 |
|
|
HOME | BIOGRAPHY | DONATE ONLINE | GALLERY | SPONSORS | JOURNAL | VILLAGE MEDIC | VIDEO | CONTACT US |
 |
 |
|
Anita's Road Journal |
||
|
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Wow! This
past year’s ministry has been a whirlwind of events for me.
I was able to reach many people in Africa and in America with the
Light of Christ. I
have had many struggles and many triumphs.
Through it all, the Lord reminded me that the most important
thing is to keep my eyes and heart focused on Him.
It is our relationship with the Lord that matters most above all
else. Then it
is our relationship with others that is a reflection of our relationship
with Him. Jesus said, 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' Luke 10:27 It is when we are seeking God with our hearts and walking
hand in hand with the Lord that we can begin our journey and trust that
where He takes us is His exact will.
I have questioned the Lord many times this year and not
understood certain things that have taken place, but I can put my trust
in Him because my eyes are focused on Him and my heart longs to Love
others the way He has Loved me.
I never thought the Lord would take me to Africa just to
bring me back to America last year, but there is a purpose for
everything. Through
a car accident in Zimbabwe the Lord gave me an opportunity to come back
to the US where I became trained in Remote Emergency Medicine.
This will now allow me to teach Basic Health Care in remote
villages across Africa!
The Lord’s Spirit prompts me forward, picks me up and dusts me
off, to carry me on this journey, even when everything seems impossible.
He reminds me of the living testimony of my life that He has
given to me that is a bold reminder that even the impossible can be made
possible with Him by my side. I
have worked hard since I have been back in America.
I have been furthering my medical knowledge and training,
ministering, encouraging and recruiting others to get involved with
Africa, raising awareness of the needs in Africa, working on my Seminary
degree, fundraising and preparing to go back to Africa. The
year ahead is exciting and I am anxious to get back to Africa and
implement the work I began in 2007.
I will be traveling back to Zambia May 1st and will
work there until the end of September.
I am in my last year and a half of Seminary and I must return
back to the US to finish my degree.
For the next two years I will be spending 5 months a year doing
ministry in Africa and the rest of the year doing ministry in the US
Full time. I
will be recruiting for Africa, teaching first aid to underprivileged
children in the US, teaching missionaries first aid before they go to
the mission field, working with inner city girls homes and connecting
them with girls homes in Africa, all while I finish school.
It is a large responsibility but with Christ it is all possible! The
more the Lord entrusts me with, the more I am responsible for.
This year’s budget, for me to carry on the work the Lord has
called me to do, has increased. You have made my ministry possible in 2007 and together with
your prayers and support we reached many lives.
I have included a summary of my ministry of 2007 for your review.
This year we are launching the Village Medic Program in all of
the remote villages I visited last year.
We will be training the village Pastor, Midwives and Teachers to
become Village Medics and supply them with buckets of basic first aid
supplies. We will also be
teaching and implementing a Basic Hygiene, Sanitation and HIV/Malaria
awareness course into the village schools.
As well as a First Aid Club for the children so that they can do
monthly outreach in their own communities.
The
work is endless, but it must carry on and I am excited to get back to
Africa to see what the Lord will do this year!
Will you continue your prayers, love and support?
And will you partner with me again in 2008 to allow me to be your
hands and feet to Africa and wherever else the Lord calls me to go? Thank
you for your continued love and support, Anita Anita In Africa’s Summary of Ministry for
2007:
Wow, what a year! And it couldn’t have been
possible without the Love of Christ and without your prayers and
continued support. Thank
you and God Bless!! I thank my God every time I
remember you. In
all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your
partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident
of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to
completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Philippians 1:3-6
____________________________________________________________________________________________ November
29th, 2007 7:33pm My
life has been in a constant state of movement lately.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles are definitely how I get around.
This past month I have been in Wisconsin, Vermont, Boston, New
York, Maine, Ohio, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Chicago, and back to New
Hampshire. O.K. here it goes: I spent a weekend in New York at the Overland Missions
Conference. I got to
worship with my friends that I lived on the base in Africa with. I spent a weekend teaching Wilderness First Aid on a farm for
troubled youth in Vermont. I
traveled by bus to Boston then caught a plane to Wisconsin.
