C'est la Vie, Mon Chérie

Our Story

2009-09-05T06:43:00.005-05:00

Many of you may already know our story, but we would like to share with you how God brought us together.

Both Kyle and Cherie were attending a young adult church in Merritt Island, FL. They knew of each other, but did not know each other. Just prior to Kyle spending 14 months overseas, in passing Kyle told Cherie, “You are a hard person to forget” and off he went. Fast forward:

April 2006

The smell of BBQ was lingering in the air at a welcome home party for Kyle. They found themselves on the front porch of his parent’s home discussing missions and current events and their perspective places in such things. Over the course of the next several weeks many more of these conversations took place much to their surprise. Low and behold, stars formed in their eyes and off they went to their separate powers that be to confer with them about the possibility of God’s plan for them. Bam. It was on. However…..

Three months into the blossoming love, they began to see God’s hand directing them apart. With heavy hearts they bid farewell to each other with no idea if they would ever be back together again. The Lord directed them to different parts of the world over the next 18 months. They grew in stature and wisdom drawing closer to God while being reminded to surrender everything to Him, even the person that they wanted to marry. Tears were shed and many prayers uttered at ridiculous hours of the night as they traveled through many different countries. No doubt- it was a time of extreme and necessary growth.

February 2008

As Cherie was preparing to lead a team to Haiti, and Kyle was returning from Africa, their paths crossed again. Awkward. It went a little something like this:

Kyle “How you getting to the airport?”

Cherie “Eh(in a timid voice), renting a car, someone paid for it”

Kyle “Ok, how you getting home?”

Cherie “Suppose I’ll rent another car”

Kyle “You want me to pick you guys up?”

Cherie “Nah”

Cherie’s point of view- I was terrified when I saw Kyle again when he returned from Africa. I still loved him deeply, no, probably deeply is not even the word. I had grown in love and appreciation that seems boundless in our time apart. When I first saw him again, I kicked myself because I knew that I was hopelessly devoted to him but I had no idea if we would ever be together. When he asked about the ride, I was so scared of hurting again that I said no. However, on the trip to Haiti, I felt the Lord leading me to accept the ride. I am so glad that I did:)

Kyle’s point of view- I was thinking to myself; why did I ask her that? This in turn brought on the flood of thoughts that had been going through my head for the last five months. In first John 1 it says “ Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” I knew that when we parted ways what seemed like so long ago, I had to give up the things that I thought I deserved (Cherie) and draw close to God. As I went through the process of laying down my rights and seeking the Lord for direction in my life, at what I believe to be His perfect timing thoughts of Cherie went through my head not at all unlike the old ELO Song. I sat on those thoughts and did nothing but pray, as the time for me to come back to the US came closer I prayed harder! I knew that the rubber would hit the road and sparks would fly. (mind you, there are good and bad sparks out there)

The Juicy Parts

On the 4 hour ride home from the airport, Cherie and Kyle found themselves lost in conversation again. Interestingly enough, it was missions and current events. The conversation was so good, in continued for a week. During this week, there were more tearful prayers, but in a good (warm cuddly feeling inside) way. At the end of the week, there was a showdown. At the sake of losing some of the passé, I will place the words in narrative format again.

Kyle (awkward pause) “Umm, I am shaking in my flip-flops and not because it’s cold out here”

Cherie “Well, I think you need to go first on this one”

Kyle “Dang it. Ok, here it is. I don’t want to “try again” cause trying leaves room for quitting. I want to start fresh. Let’s clear off the slate and start from the beginning”

Cherie “ Kyle, are you saying you want to be together again? (a sly smile spread across her face)

Kyle (employing his best “blue steel” look) “Yes.”

Cherie “ Ummm, yeah, are we sure that this is God’s will?” translation- I am so in love with you and my heart could completely deflate forever if this falls apart again.

Kyle “ I think this could be beautiful dollface”

Cherie “I just want you to know something Kyle. Every person I have met in the last two years has paled completely in comparison to you. I can’t imagine doing anything else other than this.”

Kyle’s Point of View After Cherie made that statement I felt the hammer fall in my heart. The judge was saying that’s it kid, this is what you are going to do and that was your confirmation. I was thinking, holy cow! I can’t believe she just said that, I think I got that warm fuzzy feeling again. But I was bouncing now and Cherie was laughing at me because I was so excited. It was kinda late so we wrapped up the conversation then. I walked away with that my mind has just been blown feeling but I had what I can now identify as peace in my heart.

So the rest is history. It has been a beautiful thing getting to know each other with a new perspective and a renewed passion for God.

November 28, 2008 (drum roll please……)

· pleasantly cool breeze swept across a beach in the Florida panhandle

· birthday celebrations abounded

· caving, canoeing, and a dude with a crazy idea

· a lone crane spectating off in the distance

· nervousness

· cluelessness

· one knee

· a few bold statements in the form of a question

· a look of bewildered surprise

· smiles and really excited giggles

· tight embraces

· tasty smooches

· a few pictures

· and then we were off to dinner with friends

THE END of this story is really only the beginning…..

Nine Hours Old

2008-05-05T17:23:00.009-05:00

Nine hours old. That was how old the baby was. I looked up at the man who had dropped the child in my arms with an inquisitive stare. “The baby is hungry” was all he said. I gazed again at the child. It’s cheeks were bright red and it’s hair was sticky from just being born. “Has the mother feed the child at all” I asked the man. “She doesn’t want anything to do with the child” he said as he briskly walked away from me. There were already 4 children there I was responsible for and 43 in the orphanage. With supplies running low and my brain spinning, I realized that none of these thoughts even mattered. All I could think was how could someone not want this beautiful child. Yeah, I know that all babies aren’t always beautiful, especially not newborns. However, this child was gorgeous. He was dressed in all pink, but one quick look under the layers of towels he was delivered in revealed he was for sure a male. My eyes met his and I moved towards the formula I had on the shelf and made a bottle for this gift from God. Somewhere in the world there was a family who desperately wanted a baby, and here he was-safely in my arms till we could get him to his new home.

