A bigger picture

I just want to share some stories from others who have moved into Binghampton and the work/life that is going on here.

Please Please Please following the link and watch the 4 part SHORT clips about life here in the Bing.

Continue praying as we strive for God’s kingdom here in our cities.

http://www.commissionstories.com/stories/283

Once upon a time…

Once upon a time, in a land west of Bartlett a young Somali woman lived with her husband and 3 children.  She had a good friend, Catherine, who would come visit her often.  One day she asked Catherine if she could teach her how to use her “bottom stove.”  Catherine quickly understood that G wanted to learn to cook with her oven and made plans to teach her.   The next time she came over she brought break and bake cookies and a cookie sheet over to her apartment so that she herself could see how her oven baked.

G had never used her oven at all and the previous tenants had never cleaned it, by the looks of things.  So they began by cleaning her oven and showing her how to turn it on and what the degrees meant.  After that they “breaked”  and “baked”  the cookies. When they were done G was filled with such pride and accomplishment.  She invited her neighbors over shared her cookies with them and told them she had made them with her “bottom stove.”   Catherine was so blessed to know G and see her hospitality and delight in learning and accomplishing new things.  G is well on her way to living in the U.S. with confidence and Catherine was humbled and honored that she gets to be a part of G’s new life here in the states.

more to come soon

let’s be honest

Isaiah 56:7 ” these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer, their burnt offering and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar, for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.”

I am going to come back to that in a minute, but now I just want be honest with you and share about my heart and what is going on in it.  We have been learning a lot about how to share the gospel with Muslims and most agree that it takes a Muslim hearing the gospel 30-40xs before professing Jesus as Lord.  I have really just been learning how sharing the gospel is a spiritual discipline.  It is hard.  I am tried of going over the same stuff over and over again, sometimes I just want to shout “KNOW JESUS ALREADY!”  I just want to right some off and say, well they aren’t going to repent and move on to someone else who will receive Jesus.

I am telling you all this to say, I have little discipline, little faith, and little patience to share the gospel 40xs with someone.  Salvation is a miracle, it is a work that only God can do in the heart and life of someone.  I just have to be faithful to share, because ‘it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.”  Romans 1:16 I have to remind myself of that everyday.  I give myself a pep talk “Catherine, you are to be about making disciples, remember the gospel, remember the gospel.”  All I can say is , “Man it is hard.”

Back to the verse above, I need to be more prayerful.  I need to be praying for the nations, for salvation, and for the peoples of the world to know God.  In Mark 11:17 Jesus quotes this verse when He throws out all of those selling sacrifices and tells them that the temple is to be a house of prayer for all nations.  My body is a temple of God.  It is to be a place of prayer for the nations.  Will you join me in praying for my Somali and Iraqi Friends, for the nations among us, and for those that have no access to the gospel.

“Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence–” Is 64:1

a story to relate

I know this has been long over due.  I must confess, I have been feeling guilty about not posting, which makes me want to put it off even more.  Well the silence is over, I have a story to tell.

Every Thursday afternoon we prayer walk our fugee neighborhood.  We had just started to walk when we ran into a fugee friend of ours and stopped to say hello.  I have no idea why I did this, but I asked how he got that scar on his neck.  He told me he was getting fire wood with his sister and some men came and tried to rape her.  He told them that they would have to kill him if they tried to touch her.  They said then we will kill you and stabbed his neck, one guy then said “no, let’s not kill him.” and they left.  He survived and his sister remained untouched.

I then was able to tell about the tornado that hit my school and left a scar on my face.  I told him that GOD saved me and that GOD saved him too.  God protected all of us in those moments of terror looking death in the face.  He looked at me and agreed that God did save us.

Pray for this man.  He is hearing a lot of truth from me and my team, pray that this truth he hears will draw him to God.

Pray for our new families.  Pray for the fear they experience being in a new place and the reality that they will more than likely never go home.  Pray for health, a lot are sick right now.  Pray that they will hear and respond to the gospel.

I had to repent.  I spent a lot of tears and time praying that the scar on my face would fade and it has, but as we walked away and began prayer walking I became very thankful that I was hit by a tornado and that my face was cut, if only to share about Christ with this man.  Lord forgive me of my vanity.