I was invited as the main speaker at a Mission Weekend Event for
West Layton Assembly of God. The
amazing Love that church has shared with me is heart melting! I
shared my testimony and photos with Milwaukee and met some amazing
missionaries to the Dominican Republic.
I met an incredible couple that is involved with inner city
girls’ homes called the House of Love.
I was able to schedule a visit in February to come and speak with
the girls and share my testimony, minister to them and even partner with
them to start a pen pal program with the girls’ homes in Africa.
(This has been a dream of mine to get the inner cities involved
with Africa!) On my last
day in Milwaukee I walked into a photo studio of someone I knew through
a friend years ago, shared my testimony with them and it turned out he
was the President of his Rotary Club and invited me to be a speaker at
the end of January! Praise God! Divine appointments are everywhere if we can just
keep our eyes focused on Him! I drove back to New Hampshire, which took me
three days verses 18 hours, due to snow, fog, sleet and rain.
I got lost for a few hours in Chicago.
I spent a night in Pennsylvania and one in Vermont.
Quite the adventure! I arrived back to New Hampshire just in time for
Thanksgiving. One of my all
time favorite holidays! The
family I am staying with invited 20 people over from church and everyone
made so much food. I was
very Thankful for being in America at this time of year and for the
blessing of being around so many friends.
I think of my close friend Laura who is still at the base in
Zambia by herself in the middle of rain season and I send my prayers out
to her this day as she eats Enshima again for breakfast and her only
company is probably my puppies. (Dear
Laura, I hope you were able to talk the village chief into selling you
the white turkey running around in his yard…wish I could have been
there with you to share this day. I
miss you and Love you. I am
so thankful you are my friend!) More
Great news as well…I passed my EMT National Exam!
WooHoo! I am now
qualified as an Urban EMT, a Wilderness EMT and a Trainer.
Now the hand on experience begins, as well as the development of
the Village Medic Program for next summer. This
weekend I am helping to teach a Wilderness First Aid course at Harvard
University. Then back to
Vermont to teach a ten-day course at another Wilderness School.
At the same time I am taking a Humanities course online for
school. Life is incredibly busy. Daily
time discipline is so important for me now.
It is amazing how the Lord leads us down paths in life. A year ago I would have never guessed I would be where I am today. Life is changing daily and it is exciting and a bit scary too. There are times I feel overwhelmed or a bit lost and alone but the Lord never fails to send encouragement and confirmation that I am on the right path. And even a gentle nudge in the right direction when I am not. Whether it is via email from a friend or supporter or by a complete stranger or some small detail in my day. The bible says in Psalm 32:8 “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.” I thank you Lord for your master plan and please keep my eyes focused on you at all times even when times get hard and I want to give up. May I find strength, endurance and peace in you as I move forward in your perfect will. Amen. This
year in Full time ministry, money is tight for gifts this Christmas, but I have something even more valuable,
priceless actually. I
have the Light of Christ inside of me and so do you.
So please this Holiday Season, Glorify God and let your Light
Shine! May
the Light of Christ touch you in return as you Give of yourself this
holiday season. God
Bless! Matthew 5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. Happy
Holidays! Anita
In Africa (In America)
________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Greetings from the beautiful mountains of New Hampshire!!!! The leaves are beginning to
change colors. When I was a
kid I use to dream about visiting New England in the fall. I always said the first thing I would do is gather a giant
pile of leaves together and flop backwards onto the mound and stare up
at the clouds for hours. As
soon as enough leaves fall off the tree you will know where to find me. The other day I spotted a black bear eating
apples off of the tree outside the classroom window. I have spent my early evenings after class taking walks up
and down the hills and trails trying to spot more black bear, a moose
and the rare flying squirrel, but to no avail.
It is funny how fast life seems to just happen and just how often
we forget to look at the beauty around us that the Lord has placed there
specifically for our enjoyment. I am trying to spend more time enjoying
the little things around me. Well, 4 and half weeks have
past since I arrived here. It
has been non-stop busy, morning through night, with classroom learning,
clinicals and studying (not to forget to mention my online Biblical
Hermeneutics course I am taking at the same time).