I looked around the room as the little eyes I was taking care of stared at me and the new baby. I asked out loud what we should call him but all the little eyes belonged to mouths too young to speak. I carried him around so they could all see his gorgeous face.

Each trip to Haiti comes with surprises. I don’t even bother planning because I know it will never really go the way I planned anyway. This particular trip was especially special for me. For those of you too far away to see the glow on my face, I want to let it be known that an amazing young man named Kyle and I are “courting”. He is also heavily and devotedly involved with missions and this was the first trip we were led together. Our parents are thrilled and so are we. Where his talents and gifting end, mine begin. It is a breathtaking thing- this partnership.

He worked during the day with his father doing things that I am never able to do when I come to Haiti like running new electric lines, fixing pumps that clear foul and parasite ridden water out of the village, and fixing our dear missionary friend’s vehicle. I took care of babies and the team. It was a hot, sweaty, and beautiful trip on all levels.

The baby was given the name Kennedy James. Quite austere. While we were there four more adoptions were finalized. Words can’t describe how grateful we are for that. Haiti, not surprisingly, was in the middle of a revolution right before we flew in. Rising food costs in the impoverished island only make it worse for the abandoned children. Then the government offices all closed due to violence, trapping the children in the system even longer. Every day that a child stays in Haiti can be perilous. This is still a country where 1 in 5 children die before the age of 5. But we got 4 more out and safely to their new safe, loving, and godly homes!

Haiti is only one of the many things that are happening in my life. Each subsequent trip I make reinforces what I already know-I need more medical training. I finished half of my EMT (Emergency Medical Technical) training in Africa last summer. When I came home from Africa I wanted training in computers as well as medical training. I was blessed with free computer courses and now I have a chance to finish the medical portion for half the price that it normally costs. I am going to be getting certified in June. The total cost is about $1200. It will be a great investment and I could sure use the help. If anyone feels led to help me with that, please just let me know. I am sure that this training is going to be used in every area of my life and ministry.

Also, as always, please keep me posted on your lives. We live in day and age where we can be in touch but never really in touch. Nothing brings me greater joy than interacting with the body of Christ. Please let me know what is going on in your life:) I am very interested. We can’t do what we do without each other’s love and support!

God Bless!

Following the Leader?

2008-03-19T16:02:00.006-05:00

Haiti. How do I describe this place that has both equally repels me and attracts me at the same time. A small island by the world’s standards, but huge in the disproportionate amount of poverty and pain that reside there.

I just finish leading my first team to the Caribbean island. It was an amazing trip that took us through orphanages, through the ridiculously slow and corrupt government offices of Haiti, to gorgeous albeit litter filled oceans. I went with two objectives: to inspire the team members to have a heart for missions and to assist the orphanages in Haiti with their needs.

When I first arrived back in America, I knew one of my next trips would be back to Haiti. I have many relationships there that I love to commit time to in the form of work. Many times the missionaries that live there full time need help to get things done like paperwork, tech support, cleaning, and even laughter. So as I began to make preparations to go, I mentioned to several people the details of the trip. Surprisingly several people became convinced that they should be on the trip. And the team was born.

Having never led a trip in its entirety by myself- this proved to be a great exercise for me. The typical system for me is: land, look both direction, chose one and go. I am not sure if this is right or even good, it just is. I usually wing everything. Not so with other people- especially those who have never been out of the country before. It was wonderful, and I truly mean that, to practice being organized and prepared. It is a ridiculous exercise in such a chaotic country as Haiti, but it was a fun practice anyway.

One of the members of the team had never been on a plane before and it was an incredibly turbulent ride and as we landed we were greeted by the typically extremely hot air that floods the airplane as the hatch opened. Our luggage was missing and the people outside of the airport gates were reaching with outstretched arms and pleading eyes. And there we were, home and not home at the same time. Inside, each of us knew that this is what God created us for. Yet, our hearts cried out for relief for both the people and for ourselves.

Pulling up to the orphanage, we found children everywhere. The director told us there were 3 sick children. When I say sick, I mean sick. These children were in desperate need of surgery and now. As we dealt with the multitudes of beautiful children all around us, the main focus of our attention went to the babies whose lives hung between life and death. Our energies were focused on paperwork to get these kids out to other countries where they could get the surgeries they needed.

We also worked on getting data entered into computers for the missionaries. Keeping up to date on technology is an ongoing issue on developing countries and I am so grateful for the skills I have been accumulating for this task.

So that was the week. Long, hot, sweaty, beautiful, and fulfilling. They were long days where we collapsed on the makeshift beds at the end with a smile of fulfillment plastered across our faces.

When I asked the team what stood out to them the most about the trip, the answers were almost universal. They loved seeing lives changed, especially their own. I was reminded it is never really the easy things that we remember- it is the things we invest time, energy and sweat into.

So another trip is in my immediate future. I am going to be returning with some more willing folks to fix some mechanical items (this team had no electricians or mechanics on it) and I expect that it will change me. I am amazed that God has invested so much into this vessel. Daily I am struck by my own inadequacies but blown away by God’s willingness to use me anyway :)

Enough for now. God is good- excessively. I still have tons of plans for the future that are dreams that are way bigger than my heart can contain. I will let you know as they grow out of their “container”. Until then……..

Year End Roundup!

2007-12-22T15:11:00.000-05:00

This year-end report is one where I find myself fully boasting in the Lord’s ability to take a selfish and confused Cherie and turn her into a contributing member of the Kingdom. It has been quite the transformation (as anyone who knows me well can testify to) and one I rejoice daily for.

What an amazing year it has been! As many of you know, I spent half of the year in Africa. I worked there with the sub-Saharan tribes in Zambia as well as learning all kinds of amazing skills including mechanics, GPS navigation, welding, Bible studies, expedition planning and leading, and medical training. Afterwards I went to Zanzibar and worked with the beautiful Christian minority as well as the majority Muslim population. It was beautifully challenging and life changing. I found my heart knitted to the gorgeous people and culture of the eastern African coast.

