Am I worth it???

Okay, so I just have to share where I am lately...

It all started Monday... I was really dreading going to language class. However, I pushed through and went any ways, praying and asking God to bless my efforts. Well, bless them He did!! I had a great class and was very encouraged with the way it went and the progress I seemed to have made!! Yesterday, things were okay, not great and not horrible either. Then today rolls around and BAM!! Here's what happened... Once again, I was dreading going to class but I went any ways. On the way there, God and I are chatting and I ask Him to once again, bless my efforts. Well, God then asks me..."Crystal, am I worth it??" Of course, I reply, "Yes God, you are worth it!!" So, I get to class and my "language world" starts crumbling!! By the time I leave class my "language world" is in ruins!! I'm at the point of tears and Arnett's wanting to know what's wrong. Here's our conversation...

Me: "When we get home..."

Arnett:"When we get home, you'll tell me what's wrong?"

Me: "No, when I get home, I'm packing my bags, buying Zeke and I tickets, and we're going back to America"

We get home and I start to process everything, then God reminds me of our earlier conversation..."I am worth it?", He asked. And I immediately replied, "Yes God, you are worth it!" Which is so easy to say when things are going well and all is hunky dory in my world!! However, when things start to crumble do I really think He's worth it. My heart screams "YES!!! He is MORE than worth it" While, at the same time, my flesh screams "NO!! He's not worth it!!" I know though, God IS more than worth it!! Truth of the matter is, God gave His only Son for me (and you too) and that is way more than I am giving to Him on a daily basis. So, the bags are remaining in the closet, unpacked, and the plane tickets will not be bought. Because no matter how long it takes me to learn Bambara and no matter what unpleasant situation I find myself in...the bottom line is... GOD IS WORTH IT and THEN SOME!! I pray you are finding that He is worth it no matter what situation you find yourself in!

Of course, I can't post without posting a picture of our little man!! Until next time...

8 months ago...

Well, we can't believe but we've been here for 8 months now. A lot has happened in the past 8 months. We've had some of the best times and some of the not so best times. We've grown a lot but at the same time, still have a long way to grow! So, what have we been up to lately??? I can sum it all up in one word...

LANGUAGE!! I am sure all of you are sick and tired of us talking about language and asking you to pray for us in this area. Honestly, we thought after being here for 8 months we would be fluent Bambara speakers, boy were we wrong!! While, we have come a long way since we first arrived here 8 months ago, we still have a long way to go. There are days we get so discouraged we want to quit but we know we must keep moving forward if we ever want to get to where we need to be. At times, well a lot of the time, this is very frustrating. The enemy is constantly throwing lies into our faces. Such as, "you don't have a purpose here", "you can't even speak, you might as well go home", "you're never going to get this, so you might as well give up".Honestly, there are days we buy into those lies but then our Heavenly Father comes in and gently reminds us, "I do have a purpose for you here! In due time, you will see!" So, here we are, 8 months into living on another continent, still trying to learn to speak the language. Praise the Lord, we are finally at a point where we are starting to bridge into learning spiritual vocabulary. Hopefully soon, we can start sharing why we came to Mali in the first place....JESUS!!

Zeke is growing faster than we can believe. He went to the doctor a couple of weeks ago. His weight came in at 14.6 pounds!! On the 28th he turned 3 months old. He's talking, cooing, laughing, and babbling more and more. One thing is for sure, he may not look like his Mama but he sure does have my mouth!! The boy is hardly ever quiet!! Praise the Lord, most of the time it's just babbling and not crying!

Our little man, 3 months old!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We've also been dog sitting for one of our team mates, LaVerne. She is on vacation right now. She has a 2 year old, yellow lab named Sherlock. He's been such a joy to have around. He's a sweet dog and it's been nice having him around!! I did promise Arnett that once he goes back home, I can't say anything about us getting a dog!! Hope I can keep my promise! :~)

Sherlock

 

 

 

 

 

 

Praises:

1. While we still have a lot to learn, we have learned a lot!
2. Zeke is a very good baby and very healthy!
3. Rain!! It seems to be raining about every day here lately!

Prayer Requests:

1. Language
2. That we will keep our focus on God and not the tons of other distractions that come our way.

We can't say "THANK YOU!" enough for all your prayers!! Until next time...