Just an Update

Life in the Bing is always eventful.  This past week we welcomed two new Somali families into our neighborhood.  After taking them for their entrance physicals we made “Welcome to America” baskets and took it to their homes.  We filled it with all sorts of useful and fun things.  We showed our family what each item was and tried to explain what it was for.  This family speaks NO English, They can say “thank you” and “welcome,” but that is it.

We have gotten really good at sound effects.  This is a side note, but we laugh a lot in the office when we talk about our experiences in the clinic with families that don’t speak English.  Trying to explain getting your blood pressure and temperature checked, you know, stick it under your tongue.  My favorite is the urine sample.  How do you explain filling a cup with urine to someone who has no idea what you are saying?  I will not share these stories on my blog, but feel free to ask me later, they are funny.

One of the things we put in baskets for families with little children is a jump rope.  This family is a single mom with 3 young children.  When we pulled out the jump rope their faces lite up as we explained and then showed them how to use it.  We jumped rope in their apartment living room for 2 hours!!!  We laughed and played and colored and jumped.  It was so great.  We would tell them things in English they would respond in Somali, we had no idea what each other was saying, but we still had a great time.  Pray for this family as they are trying to adjust to their new life in America.

In other news I had a good friend of mine come spend her long weekend with me.  I got to show her around my neighborhood and we spent lots of time praying and visiting with families.  I hope she was able to get a good picture of what I do, and I loved having her encouragement!!

I can’t post this without asking once again for prayer for my two friends G and M.  I have been convicted recently about the lack of grace I have been modeling for them.  It scares me that right now that I am their only example of what it means to be a disciple of Christ.  Discipleship does really start after conversion.  They looked to me to see what it means to believe is Jesus and I demonstrate to them what it means to live with Jesus as Lord.  And frankly, I am doing a poor job.  I need your prayers, I need the Holy Spirit to work, I need to see things as Christ sees them.

Please join me in praying for the Muslim women in Memphis, TN.

Another day that I am not faithful…

…Is another day that one of my “fugees” (an affectionate term we use for our “clients”) continues in darkness without hearing about the hope that is only found in Jesus Christ.

The eternal implications of my lack of boldness and faithfulness to proclaim the gospel hit me like a ton of bricks today as I had dinner with my dear Friends Bob and Joanna Sparks.  They simply asked me what I do.  What I do is futile unless I speak and live the gospel.

One of my fugees has a job and makes around $500 a month.  His rent is $600 and utilities is $150, he has 7 kids and a wife to take care of.  He needs help and he needs hope, but us helping him with his bills is a means, but not the end.  The end is him knowing Christ.

Friday I got to sit on the couch of one of my dear fugees, G.  I asked her to help me put henna on my hands, I needed her to teach me.  As she painted my finger nails and palms I asked her if we are friends.  We talked about friendship, which turned into a conversation about God and ended with her saying she didn’t know anything about Jesus.  Her husband came in before I could respond.  He saw my hands and laughed at how red (now a bright orange) my finger tips are.  He said that when people look at my hands they will say “Love.”  Yes, I love G.  I hope she knows that.

Saturday I got a message from a Fugee telling me that I was the best friend she ever had and that she prays (to Allah) that God would give me everything that I desire.  Does she know that what I desire most is for her to know Jesus and one day worship beside me in glory?  If not, it is because I have not been faithful.

Today I got to meet with two Iraqi women.  They want help speaking and understanding English.  So I brought over two new testaments and asked if we could read the book of Luke together (which I was unsure about how they would respond since they are Muslim).  They agreed and we were able to talk about God answering prayer, sending a prophet, and what it must be like to see an angel and hear a message from God.  I was invited to come over again and continue teaching English from the Word.  They now have God’s holy word in their home.

Talking with Bob and Joanna I had to remember that it is God who saves people, not me, that the Holy Spirit can move and work beyond language barriers, and that God’s word is powerful!

I am encouraged and frustrated by these things that have happened.  With new understanding I see that we battle not against flesh and blood and that those “spiritual forces of evil” are not going to sit back and just watch.  There are several dark places we go into and I must confess, many times I have a spirit of fear.

please pray with me against these forces and that I would not give into fear, but take refuge in a King who is victor over ALL.  Pray for G and her husband, pray for best friend fugee, pray for Iraqis reading Luke, pray against those spiritual strong holds, pray for more means to an end, pray that we all would be faithful.