I stopped by Australia on the way home to visit my brother and his beautiful wife and to meet my newest nephew, Joshua Daniel. It was such a blessing as someone donated the money to send me there and I arrived just in time to help with the delivery. Afterwards I went to Hawaii to visit my brothers who are stationed there. It has been several years since I had seen them so I was very excited when I realized again that someone else had provided the means to go! But one of my brothers had already been redeployed to Iraq. However, I was able to help out with homeless ministries in Hawaii and get involved with local churches. What a blessing!

After arriving home, I was confused as to why I was here. It seemed so much more “logical” to continue to travel. However, God always has tricks up His sleeve;) Shortly after arriving I realized that my father’s ministry needed some help and in the midst of doing that I began to see some of the next steps. I was offered free classes for computer repair and installation. Then came the classes in welding. Next was the network installation training. In addition to learning these amazing skills, I have an opportunity to get more medical training from one the best institutes for wilderness EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) work in the USA called SOLO School in New Hampshire. With the training I have from this summer I am only about 2 weeks away from having my USA certified EMT license that would enable me to work anywhere in the US. Needless to say, it is an exciting thing to be serving the Lord! The adventure never seems to end. All this info says nothing of the jobs and opportunities that the Lord has provided for the immediate future! I will keep you posted as I learn more about this plan unfolding!

As many of you know, when I first began to look to go to Africa I realized that there was about an $8000 price tag on it. I was sure that I was not going to be able to raise that kind of money but I was also sure that God had said to go. After everything was said and done, I had received over $20,000 and was able to send out 5 other missionaries, support several African church and school building projects, help support widow’s and orphan programs, as well as supporting self sustaining gardening projects! It was breathtaking. I felt like a funnel! Every project that is running in Africa now you have a part of! The work will continue and lives will be changed through it:)

When 2008 begins, I will be accepting a medical job as well as an IT job. I am leading a team to Haiti in the first part of February and then I am completing my EMT training in May. After that, I am looking into several jobs overseas that will be using my medical and IT skills. It goes without saying though that every bit of this is in the Lord’s hands and I am always looking to be moved in whatever direction He might have. I can’t thank you all enough for your support and LOVE through this life. Most of you are just flat out determined through the love of God to make a difference in this world and I am so glad to be a part of it! I believe that God is equipping his workers in new and exciting ways and I just work in dropped-jaw amazement as I see His magnificent plan. MAY THE ROAD AHEAD BE FILLED WITH THE JOY OF SERVICE AND LOVE!!!!

Merry Christmas and God Bless!

Please keep in touch with me as it always makes me smile.

If I was farther away... I would be closer

2007-09-21T01:20:00.000-05:00

Ok, so this was an adventure. I will go through my whole life and remember the days of travel in Africa. Not the six months I spent there- no, the travel:) I should have known the adventure that awaited me when I discovered that no one knew the bus schedules for anywhere. So I will save you the details but tell you that over five days I took 6 taxis, two long haul buses, five long plane rides, and a ferry. It was actually really amazing and I was able to talk with so many people along the way! You never know what the Lord has planned! Pretty cool seeds planted, I am sure.

But I left Africa. I feel a loss really. I miss it like I miss home. It is a great thing to be both happy where you are but to be ready to go somewhere else. I am not home yet though. Currently I am in the land down under (I got to pet a kangaroo, well really a wallabie:) where I am helping my brother and his beautiful wife get ready to have their first child. I figured I would go the LONG way home around the globe:)

But I wanted to tell you about the last few weeks in Zanzibar! How amazing! The last month and a half has been a collage of different ministries and services. Sometimes I would be able to do hut to hut evangelism in some of the remote villages on the island. I was working with a YWAM group from Tanzania and we were going through neighborhoods sharing and inviting people to a screening of the Jesus Film at night. If you’re not familiar with this movie from Campus Crusade, please look it up. What an amazing film that has shared the life of Jesus with people all over the world! We saw a huge response from people as they would bombard me with questions about Jesus. For many, this was the first time they had ever heard this wonderful Name!

Secondly, I worked on computer classes. I recognized the irony that I was working with computers in the middle of these remote regions but there was such a great need. So, ok, when I think of “missions” work- I imagine digging wells, building orphanages, speaking in churches:) but I think we all know that we need to be all things to all people so that some can be saved! So here I found myself in this place with pastors who couldn’t even write a basic letter. As a result they had to go into town and have someone else type it and being that the land is so opposed to Christians the info would often be used against the church. I won’t go into details about the dangers but believe me when I say it was dangerous. The church had been praying for three years for someone to be able to teach them this skill. Dang! So there I was running a month of computer classes teaching everything from basic to advanced computer skills. We even built some websites! God is amazing at dispatching His own where He needs us:)

I also was blessed to be really taken in by several families- both Muslim and Christian alike. I went to weddings, taught in schools, made clothes, cleaned houses and helped build houses, learned to make great food, and got to spend great time in prayer and Bible study! It was, well, these adjectives find me short at times- beautiful, amazing, brilliant, and wonderful! There were so many opportunities to share and demonstrate God’s love. Truth of the matter is I fell in love- I love this place and these people- but I find myself loving everywhere I go! This world is so beautiful.

Thanks again for all your help and prayers in getting me to this place to be able to help! I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to be able to see people’s lives change all over the world!

Zanzibar

2007-08-25T13:25:00.001-05:00

Her face, head, body, and even her eyes were covered with a black veil. I wondered what she looked like- I mean what she really looked like- her hopes, fears, and joys. What was her identity?I smiled and greeted her. With my breath held in anticipation I wondered what I always wondered- Am I far away from the mosque for her to forget that she is suppose to hate me? Her veiled face turned away from my greeting and my heart.