I have just completed my Wilderness EMT course and passed the
State Practical Exam! I am
spending my next two weeks studying hard for the National Exam which I
must pass before I can receive my license.
Now I am continuing on for another week of the Trainer Training
Course so I will be able to teach others as well.
Last Saturday I attended a dinner with the church
the founders of SOLO attend. The mission board got together with amazing
Leaders and missionaries from a few different African Ministries.
We all gave our perspectives on Africa and the work the Lord is
doing there and we prayed for Africa.
It was a powerful night. At
the end of the night the Pastor asked Rowan and I to hold a night
service on Sunday and run the entire service!
Rachel and Peter (the two other Overland Missionaries that are
here) were with us and we had an amazing mission service!
The love and welcoming of the church was a blessing.
The church has invited us to join them as our home away from home
church while we are here in New Hampshire. I spoke with the founders of SOLO about their
future plans and they asked us to stay on with them and carry on medical
training and get into teaching at their base for the next few months.
They are starting up a medical missions training program for next
summer with Overland Missions and need help here preparing the course
and logistics. They are
also starting up a two day medical mission training course that will be
offered to churches in the USA that want to get first aid training and
basic survival and medicine training for going overseas on mission
trips. They said I could
help them teach the classes and it would be a great way for me to earn
money and raise funds for the mission field while I am here.
Also it would give me great experience for when I go back to
Africa. His timing is always perfect! Right now I am
unable to be in Africa until the rains are over. The rains are from November through February and because
Rowan and I no longer have a vehicle, if we went back now we would have
nothing to do but hang out on an empty base camp.
I have a lot of fundraising to do as well from now until the time
we go back to Africa. While
I was on the mission field a large portion of my support stopped coming
in. These next few months
here in the US will give me more time to sell my photos, speak at
churches, fund raise and raise awareness for Africa. And by working with
SOLO I will be able to reach out to missionaries in the US and help
encourage them and prepare them for life oversees! The ministry never
stops…Halleluiah!!! More exciting news, they also have their own book
publishing company and have offered to help me put together a book of my
photos and publish it to be used as a ministry tool to bring awareness
of Africa, to motivate other missionaries and to help me fund raise
with!!!!! I am still in Awe at the doors the Lord has been opening for
me. This summer on the
mission field was probably the hardest experience of my life, but God
obviously had a plan. It is
funny how we think we know Gods plan for us, until he completely flips
it upside down and shows us another way we never even thought of or
expected. He works every
thing out and it is always greater than we could imagine! Praise the
Lord!!! This weekend I will be driving with the founders
of SOLO to New York for a two day Overland Mission conference.
Afterwards, I will be coming back to the base to begin learning
to teach courses and getting field medical and rescue experience.
I will keep you all posted how it goes! Anita In Africa (In America)
___________________________________________________________________________________________ July 18th,
2007 We finally found the
village. We had been driving
for 12 hours in the thick thorn filled bush with 5 hours of that time at
a speed of about 10 miles per hour.
This village is called Sibulo.
We were told they never heard the gospel before or have seen a
white person. They are in
the middle of nowhere in There were 40 of us on
this mission so we broke off into small groups with our translators and
began walking to individual villages to invite them to our assembly that
afternoon. We walked for
over an hour to get to our village to find that everyone had run and hid
in their huts. We left a
message with one of the young boys who seemed not to be afraid and asked
him to invite the village to come visit with us. We returned back to the
camp area and waited for the villagers to arrive.
They came from miles away to meet us, all hesitant and almost
afraid. As the translator
spoke to them and to us we discovered they had thought we were
Satanists. I am sure arriving in the middle of night with giant lit up
vehicles did not help much. We
shared with them our belief in Christ and shared with them the gospel.
Within minutes they all relaxed and began to sing for us and
dance. We all joined in and
danced together. The entire
village stood up to receive Christ and we all prayed with them.
We watched as the villagers removed and handed some of us their
witch doctor beads to be burned in the fire. We spent three days
building relationships with them, preaching and teaching the gospel.
