Ahhh... africa!

Tuesday-
Its 6 am I am just sitting here with the Lord on my back porch. I’ve been awake since 4:45 and it feels so wonderful here in the mornings. It’s probably 70 degrees, no humidity, and watching the sun come up and Africa awaken is beautiful. I have been waking up every morning for the past few days at 4:45 or 4:50. It’s the craziest thing. I NEVER thought I’d be wide awake at 4:45 and in bed asleep at 10 pm. Haha so crazy! But, I actually love it. I love getting up early in the morning and spending time with the Lord and doing everything I need to do before my busy day starts at 8 am. Yesterday morning we had a meeting with pastors and ladies from villages. Heidi spoke and it was just beautiful. There are so many things to learn from her. We got to hear her preach in 3 different languages so that was interesting! Then I got to pray for a precious village woman. She lit up when I grabbed her hand to pray for her. She just smiled and smiled and hugged me extra tight when I left. Even though we don’t speak the same language…. Love is a language and it’s something both of us understand and have. I will never forget that precious woman.

Also, I got to get on facebook and talk to my parents and little brother yesterday. Even though I cried the entire time I talked to people, it helped! It was SO wonderful hearing my family’s voice. Oh how I miss them so much. One thing the Lord is teaching me is the importance of family. I have always loved my family and have such a special relationship with them. But, as a missionary, family is one of the most important things. No matter where I am in the world my family LOVES and MISSES me. They care about me and they will be praying for me. When I come home, I will fit right back and their lives and nothing will have changed. They support me and I am so thankful for that. They love me and I love them too. The Lord is also teaching me how to love HIM more than anything or anyone else. I am learning what it’s like to completely surrender AL L, take up my cross, and follow Him to the ends of the earth. It’s not an easy thing… and it might take 2 months to fully grasp. But I am on a journey to get there.

Today is children’s day! It’s a holiday! The whole city shuts down and about 3000-4000 children will be coming to base today and we are going to feed them and have fun with them. Also, that means we get CHICKEN today! AND we get it TOMORROW!!! Praise Jesus!!! If you don’t know me, I basically live off chicken and I am so excited about having some today… in a few hours! Yippee!

I learned how to take stitches out yesterday! Can’t wait to be a nurse. 

Since I have been waking up at 4:45 or 4:50 lately I decided maybe the Lord was trying to teach me something. So, I looked up all the verses in the bible from each book at verse 4:45, 4:50, 44:5. And I found nothing. BUT then I went to Isaiah and read chapter 44 and 45. The Lord is so sweet. My prayer for each one of you reading this is you grasp just how MUCH the Lord LOVES you. YOU are His beloved. YOU!  How beautiful!

Yesterday, I bought a cell phone, went to the market, and to the grocery store. Now I have yummy oranges, pineapple, cucumbers, and bananas. Their bananas here are green and very tiny but they are so so good! I hear they have some good mangos but I have yet to find them. The internet here is so weird. Sometimes we have it, sometimes we don’t. So HOPEFULLY we can get on once a week! Also, alex and I are praying that we can get a USB drive here that hooks up to our computer and we can get internet once we pay for minutes. That would be awesome! They should come in with them next week. Praise Jesus!