This story tells a little about my heart since I have been here. I am actually disappointed with myself for not emailing sooner and sharing some of the AMAZING things that have been happening here. It has been so life changing in almost everyway. There are so many stories that I find that I can’t include even all the best because this update would be far too long so I will start with just a couple and then we can go from there:)

We arrived in Zanzibar almost three weeks ago. From the moment that we entered this 99% Muslim country, it has been nonstop. There are been many overnight ferry rides, two day train rides, and now I am sleeping in a tent in front of a church. It is beautifully complicated here. I have not quite been able to put it into words so I will try to spell the ministry out with short stories, pictures, and prayer request to see if I can convey what is going on in this part of the world. I know that I am where I am suppose to be because I can see the fruit of the labor.

After arriving in Zanzibar from Dar es Salaam, we immediately began to make contact with the local churches and pastors. It has been an uphill battle for many of these men of God. There are stories that will blow your mind and I am working to compile them, but I will share a little about them now with you.

The call for prayer rips thru the night air. It is 4am and I am awakened by the call. Many faces race thru my mind and my heart aches in prayer. I pray for their strength and revelation. I awaken from my bed and join a group of Christians that meet every morning at 4am as well to pray for the future of this country.

As I walk thru the village with my head covered and my mouth and heart ready to speak to the lost children of God. They cry out for a Redeemer. They cry out to have their sins forgiven- but they have no idea how.

“Do you know anything about a Man named Jesus?” I ask the fathers as they congregate for work. Before they answer I survey the group. They are so devote and so determined. They are continually dressed in their prayer garments and they meet at the mosque 5 times a day. Such dedication is hard to find, even amongst my most believing friends. Their faces turn towards me as they answer, much to my surprise and excitement that they have never heard of this most precious Man. The Son of God. The One who came to give them the very precious righteousness that they so long for. “Please tell us about this Man” they ask. As a smile as big as Texas spreads across my face, I say a prayer of thanks as I begin to tell them the best news that they will ever hear.

Logic is never what brings people to God. He is a very much a God of both logic and order, but you can’t argue people into the believing. Nevertheless, I have prepared my mind and heart to speak with these precious children of God- to answer with both intelligence and logic- all of their debating points on the Son of God. It has become a passion of mine to have the answers to their questions because I know the stakes. I must share the truth because the truth will set them free!

The countries that I have traveled thru rush through my mind like someone has opened the faucet on a fire hydrant. They fly thru my mind and then Zanzibar and crash- it is like someone threw the handbrake on a speeding train. Screeching to a halt my heart begins to race as I think about those whom I have lead to Christ here. These people’s decision is not small- serving Jesus in this land is the hardest and most difficult decision they could ever make. They have become thoroughly convinced that Jesus is the Son of God, the One who can finally redeem them from their sins and set them free.

He was three when he was first diagnosed with leprosy. His father was already dead and his mother was on her death bed. The family sent him to a leprosy camp to die but, to everyone’s surprise, he was still alive at 17 when he ran away from the camp. He has no where to go so he sneaks back to the village where he grew up. He sleeps in the bushes during the day and lurks thru the village at night in search of scraps of food. Since he still has leprosy everyone is scared of him being there. They throw things at him and try to kill him when they see him. At 17, he comes across some missionaries who tell him about Jesus. He has always been Muslim and wants nothing to do with this Man Jesus but his ears perk up when they mention that Jesus heals. Not having anything to lose, literally, he accepts what they say and submits to their prayerful hands. Within a week he is completely healed. Completely. 15 years of sickness are behind him. Still, he has no desire to serve the Lord but the nagging dreams of Christ beckoning him won’t go away. He finds the missionaries and they explain the joy of truly knowing Christ and he accepts with a grateful heart. His family, the ones who had been waiting for him to die, now try to encourage his death all the more stating that it would be better if he were dead rather than being a Christian.

He flees for his life and goes to a major city. He wants to study God’s Word but the problem is that he has never had a day of education. He feels like God tells him to trust Him and to step out in faith so he saves his money and buys a small bible. As he opens it he almost cries because he can’t understand anything on the pages but with a trusting heart he presses on. In a mere two months he is reading and writing fluently. He longs for Bible College. The Bible is so amazing and there is so much more he wants to understand. Again, he steps out in faith and contacts a local Bible School and gets the application.

When he gets to the education portion, he fills out truthfully that he has no previous schooling. They contact him to see if it is a joke. He replies that it is the way his life has gone and against all odds they accept him! He works a night job and goes to school all day. The first semester ends and to the entire facilities surprise he is on the top of the class. He manages to make it thru school and begins to settle down in the city he is living in. God has other plans for him though and soon he hearing a call to go to the extremely fundamental island of Pemba off the coast of Tanzania. He refuses to believe that God would ask him to go somewhere so completely closed to the Gospel but soon he knows that God is pushing him forward. He arrives first by himself leaving his wife and children at home for fear of their lives. After arriving on the island he begins to ask around. The people make it clear that they don’t want him there, refusing accommodation and even food. But soon he finds a house to rent and he moves his family over. He couldn’t stay there long though because the neighborhood would hurl rocks at his house and children whenever they could. Then the neighbors went to the landlord and he was evicted. He and his family ran for their lives. There were no other Christians on the island so no one would house them and they left until he could find another house. He did this and the old neighborhood found out and went to the new neighborhood to tell them about the Christian man who was moving in. Again, they went to the landlord, but this time he wouldn’t kick them out. The people tried to kick them out and to hurt them but amazingly, every time they tried they were unsuccessful! It was miraculous how this family could not be touched. Still, the rocks were thrown and the village has a meeting to discuss what could be done. Since they couldn’t get rid of them or kill them, they set rules. They were not welcome at any community events, births, deaths or meetings. They were not to go to hospitals and they were not, under any circumstances, to talk to anyone about their God. So the pastor began his work. At first there was no one, and I mean no one that would talk to him. Then one day he was walking through another community and he heard that the headman’s child was sick. He went and asked if he could pray for the child and, assuming the child was as good as dead, they let him. Instantly the child was healed. The headman accepted Christ later that week and gave the man land to build a church on. The Muslim’s surrounding the area kicked and screamed but they couldn’t undo what the headman had done. Slowly, very slowly, the church began to have people stop by. Some out of curiosity, some to be healed, but some to stay. It was amazing to see what the Lord was doing. He has been there 10 years now. There are 3 churches on this island that he has both built and raised up pastors for. Most of his support comes from the mainland of Tanzania which is only 40% Muslim so there are other Christians there that will support him with prayer and physical hands. When I arrived on this island I asked what we could do to help. It was amazing to see the relief in his eyes. I thought to myself with glee how happy I am that I was sent by you to come here and help this man. He was overwhelmed because often he feels like he is in this battle alone and here was 4 Americans (white people rarely come to this island) who were here to do whatever we could to help him. So the entire neighborhood watched as the white people worked to build the new church. They stared and cursed but still the church was still going up! The battle continues. The prayers continue and the truth is being spread! This is not about a destruction of culture or the forcing of a particular way of thinking. No, this is the antithesis of this. The ones who have come to understand who Jesus is have literally been blown away by the freedom and love they feel. It is offering freedom in a place that has been filled with everything but freedom for generations passed. Often when we pray for people to receive Christ, demons will manifest and the people start crying for deliverance. It is an amazing thing to watch people effusively thank us out in sheer gratefulness after they have received freedom from bondage. Please continue to pray for those that are fighting on this frontline! Please pray that God will continue to send people to the frontline!

