...11 days...

Feed my lambs...tend my sheep...feed my sheep....Follow me.

            It is hard to believe that in 11 short days I will board the plane and will send off to Africa for a month. For 7 days I will be traveling Tanzania with my brother, experiencing his world and learning more about his work for the U.N. and his life there. We will see and experience many incredible things and I cannot wait for all of that, but more than anything to spend time with my brother and really talk to him and learn more about his life and his world. I am praying God will open the eyes of his heart to the Gospel and to the Truth. I am praying Christ will soften my heart and quiet my doubts and fill me with an overflow of his grace for my brother. Lord prepare my heart…

            From the 18^th to the 25^th we will be serving in the hospital in Lusaka. Getting to know each other as team members and serve Cure however we can: serving the mothers and children recovering in the ward, attending surgeries and patient appointments with the doctors, participating in staff devotionals and worship services, and ministering to the staff and patients individually. From the 25^th to the 31^st we will be on the outreach in Mpongwe where we will serve the local tribes through our medical clinic, but most importantly through evangelism and delivering the Gospel through the Jesus film and daily ministry to the villages. Please see my “prayer warriors” page for specific prayer requests you can be lifting up while we are serving the whole trip. From the 31^st to the 9^th we will be serving again in the hospital and by the grace of God shining his love and mercy to all those around us as we serve as we are called and build up the hospital staff and patient at Beit Cure Zambia.

            Writing about the trip…thinking about the trip…praying for the trip and these people…ignites flames of passion in my heart. I cannot wait to see them, smell that place again, worship with them in dance and song and laughter, pray with them, watch the lame become healed and the broken be restored! But it also reminds of how weak and desperate I am for the Gospel. It reminds me that I am crippled and hopeless apart from the saving knowledge and grace of Jesus Christ and the cross. I pray heaven will be poured out over my life as I enter this trip tired, worn out, weary and with many struggles and the baggage of sin and shame…that Jesus will reign, that the light of his love will cover all my darkness and bring freedom to my captive soul. I trust he will heal, he will restore.

May these verses be the fountain of my words and the steps that I walk:

            “…Jesus welcomed them and spoke to them of the kingdom of God and cured those who had need of healing.” Luke 9:11

            “Whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Matthew 10:38-39

Cause Jesus only did what He saw You do

And He would only say what He heard You speak

And He would only move when He felt You lead

Following Your heart following Your spirit

So How could I expect to walk without You

When every move that Jesus made was in surrender

I will not begin to live without You

For You alone are worthy and You are always good

Where You go I go

What You say I say God

And what You pray I pray

And what You pray I pray

      Father God go before us and by grace alone, lead us as we follow, for we know your voice. You call each of us by name and you lead us out of darkness and temptation. You have freed our souls, now lead us into freedom. It is for freedom you have set us free! May we walk it out with you. Take up our cross and follow you…step by step, where you go we will go. (John 10:3-4) (Galatians 5:1)

      In the next week I will be working a lot, spending precious time with my co workers and continuously yearning for them to know Christ. As well as spending time with my roommates and last but not least finishing the remaining 900 cure cards we have to make in 10 days! In Christ we can do all things...I am clinging to that truth. It will be a full 11 days, and I cannot wait to see what God will do and teach me as he keeps preparing mz heart and working through sanctification. This is the hard road...but the one that brings lasting joy, peace, and freedom. This is the road that brings glory to God Almighty, and that is all that matters. 

Wir preisen dich Herr. Du bist unser Gott. 

  § I am may or may not send another last fundraising update, but with GREAT JOY I want you all to know that I have exceeded my fundraising goal by $1405. PRAISE GOD that $1405 more than I prayed for will be going to the Cure Zambia Hospital to aid in the surgeries of children anxiously awaiting a cure. Praise God...may he richly bless you for your love and prayers and support. 

Jehovah Jireh

The incredible rainbow God gave us in Wyoming on the road trip...


Rainbows appear after mighty storms
when things look their very worst
Just when skies are darkest gray
look for the rainbow first.
The rainbow is a sign of God`s promise
that he will guide us through any storm. 
That he will see us through all our trouble
no matter what their form.