Well, I’m off to make 3000 bags of candy for kids 

Children’s day was AWESOME!!! First we got CHICKEN… yummy chicken. THEN, we got to feed over 3000 children. Heidi came and gave gifts to all of her ministry kids and then the 3000 children were village children who had walked from all over to be here. Such a special thing! Some kids walked for hours just to be here today. My friend Laura and I took a walk on the beach and got in the Indian ocean for a bit. Side note #1… I live with so many different cultures and people therefore I am picking up so many things… british, Laura’s sayings, Portuguese, etc. haha. Side note #2… I’ve now swam in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic Oceans, Mediterranean Sea, and the Gulf. That is something I’ve always wanted to do and now it’s done. Check off my list! So… back to the day. When we got back on Base Laura and I started to just love on these village kids. They are so so so precious! They surely stole my heart! I was made to love on children FOREVER!!!
I love how sweet Jesus is. He provided money to feed over 3500 children. WOAH! He just loves those starving kids! After Laura and I play with some of the kiddos we went and stood in their assembly line and just blessed and prayed over each child. We felt that was what the Lord wanted us to do… and seriously it was one of the best blessings to ME ever. Some of the children had hair that was starting to turn orange and I just started to tear up when I saw them because that meant they were starving. This was their first meal and who knows how long. Yeah, I definitely started to tear up. My prayer is that the Lord would give me HIS heart for these kids.
Laura and I also prayed for Heidi Baker’s son. He was AWESOME. We asked if we could pray over him and as soon as we put our hands on his shoulder he was out. It was AMAZING. We prayed over him for awhile. Jesus has some spectacular plans for that boy’s life. It was blowing me away. Then he sat and encouraged us.
I am so enjoying cleaning and taking care of laura’s face(she got attacked by a bulldog a little over a week ago and she had to have 21 stitches put in her face.) I can’t wait to be a nurse!!!!
Some friends and I went to eat out at a nice restaurant. I had been craving fried chicken and French fries all day so when I saw that on the menu I got excited! Although, it was ok.. it didn’t “hit the spot”! haha! It needed some mustard! Oh well, it was something other than rice and beans!
Laura and I also took a walk on the beach yesterday. The Indian Ocean is seriously one of THE MOST beautiful things. It’s gorgeous. Breathtaking. perfect! I am so thankful its just right across the road from me!
Wednesday
Today was our first official day of school. We got to hear some of our precious leaders “love” story and the journey the Lord has brought them through. I really adore this couple. They are from Australia and just so so sweet. I love that they know me by name and just love on me. They are a sweet couple that just truly shows Christ love in their marriage. Sarah, the wife said some pretty amazing things while she taught. I will share them later.
After Sarah and her husband spoke, WILL HART who produced FURIOUS LOVE spoke to us!!! Woah!!! He is an AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING preacher! He rocked my world for sure! Alex recorded it and now it’s on my computer so anyone that wants to hear it can. We are recording every sermon and almost every prophecy over us. Yippee! He also said some pretty powerful stuff. Then, he prophesied over me. WOAH Jesus!! Then Sarah prophesied over me. WOAH again.
A bit of what Will said was… “God I impart all signs, wonders, miracles, and healings into her. You will perform these things because the Lord has imparted them in you!” I get chills every time I think about it. YES, JESUS!!!
Sarah- This summer you will have wells and wells of revelation. He is going to give you these WELLS of revelation so that you can draw from them the rest of your life. You have made room for Him so now He will pour out His glory beyond measure. Beyond measure Emily! The foundation is there and now He’s ready to build upon it. Shaba!
We have “color groups” in the school but are also matched up with a group of pastors from the country. They are an amazing group of men. They have raised the dead. They have seen Jesus. Some of them have been raised from the dead. I have a feeling they will rock my world with stories. They will go on outreach with us to the villages. We played games with them tonight to get to know them better. Then we had a chicken feast! Yes, that’s right… CHICKEN! And they grilled it. They GRILLED it. It was simply AMAZING. ahhh… a little taste of home. (PS dad, I really miss your grilled chicken. And Jamie… I would LOVE some chicken wings right now!) And grace, I dreamed last night we went to eat bbq together. I need to quit thinking about good food!
Some of the village kids have seriously just stolen my heart. They hang out here during the day and I’ve just fallen for them. They are so precious! One day this week I am going to go hold babies and get to know the teenage girls. (to the youth girls back home… I will tell these girls all about you!)
Prayer request—I have a sore throat and I am exhausted. PLEASE be praying I will not get sick! I keep rebuking sickness is Jesus name!

Thursday-
I got to take a shower this morning!!!! Seriously, I was so excited! I now feel as clean as I can be for Africa. I haven’t taken a shower since Monday. We are supposed to take a shower as little as possible! Since it feels good outside right now maybe my hair can actually DRY and not get halfway dry then I start sweating,.. oh Africa! 
Let me share a funny story… so we get a roll every morning for breakfast and sometimes there is a bug in it. Well, a lot of the girls won’t eat it if there is a bug in it. My response is, “Oh it’s a little protein! It won’t kill you! Just take it out.” Hahaha. It’s Africa. There are bugs everywhere. This is the food we get in the morning so we need to eat it. (if you know me this story will make you laugh because normally I am a clean freak and don’t do dirty… )
Have a great day! Miss you! Love you! Praying for you!
I want to leave you with a few awesome quotes I’ve heard lately or Jesus has taught me…
*Do you know why you were created? If you don’t then you can’t carry out your plan. You were created to be LOVED by your Creator. He created YOU so He could LOVE on you. YOU were MADE for LOVE! YOU are SPECIAL!!! In that love there is no striving. There is nothing you can do that can earn more of His love for you. John 15:15 says, “I call you friend.” Not a servant, but a FRIEND. As a servant there is striving and there is always fear that “if you don’t do good enough” you will be let go but that is not how Jesus looks at you. He calls you friend. He will never leave or forsake you. He LOVES you. He says draw closer and there we find FREEDOM!!!
*SAME spirit that raised Christ from the DEAD lives in ME!!!! And I will do GREATER.
*As you walk in the Kingdom of God, satan FALLS
*In Luke 10 it talks about the disciples going and when they came back they were filled with joy. But get this satan FELL because they WENT. As I(you) go, full of HIM, satan WILL fall!!
*”Do whatever you want in me, Jesus, so that you can do whatever you want to do through me!”
*The yeses’ that cost you now will bear fruit in the next season
*John 20:29…. Power of our testimony is spirit of prophecy. When we receive others testimony, we receive the grace to let it happen to us. When judgement is lifted, He can do whatever He wants in you. ALL disciples had been unbelieving. Be careful not to look at others and say, “God isn’t touching me like that. He must love them more. Etc. etc.” God comes in different ways to each one of us. Blessed are you when you believe and haven’t seen. Walk in faith in that place and believe without seeing.
*Always be open and ready for Him to move, whatever that looks like!