I appreciate you taking the time to read such a long update. There are so many stories I want to tell you still:) I can not express how much I covet your prayers now and I have already felt the strength of the one's you have already prayed. Every salvation here you have a part of! I could not be here without your prayers and support! I am so grateful to be here and see these lives changed forever. Please write me soon if you get the chance. It means so much to me to hear news from home:) God Bless!! Cherie Hurston

1 Corinthians 4:1

2007-08-25T13:23:00.000-05:00

“Let a man consider us so, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God” 1 Corinthians 4:1

I recently read this scripture and my mind starting reeling.

This is my thought: It can not me compassion that moves us. That fuel is not enough. It will, by its very nature, only take us so far.

No, the human DNA, the history of our heritage, is the story that transcends all boundaries. It passes all social, economic, political, and foundational boundaries. This pushes through all stereotypes and common ground whether shared ground or not.

The human DNA, the story of time eternal, the basic and the intricate make up of the Human Epic. The Gospel of Christ. With this gospel all the story is known.

No, compassion is not enough of a fuel to push us to make a difference. The child with a hallowed out frame who is greeting a death of starvation with fear is his eyes is pitiful. A country where entire communities have been swallowed up by an earthquake or washed out to sea is hideous. But just the emotions created by that are not enough to push us into making a difference. They can only take us so far. With this as the only source of fire we are bound to get burned out.

It is a matter of focus. If we are pushing to stop something that can never be stopped, like war, poverty, or natural disaster, we are fighting a loosing battle.

If our focus is love, the greatest and most restoring love ever known, than how can we ever grow weary! How can we not go forward to share this good news with this lost world?

That child needs food but only accompanied by the love that will change the face of his nation. The destruction reaped by national disaster can only be alleviated by the grace that’s knows and understand restoration and the true purpose for life.

Every culture around the world has a view of a deity that inspired, creates, and restricts their universe. Our God, and how we view Him, will always influence our quality of life. A loving, grace-filled and compassionate God will inspire the same compassionate, desperate and passionate love within us.

So that a man may consider us servants of Christ and as stewards of the mysteries of the gospel.

The gospel is not a mystery in the traditional sense. It is so simple and beautiful; the mystery is how God could be so good.

We are stewards of this. We must be creative and determined to be the stewards of this information. To be a steward means that this doesn’t belong to us, we are simply keeping it until we can get it to the owner. God came so that all could know Him and be known by Him.

Compassion is not enough. We must be motivated by the love we are known by. We must be motivated by a love that will actually make a difference. We must be loved and we must love!

Beautifully Reckless

2007-07-27T06:27:00.000-05:00

How are you? I am so pleased to announce that I have finished AMT! I graduate tomorrow and I can’t tell you how pleased I am to see all that I have learned in the past three months. It is thanks to you, both your prayers and financial support, that has trained me to be a missionary in the most remote regions.

To finish up our classes, we went out in the remote bush. We went to a village that had been reached for the Gospel but had not been revisited in some time by the outside church. As we walked for five days in these remote areas we were greeted by so many amazing and intriguing questions. Questions like “How can I walk in Spirit and in truth?” and “How can I ask for forgiveness if my neighbor won’t speak to me?” I was so amazing. It reminded me of Paul’s journey to visit the new churches:)

We also held a Pastor’s conference and brought all the local pastors in for a day of teaching and fellowship. We slaughtered a goat and cooked in as a curry and served it with nshima (nshima is the staple dish here in Zambia. It is a corn based substance that provides little nutrition but does fill the belly). I preached on the law and freedom and my fellow classmates preached on hearing the voice of God and the joy of giving to others. The people were screaming and shouting with excitement at the great news that the Gospel is! We saw so many salvations and healings but the most exciting part was the buttressing of the local church.

Now to the business of my whereabouts for the next adventure: I had been seeking God’s will as to where to go next. I thought that I understood that God had said to go to Tanzania. That made me wonder what God was doing because at the time there was no openings for Tanzania anywhere on the horizon. The next day in class the instructors said, without me telling them what God has said to me, that they had been led to open a trip to Tanzania. Wow! So I signed up and they asked me to help lead it, so off I go. We will be focusing on the islands off the coast, namely Zanzibar and Pemba.

A little about these islands: They are 99% Muslim and quite devote. There is a small history of Catholicism there but the Christian world, especially the protestant message of the Gospel, has only recently begun to penetrate. We are going to be working there with a pastor who felt called to come to the islands about 13 years ago when he realized the need there. It is an uphill battle because the areas that are not completely Muslim are heavily into witchcraft. As prior Christians have tried to enter the island of Pemba, the inhabitants waited on the shore and threatened them with both weapons and curses. I am planning on doing some reconnaissance work on Pemba, visiting the churches in Zanzibar, and doing door-to-door evangelism in the rural villages of Zanzibar. I am so excited and amazed that I am going to have this opportunity.

