said through tears.

I held the gift my hands and tenderly tried to pull apart the wrinkles without tearing the wet paper.

"Franklin, I am so sorry.  Please let me keep this.  Right now, this flattened out piece of paper with a spilled drink on it is a picture of our journey.  Nothing has been what we've expected, but God is working everything out for His good.  Oh, Franklin I am so sorry.  You have worked so hard on this.  I know how special this is to you.  It's so beautiful, and I will cherish it.  You see the coke, and I only see your drawing.  I'm so sorry.  It's going to be okay.  It's going to be okay."

More comforting from mom and dad.  More frustration from Franklin over losing something he'd worked so hard on.  (For those of you don't know, Franklin is an avid artist and his drawings are very important to him.)  He battled anger and emotion silently in the back of the van once we started back on the road.

And then...

After another hour of travel, we heard commotion in the backseat.

"Mom," Mason cried out, "Godwin just spilled his apple juice all over Franklin's sketch book!"

I looked back to see something I NEVER see.  Franklin was bawling in the backseat.  Wrenching sobs.  His sketchbook is another appendage to his body.  He's never without it.  I think this book is his most treasured possession.  So much of his heart is drawn on the pages.

Reid pulled the van over in the darkness.  It was time to love on our son(s).  We needed stop and comfort them.  Reid held Franklin's sobbing body while I tried to dry off the sketchbook.  Thankfully, the damage was minimal.  I assured him we would salvage everything.  Most of his drawings had been completely protected.  Those that were wet, were dry wherever his pencil had touched the paper.  I hugged Franklin tightly and he leaned in to me with a defeated, desolate, disappointed look in his eyes.

Once Franklin could assess that the damage wasn't as bad as he thought, he calmed down.  He had to be shown how we could fix the wet edges and reassured that everything was NOT ruined.  It would be okay.   We would be okay.

Franklin had just enjoyed a weekend with some of his closest friends on earth, and he'd left them.  Internally, he is processing so much, and these reactions are not typical.  Overreactions are coming frequently because we are all processing so much.  Tears spring from no where - triggered by the most unexpected things.

Another small event in the car for Mason caused us to pray and cry out to God on the drive home.  As a family, we prayed together asking for God's help!


When we arrived home to my parents' house (where we are living now), understanding hit me.

I've been wondering why this doesn't seem as hard for other people.  Why doesn't everyone else feel this as deeply as we do?  How come others are not as emotional as we are?  

I realized our friends and family are dealing with the loss of one friend or one family - us.  That is hard.


We are dealing with the loss of EVERY SINGLE FRIEND AND EVERY SINGLE FAMILY MEMBER outside our immediate family.  E-V-E-R-Y  S-I-N-G-L-E  O-N-E.  That is HUGE!


Not to mention leaving everything else familiar.  And, we are saying goodbye to every person.  Over and over.

For some reason, I'd never realized the magnitude of what we are processing right now.


Trying to check a pulse on each son, I asked Weston, "How are you doing with us leaving?"

Pause.  Silence.

"Okay.  On a scale of 1-10 with a 10 being, I'm doing horrible, I can't stop thinking about it, I want to cry all the time.  I really sad about it constantly. And 1 being - I'm okay.  What's the big deal?  I never think about it.  How would you score yourself?"

Weston looked at me fighting back tears, "Seven..." (Long Pause)  "Point five."

I hugged him.  "It will be okay.  It will be okay."  What else could I say?

We will be okay.  I must trust in the God who will make it all okay!  I must believe it!

(Just so you know, I am crying often - a minimum of 2-3 times daily now and I would have chosen the number 8.  Weston is only doing ".5" better than his mom.  Oh friends, please pray for us!)

Mason was slumped on the couch - another rare sight.  "Are you doing okay, Mason?" I asked sitting next to him.

Then he said this...

"Mom, ya know, I can leave air conditioning and clean water out of the faucet.  I can leave hot showers,  I can leave smooth roads.  I leave the comforts we have here, but it's the people.  It's the people I don't want to leave.  The people are what makes this so hard"


(Me either, Mason.  I don't want to leave them either, and that is not selfish.  That is honesty.  To leave those we deeply love must be done as a sacrifice of praise.  Leaving those we love is a gift we must willingly, but painfully place at the altar.  Every day, we must now place it painfully on the altar over and over again as we continually repeat our goodbyes.  It hurts.  It's so hard...)

"Me too, Mason.  I understand.  Mason, what can dad and I do to make this easier for you?"

"You and dad don't need anything else to do."

(But we are the parents!  We are supposed to make this okay for our children!  How can we do that?  Not only am I trying to cope with my own emotions of grief, but I need to nurture my sons in their pain.  I need to meet them where they are too.  How can I do that adequately?   Please help me, Lord.  Sometimes I don't know what to say or do to comfort them.  I feel so helpless.   Help us, Lord.)

Mason, Franklin and I talked for a few more minutes then headed downstairs.

