Job 11 &12 ; Acts 15 & 16

I went to South Africa with a young man who continually amazed me w/his ability to connect w/children...all 6+ feet of him, down to their level....getting smiles from kids who you'd think had very little to smile about...a young man who 'knows You' and wants to KNOW YOU, wants the relationship with you he hears about....he was brave/humble enough to say this out loud....
I went to South Africa w/ a gentle man, a passionate gentle man who talked to and taught the boys cool things, drawing them maps and getting them to write their names for us...to remember....who admitted / admits this trip challenged his faith...
I went to South Africa w/ a woman who lost her husband 4 years ago...a woman still living and enjoying life...a woman who loved on the young women and made them feel beautiful....who held babies and cried....
I went to South Africa w/ a man we'd known for many years, his second trip...his heart was broken the first time but it lost traction, he was back to gain that traction back...he played with kids and made them laugh...
I went to South Africa w/a man who used to fly jets and now seeks to follow where You lead...a man who questions his faith and doubts and in those questions and doubts makes it comfortable for others to question and doubt and then he journey's with them.
I went to South Africa w/my husband, because of my husband....a man who claimed to hate the people but was really simply confused about the culture and needed stuff to fix....a man who kindly took a village woman's blood pressure, a railroad engineer by trade, wearing his bib overalls....taught to take BP's for the trip...who this woman trusted and whom he helped, if only a small bit...his kindness made her smile and made the rest of us smile...a simple bottle of aspirin made her smile....
I went to South Africa w/ a man who's intent it was to disturb us....to show us things that would rub against our souls for the rest of our lives...a man who's addicted to chaos and helping us to live in it....to grow in it....to perservere and endure through it....
I went to South Africa and met a man with a heart for God like I haven't seen here in the states. ..I'm sure they're here..I just hadn't yet met one and now he's who I want to be...someone who is so confident in Christ... in our God that he sends you to Him repeatedly without offering any answers of his own..he trusts God enough to know He will give you HIS answers...
I came home from South Africa rattled and hopeful, shamed and forgiven, excited and afraid, afraid and seeking to BE courageous.... wanting to figure out...if...how...to get US money over there to help him do more of what it is he does, to see more and more people come to know YOU.

Job this morning addressing the sovereignty of God..
Acts 16: 27-2 8Startled from sleep, the jailer saw all the doors swinging loose on their hinges. Assuming that all the prisoners had escaped, he pulled out his sword and was about to do himself in, figuring he was as good as dead anyway, when Paul stopped him: "Don't do that! We're all still here! Nobody's run away!"
29-31 The jailer got a torch and ran inside. Badly shaken, he collapsed in front of Paul and Silas. He led them out of the jail and asked, "Sirs, what do I have to do to be saved, to really live?" They said, "Put your entire trust in the Master Jesus. Then you'll live as you were meant to live—and everyone in your house included!"
32-34 They went on to spell out in detail the story of the Master—the entire family got in on this part. They never did get to bed that night. The jailer made them feel at home, dressed their wounds, and then—he couldn't wait till morning!—was baptized, he and everyone in his family. There in his home, he had food set out for a festive meal. It was a night to remember: He and his entire family had put their trust in God; everyone in the house was in on the celebration.

In prison, locked up....freed....stayed and in the staying see the jailer come to Christ.....and in that coming he sees his whole family come to Christ....I don't know what this has to do w/ having been to South Africa.....just a day of tears and confusion and yet in the confusion utter peace...so maybe it has to do w/a desire to BE faithful no matter what....this woman she inspires me and to meet her in heaven maybe a to take a walk with her wherever it is HE leads....
Oh, Father here I am; oh Lord take my hand
Give me strength I need to follow after you