When you feel battered by Life's storms,
And you are filled with doubt and dismay,
Just remember God's rainbow will come,
For it's only a prayer away.

"Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds,

 I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between 

God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth."

Genesis 9:16

          Though my heart finds itself now in solitude, I must rejoice in telling you that as of this morning my funds are all in! I am completely funded for my flight and the cost of the trip,  to support Cure in doing the village outreach in Mpongwe, with all remaining funds going towards surgeries at the hospital! Just when I doubt...just when I worry...just when I surrender and say, "Okay Lord, you are in control, all I can do is trust you." He provides. The Lord God our provider, Jehovah Jireh never fails. 

         He never stops being faithful to us: faithful in love, faithful in provision. This is a lesson I am learning constantly lately, not only in regards to Zambia, but God is definitely using this trip and the preparation to teach me yet again. I pray I will keep learning how to trust him with the lost in my life, jobs, school, friendships, my family, money, and life completely. He is all I need, he is more than enough for all of me. 

          His rainbows are only a prayer away...

          Thank you for being faithful supporters of this trip and all the work and preparation that goes into it, as well as praying for God to go before us and be with us, because we know that we can do nothing apart from him. And he longs that your prayers be an essential part of that. So thank you, thank you for trusting him in giving your time, money, and prayers to support Cure and support the go team for this summer. 

"Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it." Luke 11:28

Lift up drooping hands and strengthen weak knees

"Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed."

Hebrews 12:12-13

            This verse was talked about in our devotional from church this morning, Streams in the Desert. In our woman’s bible study we discussed the importance of fellowship and community. One woman gave her testimony, which highlighted the dire need for community in our lives and she shared how the woman of faith around her were God’s hands and presence around her during some of her most difficult times.  As we talked at our tables we were each reminded of the arms of love that enveloped us during trying times in our lives and how those lives radiated the love and grace of the Gospel to us. I was reminded of my dad’s cancer, and first of the arms of love that enveloped me when I was only 17 and I heard the news and was serving in a foreign country with people I had known for two weeks. Those people loved on me and became my family in a way I didn’t know what possible. I saw the real meaning behind being called 'the body of Christ.'

            But as I reflected on this verse further, I was reminded of Zambia. I am reminded of the need for me, for our team, for Cure, to be that encouragement and community for so many lost and broken lives in that country. I am reminded of our need to lift up drooping hands and strengthen weak knees of faith, but also our privilege to physically heal those hands and knees. I remember last year spending the afternoon at the mobile clinic surrounded by children with CP and their mothers. Wow, how those mothers loved their children. Some of them had carried their teenage CP children MILES, HOURS, to see the doctor. And their children sat, some completely lifeless, totally dependent, but you could see through their pain how truly grateful they were. Seeing that doctor brought light to their lives, it gave hope, but most importantly, it revealed to them the love of the God who created them and who sustains them…"that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.”

            I pray God continues to heal those lives, physically, and even more that they will be healed spiritually. God may we go and lift up drooping hands and strengthen weak knees, make straight paths, and bring healing to your people in Zambia.

____________________________________________________________________

      I also wanted to share and mention that I am still $650 short of my total fundraising goal as of Friday. I also wanted to mention that I am still selling Cure cards and Hope Art bracelets which you can find out more about here on my fundraisers page. I am grateful for each and every one who has joined me in support and prayer and I am so excited for what God has planned ahead of the team and I. I am still hoping and praying for 9 more prayer warriors to commit to pray for my team and I while we serve in Zambia. We desperately need your prayers lifting us up and partnering with us while we are on the field. If you are interested in any of the above things and/or have more questions please contact me by leaving a comment on this post, or by e-mail: lrwilks@vt.edu

   Also here is a list of things we are beginning to collect to bring with us to the hospital for the hospital and the outreach:

1. Toothbrushes and toothpaste to present another dental clinic during the outreach


2. Toys: (gently used or new) for the hospital playroom, to keep children occupied while waiting or in recovery 

3. Crafts and activities for the kids camps: frisbees, balls & air pumps, bubbles, jump ropes, packages of crayons/markers/pencils, balloons, etc.