Since all the boys are in one room, goodnight time is always family time.  Tonight as we prayed, our hearts were poured out before God.  Reid prayed for us during this season of grieving, covering our family with his spiritual leadership.  Reid does this amazingly.  Then Reid asked God to help our family continue living our family motto - to "Be a blessing."  In the midst of these emotions, tears, and pain, Reid prayed that our family would "in some small way be a blessing to others."  He prayed that we could continue "loving as Jesus loved" with all that we are.  He prayed for strength for us to "see the needs of others before our own."

Lord, please help us in the coming days.  We are desperate for you.  

My soul is cast down within me;

    therefore I remember you...

Deep calls to deep

at the roar of your waterfalls;

all your breakers and your waves    

have gone over me.

By day the Lord commands his steadfast love,    

⁸ 

and at night his song is with me,    

a prayer to the God of my life.

Psalm 42:6-8


We have set our HOPE on Christ alone.

Spiritual Powers

Guest Blogger:  Mason, our son, age 15

  Recently I have been leading several devotions at my school. I have talked about being different and how to make a difference. Sadly, many American Christians think that in order to make a difference, they need to become a missionary, Christian musician, Christian author, or pastor. While all of these are great occupations, I think the best way to make a difference is to allow God to use you in your everyday life. God will not put you in a place where you cannot minister. He has put you where you are for a reason. If He calls you to a Christian occupation, great, but if not reach out from where you are.

   Christianity should not be about a few Christians doing big things, but every Christian doing something.

   As I was preparing my devotion for school I realized that so often, especially as youth, we hear "Make a difference, make a difference," but we have no idea how to do that. We often hear to just do small things such as talking to someone who looks like they need someone to talk to, but I feel that is shrinking the call that we have as Christians.

  We often hear of spiritual gifts, which are unique to specific people, but there are spiritual powers that are universal to Christians. I came up with three spiritual powers we have at our disposal.  The power of the Holy Spirit, the power of your age, and the power of numbers.

"Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father." John 14:12 (ESV)

     Think for a minute about all the miracles Jesus performed. No really, think about it. He raised people from the dead, healed sick, fed five thousand men, calmed the sea, walked on water, turned water into wine, and the list could go on and on. These are all works of God himself, and Jesus says that we will do greater thing than these. Wow!

     I recently heard a story about a missionary in South America. One of the things he does as a missionary is ordain pastors. This missionary has a list of accomplishments that must be done before he will ordain a pastor. One of the things on the list for ordination is to raise someone from the dead, and, even with this requirement, he has ordained several men as pastors.  Miracles are happening at the present time. Miracles do happen today.  Jesus is strong and more power, and he is more than willing to share His power and strength with his Beloved.
   
     Why is it that American Christians do not perform miracles? Why is that not an everyday occurrence? I think the main reason is because people are afraid of looking stupid. In the Bible, Jesus always speaks to raise someone from the dead and speaks to perform most of his other miracles. Imagine if you went to a morgue where one of your friends had died. If you went to your friend and said "Get up" and he or she did not get up, you would look like you had lost your mind. But this fear of looking stupid reveals another reason why miracles are not everyday occurrences. We never have to rely totally on God. If we were reliant on God, we would not be afraid of looking stupid, because we would know that a miracle would/could be performed, and we would not care what the world thought of us.

     When you hear the power of your age, you are probably thinking, "How is that a power?" In Ghana this is very evident. The average life expectancy for an Ghanaian is 57 years. The average life expectancy in America is 78 years. In Ghana, since life is not very long, younger people will listen to older people. My Dad (not that he is really that old) has an advantage, because of his age. Ghanaians will be inclined to listen to him. For my brothers and myself, we will be able to connect better with the orphans and youth of Ghana, because we understand them. That is our advantage. When you think about it, your age really is a power. Older people have wisdom and experience. Younger people have more physical abilities and energy.  Any age holds power.

     The last spiritual power I came up with was the power of numbers. While it is very hard to estimate accurately, several sources say that there are about 2.1 billion Christians worldwide. If this estimation is true, then about a third of the earth's population is Christian. That is incredible to think that I have about 2 billion brothers and sisters around the world (and you thought your family was big). What if every 2 billion of us started making a difference right where we were? If that happened, imagine how many more children would be added to God's family.  There is power in the massive number of people who profess to believe in Christ.
 
 This is a challenge. What are you going to do about it? If you feel like you want to do more for Christ, right now, begin writing down what you want to do to make a difference. And don't get up until you are done. When you finish, find someone who will hold you accountable to this challenge. Give them a copy of what you wrote and make sure they hold you to this decision. If you do write a challenge for yourself DO NOT leave out how you will continue to grow, rely on and love Christ. If we are not going to be firmly anchored on Christ, then we shouldn't even try to make a difference for Him. You have power. What are you going to do with it?

"He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the LORD is powerful and so that you might always fear the LORD your God.” 

Joshua 4:24

Mason