So enough for now:) I have so many more stories to tell! It has been so exciting here and we have seen God work so powerfully both in me and through me! I am constantly learning so much about what it means to be an ambassador for Christ. What an honor! Each time I see the light of the Gospel become real in someone’s life, I thank God for you and your constant prayer for me.

I will be in contact when I arrive in Zanzibar. God Bless and thanks!

Elephant Stampedes and Far Off Places

2007-07-01T13:22:00.000-05:00

What a shocking surprise. The un-reached people groups are still there. Sure, I have heard about them in Asia or the islands surrounding Indonesia. But here in Zambia, a Christian country? The more I work in the bush the more I am amazed at how few people here know about Christ and who He is. How have these villages been so overlooked? Some have never seen white people in their lifetime. They have never heard the gospel. And I get to do something about it. (As our groups cross over the river not only do they not know about Christ but they hadn’t even heard of the name AIDS. To be sure, they know there is a disease that is ravishing their country- but they know nothing about it or how to prevent it.)

This trip we did everything from presenting the glorious and perfect story of salvation for whole villages, to trying to create a pastoral group from the few villages that have believers. This is interesting because some religious groups have made it in to these villages- the Catholics and New Apostolic. Both of these groups, at least in practice here, have done what they can to keep the masses from reading scripture or understanding prayer. I am not making any judgment call on either the Catholics or New Apostolic but those religions have become so perverted here that they more closely resemble ancestor worship and voodoo- the exact antithesis of Christ’s message! What a blessing it is to be able to share the grace and free relationship we have with the Lord! We cast down the strongholds that have kept the villages ravished by sin causing fear, poverty, and lack of education.

We are also working with the communities to build gardens. We are constantly surrounded by elephants and baboons. While they are wonderfully beautiful, they are also quite deadly to both humans and gardens. They often won’t attack people unless threatened but they eat gardens like there is no tomorrow. Often the only livelihood people have is their sustenance farming and that is constantly threatened by the elephants and baboons. So we are setting up gardens for the school feeding programs and additionally running workshops on chili pepper planting on the parameters of the garden to deter the elephants. The elephant’s noses are highly sensitive and the chili peppers aggravate them to the point where the elephants might not go in and eat all the goodies. It reminds me a lot of the blood of Jesus as He protects us from the forces that would try to trample and eat the areas where we grow.

I only have one month left of my missions training! It is hard to believe that things have gone so fast but here I am! What an amazing time it has been. I am now trained in mechanics, medical first responder work, welding (which I am getting quite good at), expedition planning, survival training, GPS navigation, and many other life changing skills. When I think about where to go next I am in awe. There are some really cool opportunities ahead of me from here: There is a reconnaissance trip going into Angola to establish churches there, an expedition into Zanzibar- a highly devout Islamic country, I have two jobs available in Sudan, and a few other opportunities. Right now I am simply submitting myself to God to see where, what, when and how He wants me to go. I feel like I will not know for sure until AMT ends so for now I am just seeking His faceJ. Please pray with me that I will hear the Lord clearly and definitively. Also, I am very interested in hearing your ideas about where the Lord might use me in the future. Since most of you have invested in my life in so many ways, I would be interested in you investing your thoughts on this as well.

Beehives and Gardens

2007-06-08T14:06:00.000-05:00

Back from the edge of sickness…..

Well, it wasn’t that bad. I got very sick with a virus here. It was difficult because of being out so far and living in a tent. I finally realized it wasn’t getting better and decided to get some help and was given antibiotics from India and in three days the hallucinating stopped:) I feel so much better.

Now that I got that bit of information over with let me tell you a little more about my life here. I am always torn because I want to tell you all about what I am doing in the villages. I want you to see the children, taste the food, smell the wood burning, and see the chickens running every which way. But the truth of the matter is that currently I am only spending a little time in the villages, and more time in classes learning how to serve the villages. However, my classes are amazing! I can’t believe how much I am learning!

This week has been particularly busy. We dug a well using large drilling pipes and learned all about hydro-engineering. We took apart a formidable diesel engine and replaced the cylinders and gaskets. We began welding together a new water tower to hold the water we are now pumping from the well. We are still continuing with our Bible courses using a book called “The Bible in the Light of Our Redemption” by E.W. Kenyon. We learned the basis of planting gardens so that we can replicate the theories all over Southeastern Zambia. AND this week we are doing a Wilderness EMT course. Of course I will be using the EMT skills elsewhere probably than the United States. Medicine is such a powerful way to serve the poor of the world.

We are working in the villages as well. We are working to set up gardening projects that will help with school feeding programs. The children in Zambia are almost all experiencing malnutrition. Many times the only meal that they can depend on is at school and those are served chaotically. The basic school (grades 1-7) is government sponsored. The government of Zambia is not organized and often the teachers don’t get paid regularly and the children frequently don’t get their meals. With this being the primary meal, we are trying to find ways to sustain the meals in self-supporting ways; hence, the garden. Also we are working on beehives. These ideas require us to teach the local farmers how to grow things slightly different than what they are used to. We also have to fix the wells for water to irrigate the land with and we purchase the seeds to be planted. From there we are monitoring it to make sure it is self-supporting. We are also bringing in teachers to learn how to make beehives as another means of nutrition. We are very excited about it.

So another update is written. I hope you enjoyed the breakdown of my life:) Again, I thank you for taking the time to read this! I am so excited about what God is doing with my life! I feel like my brain grows everyday. I am so blessed to be used by Him to learn and serve.