We prayed for healings and watched a woman walk for the first
time in many years. We partnered with a local Pastor from the nearest
village several hours away to plant a church in their village and
continue to grow their relationship we began and follow up with them. I spent three days
sharing the love of Christ with the villagers of Sibulo and at the same
time I was able to share my photography and mentor several of the
missionaries on our team who where from Now that I am back at the
base I am getting ready to head back to the USA. I need to box up and store
all of my things before I leave, get use to the idea of leaving my
puppies Boaz and Dora for the next couple of months and get ready for a
faster pace of life again. The
months ahead will be awesome preparation for my ministry ahead here in I return to the
- Please pray for safe travel and flights as I travel home to the
- That the ministry seeds that have been sown here in
- Please pray for favor and blessings to all who have prayed for
me, supported me and made this journey possible.
See you all soon! In His Service, Anita In
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Today the winds are so strong it feels like my
tent will blow off the edge of the gorge (especially since my tent is
placed exactly three feet from the edge to allow for a better view).
The nights are so cold here and no amount of blankets seems to
help. I wake up with my two
puppies, Dora and Boaz, snuggled into my sleeping bag with me by
morning. But I am not
complaining, besides the smell of them rolling in the bush all day, they
really are like having little space heaters up against me while I sleep.
This morning breakfast was the same again, sorghum (a type of
ground meali meal almost like cream of wheat) with milk and sugar and a
piece of toast. The
excitement of eating local foods has faded a bit.
Today is Saturday, so lunch is Kapenta (tiny fish with a pungent
odor in a greasy sauce) and Nshima (ground white corn meal cooked to a
solid consistency, eaten on the base daily).
My least favorite of lunch days, there is something about your
lunch looking at you while you eat it.
Dinner tonight looks a bit more promising, Curry and rice is
always a winner! Exciting things have been happening these past
few weeks. I have been
spending my days in I met with the local witch doctor at his home the
other day and asked him to tell me about his beliefs and how he treats
the sick in the village that come to him.
Animal heads filled his hut and drums lay scattered in his yard
from his recent service to one of the villagers of casting out of
demons. He claimed God tells him how to heal each person with herbs and
drum dances. He goes to a
Pentecostal church in the area and is telling people his healing is of
God. He claimed not to put
spells or curses on any one in the village, but from the villagers point
of view, any amount of money will get a curse from him.
Truth was definitely not spoken to me that day.
I asked if I could pray for him and he sarcastically asked me
what could I possibly pray for that he couldn’t himself, then told me
to go ahead and pray if I wanted. Truth was not spoken to me, but I did
get to speak some truth to him and rebuke the evil that was around him
and in him, as I prayed. The women in the village are setting up a meeting
to meet with me and tell me personally all their diseases and health
problems. I look forward to
taking all the information I gather in these weeks to the Tomorrow morning I load onto our large German ex
military vehicle with a team of 40 South African missionaries and
venture out for four days into the deep Zambian bush to reach people who
have never heard of Christ before or seen a white person. I am anxious
to share the gospel with them, we are all praying and believing to see
miracles, signs and wonders.
I believe the Holy Spirit is there with each of the people we
reach just waiting for us to arrive.
Devine appointments await each one of us and I don’t want to
miss out on not one. Hebrews 13:2 “Do not forget to entertain
strangers, for by doing so, some people have entertained angels without
knowing it.” I have a few prayer requests for my prayer team: -
Safe travel into the villages over the
next four days, for each person we reach to receive Christ, and for
miraculous healings, signs and wonders, and a powerful outpour of the
Holy Spirit. -
An outpouring of the Holy Spirit in -
Favor, blessings and anointing placed on
Freeda, the midwife and social worker in -
My continued health and healing from the
accident (my ears are still ringing). -
May the Lord continue to grow my ministry
and give me clear direction for my future months ahead. -
My monthly support and supporters to
increase (my budget needed to sustain me here monthly has not been
reached for the past month and a half). -
Continued prayer for a vehicle. The Lord continues to amaze me with His love for
each of His children. Not
one will be forgotten. I
continue to praise him for sending me here and revealing to me every day
in new ways this love. In
ways I never even imagined. Through
my personal storms here on the mission field and through the lives of
all the people He has placed around mine.