Value

These past few weeks I have been learning so much my self cant take much more.  It is more than just a head knowledge, but my heart is so full and so very burdened for the people I am working for.

So many good things have happened.  I have been building deeper relationships with some women and have had some really good conversations, but some set backs as well.  There is something being lost in translation.  Lately a lot of the ladies I have been helping have been apologizing for things taking a long time or for being an inconvenience.  They say things like, “I am just refugee.” and “I don’t know anything.”  Oh how I wish they could see how much I value them and how I should be the one apologizing.  It is my system that is failing them and it is me that is not clearly expressing how much I need them in my lives.  I have learned so much from them and have grown so much deeper in my relationship with the Lord from knowing them.  My faith has been challenged and daily strengthened just by doing life with them.

How can I make them feel loved?  What am I doing wrong?

Today one woman told me some of her story.  Her story is sad.  She has known desperation and trauma beyond what we can even imagine.  She has no hope.  Being in America is not going to sustain her.  America is failing her, it is not giving her the “dream.”  She needs Christ.  She needs to know Christ’s love.  I am one of the few believers that she knows and that knows her and her story.  If I don’t show her Christ, who will?  If I don’t teach her truth, who will?  If I am not an example of unconditional love, who will be?

Did you know?

Did you know…

• That Kenya host the world’s largest refugee camps, with 280,000 refugees and 6,400 new arrivals coming monthly (stats as current as aug 09 from the UNHCR)
• Most of these refugees are Somali
• Somalis are being resettled across the United States
• They are moving from refugee camps, that are slums, into poverty stricken neighborhoods in our inner cities
• Most Somalis know only war, famine, and life sustained by the UNHCR, they have little memories of life in Somali, or life before war

Be in prayer for our Somali neighbors as they trying to begin new lives here in the US.

Night of Power

Week 2 and half of 3 have gone by and the pace has only increased.  I spend a lot of my time going to appointments with refugees helping them understand how to get aid and then how to use the aid they are given.

We received two new families this week from Iraq.  When a family first arrives here they have several doctor’s visits and they are not fun at all.  So I have been trying to comfort them while they are getting shots, blood work, and testing for stuff.

Wednesday night is the night of power.  Muslims all over the world will be expecting to see visions and revelation.  Be praying that they see Jesus.

quote of the day: Why is the church always working in the government world instead of the government working in the churches world?

Week One on the the Job

Well…

Where to begin.  1. I moved into a white house in the bing with an awesome porch swing.  My house is great.  I feel really spoiled living in it.  2. Roommates are awesome!  We have already laughed really hard and had some heart talks and I cannot wait to see where the Lord takes us this coming year.  3. Job= I am so glad I am done with school and get to do this!  Do not get me wrong, refugee resettlement is going to be so hard.  It has been so humbling just going through the training of how to holistically reach the refugees.

The highlight of the week was definitely Friday.  I got to take a Somali woman and her 10 day old baby to the doctor for their new born check up.  I asked lots of questions, learn so much about her and her family and background.  We laughed really hard and told funny stories.  She is 21 and has 4 children.  The whole time I was with her I felt so young and out of place.  What do I have to offer this woman?  Why am I even doing this?  Then we started talking about fasting.  This is Ramadan and Muslims around the world are fastings, which is on of the pillars of Islam.  She asked me if I fasted and why.  I was able to tell her that I do in order to grow in greater intimacy with Christ.  (If you haven’t picked this up already, she speaks awesome English)  Then she said, “People are always messing up, I bet you have to fast for forgiveness too.”  There it was, an opening to the gospel!  I was going for it, about to explain that fasting can be an act of repentance, but that because of Christ, not our acts of fasting, are we saved!

Then the doctor came in and the conversation ended.  Praise the Lord for openness in conversation and the beginning of a beautiful friendship!  Please pray for my friend, for her husband, for her children.  Pray that they come to know Jesus and that I am able to have more intentional conversations with her.  Pray for Muslims all over the world as they try to gain their salvation and praise the Lord that Christ is significant!  That His atoning work on the cross satisfied the wrath of God and in Him we have LIFE!

side note: there is a link called supportcatherine with information on ways you can support me in ministry.  But for the record, my biggest need is prayer, continual pray, I need me that will commit to praying for me on a regular bases.  [link under blogroll]