Machanga Village

2007-05-21T11:11:00.000-05:00

Hello there! Here was this last weekend’s excitement----

REWIND- This weekend we are leaving for our first outreach into the village. But here is the deal- they are splitting us up into groups and sending us without leaders. Well, kinda, I am a leader. Each group has their own. I am responsible for 5 people and we are bringing in our own tents, food, and ideas for evangelism. They basically are telling us to go with God and see what happens. So they are going to drop us off at noon and then pick us back up at noon the next day. So I go in and find the head man and ask permission to be there. Then we are setting up tents and we will be going hut to hut to gather people together for a meeting? Or maybe we will gather the kids together and tell them stories and ask questions? Or maybe we will meet in the local church and sings songs? Or maybe a drama? Ok, you can see I have a lot of options and I am hyped! So I am responsible for these people and what will happen to us. It is only for 24 hours though so I know it is going to fine. Not that much can happen during that time, right?! I am excited! We are going to cook and build and everything else.

FAST-FORWARD- The outreach went great! I am so surprised that I winded up doing so many things like my father! We went and met with the headman and asked him for permission to be in his village. There was also a head woman. She had been brought in by the headman from another village. They are not a couple but he needed someone to help him with the “female” parts of the village. So, for example, any marriage or children issues get run through her first before they go to the headman with it. There is some divorce but it is rare. It has started happening more due to an increase in drinking. There are some orphans but the village just absorbs them into other families.

The village we were in was extremely agricultural. The problem is that hoof and mouth disease killed all the cattle a couple of years ago and then elephants kept stamping and eating all the crops. That has affected the community in extreme ways. The village had maybe 150 people in it. So we went around to all the grass enclosed huts and talked with everyone. We invited them to a meeting that night. We set up our tents and started boiling our beans because they were hard. I wished we had soaked them the night before but we didn’t know:) Then we started playing with the kids. If you have never been to a remote village, let me tell you about the kids. They are everywhere. They giggle and laugh and play with you at all times. The children have completely threadbare clothes with holes all in them. They have, usually, no shoes and they are constantly foraging for food. They are several edible plants and things that grow around so we ate things with them like “African bubblegum” and red beans.

After dinner (which ended up being so great because the beans got cookedJ) we had a meeting. Well, the people called it a crusade. The whole town came. I asked each team member to prepare a “sermonette” and said they might preach. Then I asked them to all preach. At the end, we gave an alter call and the ENTIRE village accepted Christ as their Savior. We brought in local preachers and turned over the discipleship to the nationals. It was very exciting!

The next day we got up and prayed for each person in the village. We had stayed up late the night before and prayed for everyone too. The next day as we walked around people were running out of their huts to tell us about what God had done in the lives overnight. It is hard to know or understand the impact we made in this town but I trust the God has great plans for the people. We are going back there in a month and we are making two more trips to the same village. I believe I will have an opportunity to develop some really cool relationships out of this time. It is so cool to think about the impact we are going to have in the lives of these people.

Other than that, today we are drilling a well. We have a team in from Romania helping us and we are SO excited about having clean water on the property. It is such a major issue here. Also, we are welding together a new water tower. Last week we did tropical medicine courses and 4x4 driving and recovery work. We have been reading some AMAZING biblical courses using some of the greats: Oswald Chambers and E.W. Kenyon. They have been life changing! Classes are great and I am seeing so much growth both in me and through me! God is so good!

This is a lot of info so I am going to close this correspondence here. I am so grateful to be here and want you to know, I thank God daily as I think about those people that I love. Thanks for being those people:)

African Sunsets

2007-04-29T11:51:00.000-05:00

I have to admit that I am blown away by Africa. The sunsets and stars are more vibrant than anything I have ever seen before! I can't understand how these things would be so much more vibrant here than any other place in the world that I have been, but there it is!

Mostly, for these first few days, I am on the base camp and helping to get ready for the classes that are starting soon. The rest of the missionary students arrive tomorrow. The work here is hard, long, and dusty but so beautiful. We are sleeping in tents but there is one building and that is where we are going to have classes. Here is a pic of the building.

We have a generator that makes electricity for a couple of hours a night so I can sometimes use the computer. That is such an amazing thing:) Technology connecting the world.

The people here are beautiful. Not invasive. By that I mean that they are not aggressive and they are extremely polite. There is such poverty here and there's a lot of work to be done.

I have met many organizations down here that are doing so much! I think I will make some life-long connections over these next few months.

We are on a wildlife conserve so there are baboons, elephants, and many other animals. I am right next, and I mean right next, to the Zambezi River and Victoria Falls. It has kept it from getting too hot but it is going to be very cold here soon though.

I went to church on Sunday. I was blown away! What a message! And the dancing:) Click on the pic below and watch a quick video. It was so much fun watching people praise the Lord in their own way!

God is showing Himself so strong here. I am so excited about the things He is showing me here. This is the first time in a long time that I have not been in charge. I am excited and nervous all at the same time.

Thanks again for all your love and support! I can't tell you how much it means to me! I really don't think I would be here without it.

Legacy

2007-03-25T10:02:00.000-05:00

I was cleaning someone’s counter and I saw a potholder that was made by a company called "Family Traditions." Wow, I pondered, have family traditions been relegated to potholders names?

Most of us, from our 20 something’s, have no idea what family traditions mean. So I began to think about what my family traditions are. Now this isn’t a poor family sob story. No quite the contrary. I have been adopted into the greatest family ever known and my Father sits on His thrown looking for ways to bless me.

Romans 8:16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

But what of family traditions? Here I find myself and adult by age and an aspiring adult by culture, yet what traditions do I bring to the table? Like most aspirings, I have a long legacy of things that I don’t want to bring. We have divorce, deceit, and a couple of other deadly sins. I feel very fortunate that I not only have several mothers and fathers claimed me as their own, but they have also created an earthly legacy for me. And that my father, Joe Hurston, has left an amazing legacy in missions for me. However, a warm fuzzy family feeling I have not. I lack traditions.

So I made up my own traditions. I remember that before I got saved, I spent some time pondering this lack of legacy. I created my own out of a mixture of frustration and amusement. For example, in Florida, our state song is a racist ballad called the Suwanee River (the words have been changed to hide the true traditions of the Florida Cracker:). Every time I pass over this river on a trip I sing this song. I also turn up radios full blast when I go through underwater tunnels so that I can hear it fade out as I get fully submerged in the tunnel. Since, again, I live in Florida; this doesn’t happen in copious amounts- but a legacy none the less. I used to have some much less savory legacies as well like getting wasted on my birthday or hitchhiking around third world countries to see where I would end up. The very kind of legacies that would stop me from having any further breaths at all. Ahh, the conning nature of the father of lies.