The Lord has many facets and reflections that we will never truly
understand or comprehend within the depths of His love, but we will
always remain amazed by it as we search His higher paths in this life
with His unfailing light to guide the way. May each one of you see the
beautiful facets and reflections of the same love right where the Lord
has guided your feet. I look forward to sharing my next update with
everyone when I return from ministry in the bush.
May the Lord bless you and lavish you in His
outstanding love,
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Since
the accident and finishing the Wilderness First Responder course on the 14th
of June, my good friend and fellow student of Without
having means of transportation or the ability to get into the unreached
villages Rowan and I originally intended to do ministry in, at this
point I found it to be an awesome opportunity to get involved in the
local village with some ministry of my own. While at the same time I can
assist Blaire with the cultural aspects of the people to help
familiarize her to the people she will be teaching and as her assistant
so she will not have to be by herself. We
were able to get a ride into I
love being able to mentor others and assist them in their ministry.
To watch the excitement in other missionary’s eyes when they
experience this culture for the first time is amazing.
I also love to be able to serve others with the knowledge that I
have to better equip them for their ministry too.
I believe this is a big way that God wants to use me. Blaire
and I began to build relationships with the teachers in the school and
with some of the children. We
also spent an afternoon in the village meeting with some of the women so
I could do some research for the E.M.T. training that SOLO wants me to
come back in October to start in the villages.
We were able to meet with some women and even a midwife in the
village who volunteers to look after all the women’s health issues,
from birthing to counseling. I
was able to find out the major health issues and concerns and even the
tribal ways of doing things that are actually making the women sicker.
I plan on spending more time building relationships with the
women in this village so that I can take this information to the
training in Even
though the accident took away the vehicle and means to reach outer
villages, the Lord had another plan to use me right here where I was at
in the nearest village reachable by bicycle.
It is amazing how we think that we must go really far to the most
unreached corner of the earth to help the needy when the needy is right
here in our own back yards. I
am just overjoyed that the Lord is willing to use me and that I can
follow His lead and be led right to those divine appointments He has
scheduled for me, even if I don’t see the full picture right away.
Amen! Since
I have been here in
- For ministry opportunities, doors and divine appointments to
continue to open up for me and that I will see God’s hand in all of it
and not miss out on one of them.
- That those the Lord has placed in my path up until now, will
continue to grow and flourish in their walk with Him and continue to
seek His face and draw close to Him. That their lives will continue to
change and flourish and be living testimonies for others to see.
- God’s hand and Angels of protection around me as I travel by
bicycle throughout
- Complete and full healing of my ear and the slight ringing that
remains, the sleeplessness to go away and for Rowans
collarbone to heal up better than it was to begin with.
- Clear direction and confirmation to train in New Hampshire. I
love you all and I send my Blessings, Anita
In Africa
___________________________________________________________________________________________
I
am sitting at a friend’s house in Not
to forget to mention another monumental luxury…the Internet here works
unfailing for more than 20 minutes at a time…. Praise God!!!!!
This is the first time in almost two months I have had normal
access to internet. (Internet
in Since
the accident Rowan and I were invited to take the two-week Wilderness
First Responder course with the A.M.T. students on our base as we
recovered from the accident. The
two doctors teaching it run a company called SOLO in The
doctors from SOLO invited Rowan, myself and two other missionaries from
the base to come to I
am praying diligently about this opportunity and feel very strongly that
I will go to I
find it amazing how God will bring upon one storm and open doors of
blessings from the dust of it. I
am beginning to see the good coming from the accident.
If it did not happen I don’t know if I would have been able to
sit long enough to do the Wilderness Course and get to know the doctors
from SOLO and be offered the position.
Well I shall make some plans and allow God to direct my steps,
trusting that He knows all and understands everything in which I can
only dream to grasp. I
hope all of you are doing well and I send my prayers, blessings and love
to each of you. God
Bless, _______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Dear
Friends and Family, Thank
you all so very much for all of the prayers and emails of encouragement
that I have received over the past several weeks since the accident.
Many of your prayers and words helped to get me through this
difficult time. I just
wanted to update everyone of my current status.
The doctors diagnosed me with having a Labyrinth Concussion in my
left ear. It was a mission
but I managed to find a doctor who sent me for a CAT scan.
