ALIVE: Around the World with Michelle and Friends...

A few months ago, I was feeling frustrated with ministry and extremely impatient with where we are at with church planting (small house churches, that rapidly multiply) among prostitutes, the Vickery Meadow community, and more. God has given us vision and promises for BIG things, and frankly, I was not seeing it happen.

I was feeling desperate and well, depressed; unhappy with everything. One day, I told God, I was lost and I would do anything he told me to do that day. While driving, I felt like I was supposed to change my plans, and go into this photography exhibit that my friend had told me about: "50 Years of Peace Corps." I thought, oh great, God is going to make me have an awkward conversation with someone in there about Jesus.

When I got there, the exhibit was empty, just me and a room full of photographs from Peace Corps volunteers, who had traveled all over the world in the last 50 years. As I walked around, I got pretty jealous and my frustration grew. I sat down at a table in there and I started journaling...

You may not know that I almost joined the Peace Corps. several years ago (before VMM). I wanted to travel the world and just help people. But when I started getting to know God, I realized, that He gave me this desire and He had a plan for me. So then I started looking into international missions, people would ask me, "what country are you 'called' to?" And that would really annoy me, because I did not feel "called" to any ONE country, I wanted to go to ALL of them! As I journaled, I heard my own words inside my head, it was what I always tell people that I LOVE about the neighborhood that I live and work in. I always say, "I love living here, because, it is like I am living around the world, everyday...every country, every culture, it is great!"

WOW, God was gently and sweetly reminding me that if I had joined the Peace Corps, I would have been in only one country for only 2 years. If I had gone overseas with another mission group, I would have had to pick one nation and I would be far from my family. He was showing me that His plan for my life was EXACTLY what I wanted, but EVEN BETTER...SO MUCH BETTER. And that He is not a God of results and performance; He is a God of LOVE and He loves full-filling the desires in our hearts. But because I was letting anger, impatience and jealousy get in my heart and mind, I was 'near sighted' and 'blind,' and I couldn't see what He has given me here at home, everyday. (Read 2 Peter 1:3-11...so good!). I wasn't enjoying and appreciating the journey that He has me on.

That day I went home (with new and opened eyes) and my upstairs neighbor called me and wanted to have me over for lunch. We ate "Ugali" (staple food from Tanzania) and had a sweet time together. Then an Iraqi couple, who we call Grandma and Grandpa invited me over and we enjoyed Iraqi tea, the BEST tea you will ever have. I discovered their secret ingredient: SUGAR, and lots of it! The next day, I enjoyed "Injera" the staple food from Ethiopia with a sweet lady and her 3 children. In the evening when I walk home from the office, the kids from Liberia run to me yelling, "Michelle, Michelle!" And they give me big hugs and make me feel like the most special person on earth. I go get my mail, and there is 2 adorable children from Bhutan or Burma (I can't remember which) playing in the laundry basket, while their mother does the laundry.

Wow, yet again, I am blown away at God's love for me. That even when I am moaning and complaining, and striving for performance and results, He gently re-directs me to what He is doing. And He is ALWAYS enjoying me and the journey we are on together.

Needless to say, I have been pretty thankful and a lot more patient the last couple of months...here are some FUN pictures to show you my life "around the world" right here in the Vickery Meadow neighborhood!

It's getting HOT out there, we have to get ice cream every now and then to make it through the day!

(ok, so they are American, but they don't look like me, so that make me happy!)

Our sweet friends from ETHIOPIA who feed us "Injera" and excellent tea and coffee!

These are children of our friends from IRAQ. they are Muslim and named their kids,

Yosif (Joseph), Maryam (Mary) and Isa (Jesus)....hmmmm!?!

This is my dear friend and upstairs neighbor, Marayam from TANZANIA...

and her OCTOPUS that she was going to share with me...

Then she decided she could not let me even try it, she was afraid I would get sick or be allergic to it.

Here are the adorable kids from BHUTAN or BURMA (??).

No one in their family spoke a word of English, but I printed off a copy of this picture and took it to their house and we sat there trying really hard to communicate without success...

But they were so happy about the picture.

My sweet friend Frankie (ok, she is American too).

She just texted me as I write this, she said,

"the devil took his shot, but I prayed for help...

I did not drink, and the 'pill boy' called but I did not buy,

I prayed for help...God is so awesome...!"

This is Maryam again.

We took pictures in the wild flowers near my sister's house to send back home to her mother.

She is due with her first baby June 29th.

This is the baby we prayed for during our Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony

(see that BLOG post),

with Maryam and 'Grandma' in the picture with the baby.

So IRAQ, TANZANIA, ETHIOPIA and the U.S.A. all in one apartment celebrating new life!

This is my friend Toni, she is originally from MEXICO, but lived her for 30 years. She taught me to make Mexican Lasana, with an awesome green sauce and in the picture is our strawberry punch!