I am going to make a bold statement like “Legacy is all that matters”. Everything that the Lord does is multi generational. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The outer courts, the inner courts, and the Holy of Hollies. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Generational and long lasting.

I have lived a blessed life. Many mountain tops have been viewed through my eyes and my dusty and dirty feet have walked through the dirt of over 50 countries. Great experiences, As I distil down to my top ten, I am amazed by one of the winners. I have a dear and loving friend named Terrell. All people should pray to have a friend like Terrell. Iron sharpens iron. When her grandmother died she asked me to come to the funeral. Little did I know that this experience would change my life forever.

Terrell is a beautiful shade of pecan tan. Her family ranges from dark chocolate to red as an native American but all are of African descent which means that this funeral was going to be long, hot, dramatic, music and food filled, and simply amazing. White people don’t know how to do a proper send off.

Ola Jenkins. Mother of nine, grandmother of 56. Creator of something bigger than I could ever imagine or touch. She married at 14 and spent her whole life thinking multi-generationally. Of her 9 children, 8 are in ministry. Out of her grandchildren, she has seen preachers, singers, missionaries, and every shade of church worker. Her commitment to the Lord made a lasting decision for hundreds of lives to follow.

The Lord got a hold of her and made something which is running wild in the earth in 2007- long after her time to go home and be with the Lord!

I think of my Pastor, Matt Stallbaum. He was cleaning toilets when God gave him a vision to start a church. This church has pulled so many talents out of people, created marriages that have created children:) and grown people up in the Lord. One man's vision creating a legacy. I think about Jesus.

My traditions- what am I leaving? If I died today, what would be said for my words and deeds? I am finding that it is not the big things I do. Those have their value but what is of real value is becoming so clear. It is the one-on-one and interpersonal relationships. It is the smile I give and the patience that pulls me forward. It is saying no when I want to do something because I think of how it will affect my children’s children. It is the time that I refuse to do that thing in the silence and darkness where no one but the Lord and I would know. It is the decision to leave a legacy.

I thank the Lord for Jesus. I thank Him for Matt. And I thank Him for Ola. God Bless Ola Jenkins. Her legacy is written on my heart and on the faces of every Jenkins I come into contact with.

I am going to Africa soon. Very soon and for six months. I should write about this….

Preparation is an Everyday Thing

2007-03-06T13:45:00.000-05:00

So today I got some pics of what the base camp is going to be like in Zambia. It shows a house, but I know we are sleeping in tents:) Having a bit of experience traveling, I know it is so hard to conceptualize what the next 5 month of my life will be like. It is exciting to try though. Something about it being part of the adventure. We all long for that adventure don't we?

This brings me to some interesting thoughts about what adventure really is. Why do we crave this change? There is something wonderful about going home but in order to go home you must have first left. Why do we crave the unknown, the unexplored?

And I think. This is a crazy thing because I will think for years- mulling over and over the same thing until every friend I have begins to show signs of turrets at the sheer mention of those famous words "I was thinking". I ponder about the rise of marriage age in our culture, I meander about in my head concerning why naming a drug crack isn't enough to scare people off, I contemplate sharks living in the river near my house, and I think about adventure.

Obviously I am leaving for an adventure soon. This adventure will usher in the next stage of my life. It will push me through some unseen barrier. It will challenge me. I will be forced to adapt to new people, environments, and my comfort level will be squashed like a ripe and juicy tomato. Why am I so excited? When I first told people I was accepted into a school in Africa, they looked completely perplexed and reminded me that many Africans try to get to school here. Was I confused?

Digression.

Here it is. God has created a longing inside each of us to be a part of something unknown. Something larger, greater, and more effective than we could ever be on our own. We are made in His image with an eye for the unattainable beauty that we are destined for in heaven. Just think about what it says in Romans 8:18-24

¹⁸ Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. ¹⁹ For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. ²⁰ Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, ²¹ the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. ²² For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. ²³ And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children,^[j] including the new bodies he has promised us. ²⁴ We were given this hope when we were saved.

What does this mean? God has placed certain desires within us. We will look for ways to fullfill the longing. This is where it can get crazy though, right? How, if people either dont know or understand how God can fulfill these deep and eteranl desires, does one go about trying. The answers are endless and usually desprately determental.

OK, story illustration. I have the privilege of working with teenagers. The mother of two of the girls recently went through a nasty divorce and in the middle of that she made the wise decision to start smoking crack (yummy). So God had placed within her a talent for raising these girls. She hadn't done a bang up job but the girls were fed and clean up until the crack. This is where you see satan's insidious plan though. Because she wanted to take care of children she let every child in the neighborhood run away from their homes and live in the crack house because she was going to "mother" them all. Wait, it gets better. Before long, all of the kids were being abused by the older crack heads as their budding addiction began to take root. Yes, it wasn't long at all before I watched this train wreck begin destroying lives all around me. I called the authorities and it helped but the damage had been done. To this day, the pain that her misguided desire caused is undefinable.

God has placed certain desires and talents within each of us that will be used! Do not be mistaken. Whether it is to write music (Slim Shady) or to create art (HR Geiger), if don't allow the Lord to not only develop it as well as direct it, it gets used by the world.

So adventure. What does any of this have to do with adventure? What I am thinking is that we all long to be a part of something more. We want a great story. To participate in something amazing. To belong to something powerful. What, How, and When will this manifest in our lives? How will we know how to do this?

Romans 12 talks a lot about knowing what the will of God is.

¹ And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. ² Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

We can know what God's will is for our lives and we can let the adventure that each of us longs for be the adventure that He has planned for us from the beginning of time. The decision about how to cultivate this is ours. He won't force us but He will always prompt us with loving, radical, vivacious, passionate, creating, spontaneous, thoughtful, guiding, and never-ending hands!