I
believe that the Lord heard all of your prayers and that is why we have
healed so fast. The Lord is
truly the ultimate physician and healer and I believe it takes the
entire body of Christ to come together in agreement and prayer to be
even more powerful. Thank you so much for all of your love and
faithfulness. I am
overwhelmed. The bible says
in Matthew 18:19 “Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree
on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for
them of my Father which is in Heaven.
For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am
I in the midst of them.” Since
the accident I have had a lot of time to just sit at the Lords feet.
I find it very difficult to just sit and be still.
My mind won’t stop for a second, thoughts keep running through
of the accident, how I could have killed two people in the car with me,
or several people on the road that day.
How I demolished Rowans only vehicle and means for
transportation, which here in Each
of you have been a part of this time, your words of encouragement and
faith have lifted me up out of my moments of darkness.
Your love has given me a better understanding of Christ’s love
for us. So many times I find
myself thinking that I am the missionary who was sent to minister and
love on others, that I have momentarily forgotten that Jesus loves me
just as much. That He uses
others to minister to me just as much, that I am never alone and the
ministry comes full circle. So
once again, I thank you from my heart that you allowed the Lord to send
your words to minister to me, to be missionaries to me.
It just proves how God’s love has no time, boundaries,
geographical locations, cultures or any other gap, no matter where we
are, who we are, or how different we may be; Gods love transcends all
and everything. Each of us
have been called to minister, to be sent on a mission and to serve a
greater purpose, even if it is just via email or to our neighbor, work
place, school or foreign country. There
are hurting people every where needing reminders of Christ’s love for
us and some that have never known it at all.
I am rejoicing to know that all of you who have reached out to me
allow God to use you and to be faithful to the call in your lives to
reach out and in your own way be missionaries right were you are at.
One day we will all be together dancing in heaven worshiping our
Lord and King together in the glory of His entire splendor.
I feel honored and humbled to have all of you in my life and be
able to walk this road hand in hand.
My praises be to God, Jesus I love you.
Amen! Blessings
and Love, Anita
In
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Greetings Everyone from So sorry to take so long
for an update…there has been an accident.
I was driving with Rowan in his Land Rover from The next afternoon Rowans
parents had driven 7 hours to retrieve us.
They took us back to In a few days we will be
flying back to the Mission Base in
__________________________________________________________________________________________
It is a beautiful morning
in Africa today! I send
blessings and greetings to all! I
have much to tell everyone about. So
much has happened in the past three week.
It began with a stellar expedition team from the UK and Jamaica,
30 team members in total, who joined us for two weeks.
I spent two weeks helping the base organize their stay, cook,
clean and we all had some amazing fellowship and I made several new
friendships in locations around the globe.
The team went into the villages and camped for several days, ran
crusades and even performed water baptisms.
The team witnessed 140 salvations, 19 river baptisms and several
miraculous healings, from blind women seeing, to crippled children that
have never walked before taking their first steps.
Even the healing of a dog with a broken leg that protruded from
its skin to it’s complete healing! God is the Amazing King of
miracles! Here at the base during one of their expeditions our two base dogs, Vickie and Scooby, where viciously attacked by baboons. Vickie did not make it and Scooby was badly wounded. Rowan and I rushed Scooby to the vet in town, expecting to have to put him down, but the vet suggested we hook him to IV and give him a few days. We took him home and I spent the next several days by his side feeding him with a syringe and praying over him. A week went by and he could still not move and the entire UK team gathered around him and prayed over him. Two days later Scooby got up and walked! He is doing much better and was diagnosed as having tick fever, which ultimately weakened him to allow the baboons to attack him. Normally he is our security guard and scares the baboons away. The other good news is while at the vet I was asking around for puppies and everyone said they were out of season, then suddenly a man walked up to me and handed me a potato sack and asked me to hold it for him. A puppy’s head peaked out and I asked the man if I could buy him. He said no, but I negotiated and the man left and came back with a female puppy as well. The Lord gave us two puppies that day and they have become like my own children. I just never realized how much work puppies would be. So now we have Scooby, Boa | ||
.jpg)
After:
