One thing I have asked

**************************
"One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in His temple.
For He will hide me in His shelter in the day of trouble;
He will conceal me under the cover of His tent;
He will lift me high upon a rock."
-Psalm 27:4f

My greatest desire & dream is to be sustained by God's presence alone. I think God has allowed some of my lesser dreams, even good dreams, to be shattered so that I can more fully recognize the depth of my longing for Him. I pray that I will begin to recognize shattered dreams as grace. When He does not "fix" a deep wound or sickness or sorrow I know that it pains Him even more than it hurts me. Not only is He my deepest desire, but I am also His desire!!!

I do not really know how to explain what the Lord is teaching me right now but perhaps these quick thoughts may give some insight. I'm doing a bit of a word study on "the secret place" encouraged by one of the missionary girls I met in Burundi.

Cether - in Hebrew; covering, shelter, hiding place, secrecy
which is found in the presence of God, in the Old Testament it is often used to refer to God's tabernacle, the tent or perhaps the Holy of Holies
Since pentacost the Holy of Holies is found within the hearts of believers!

I AM SO THANKFUL FOR YOUR PRAYERS!
- Pray for me that the Lord would reveal His secret place to me according to His Word.
- PRAISE the Lord for the Rich family who I am staying with right now. They have made me feel right at home & display the love of Christ to one another and to me constantly.
- PRAISE the Lord for being with me & giving me courage & wisdom as I traveled from Burundi to Kijabe!
- Pray for me to be able to absorb all that I am being taught at the dental clinic.

"As I stare out into the blue mountains of the Congo"

The missionary who is hosting us here in Burundi said that should be the opening line of my new blog post.

"But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe" (Galations 3:22).

This past Sunday I listened on my mp3 player to a sermon by Major Ian Thomas called "Knowing the Inner Man." We know that sin entered the world & all men through Adam (Rom. 5:12). And sin deserves death (Rom. 6:23). So for life to come back in, sin must be driven out. Jesus lived the life that man is intended to live, a perfect, sinless life. Jesus lived the normal, Christian life. As a friend and I discussed the meaning of the line of the hymn, "Twas grace that taught my heart to fear..." I began thinking of the law of God & the perfect life of Christ (Jesus is the Word - Jn. 1) as a sweet grace. The law of God shows me my sin (Rom. 3:19f & Acts 13:28f). If I am not a sinner, Jesus did not come to save me. PRAISE God for His perfect law & for His fulfillment of that law. "Oh how He loves you. Oh how He loves me. Oh how He loves you & me!"



There are three tribes here in Burundi: Hutu, Tutsie & Twa. The Twa people have been looked down upon and have no means of making money so they often end up basically enslaved to people from other tribes. There is a Burundian couple here, Hermes & Passey, who have been called by the Lord to live with and minister to the Twa people. This past week we worked in a dental clinic we set up near their home. Hermes & Passey fed us lunch & dinner every day. We were treated like kings in their home. As we put on the dental clinic in both Ngozi & Gitega there were local Burundians who would preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. One of the interpreters told me for many of the people it was the first time that they have heard the truth of Christ, that He does not require us to DO something to EARN our salvation.

Since the last post we took a 60 mile (4.5 hour) drive from Gitega to Ngozi on a dirt road. When we needed a snack we stop along the side of the road and buy a huge branch of bananas. When we needed a bathroom break we would stop at the nearest bush. I was picking red dust out of my ears, eyes & nose for the rest of the week! I've learned to give injections but I can't really tell if I'm doing it well or not because the people are so stoic with such a high pain tolerance! Three of the guys on the team have been sick. I am very thankful to the Lord that I have not been yet, THANK YOU for your prayers!!! We worked with Hermes & Passey for 4 days near their home. Yesterday we worked in a Burundian prison... I wish there were some way to adequately capture that experience for y'all... Just think extractions on 167 strong, young men in a small, hot room right beside the latrine that facilitates 2000 people.

One prisioner was originally sentenced to life in prison. He became a believer while in prison. His sentence was reduced to 5 years which he is quick to tell you was a miricle of God. Now he spends his days ministering to the men who he is imprisioned with...

I fly out tomorrow headed to Kijabi Hopsital in Kijabi, Kenya! more to come later...

KIRUNDI - Key Phrases:
ego - yes
oyo - no
morakozi - thank you
Imana igohezagila - God Bless you
Yesu aragukunda - Jesus loves you
asama - open (your mouth)
cheeta - spit
naza - good

If Ever I Loved Thee, My Jesus Tis Now

I arrived safely in Burundi and the next morning we left on a 4(ish) hour bus ride up the mountain to a small town called Masenga in Gitega province. We are staying at an orphanage and have set up one of the school classrooms as our clinic for the week. We will be here for another day and a half and then we will leave for Busiga in Ngozi province.

The needs are far greater than we could ever hope to meet. Please pray that God would give us wisdom to know who to bring in for treatment. The peoples' teeth are so worn down that sometime their teeth do not need to be extracted but they are sensitive because they are worn flat. Since those particular people (definitely the minority) do not need treatment I have thought perhaps the Lord has brought them to us simply so that we can pray for them. What a blessing to pray with and for these people.

I want to share with you a very typical patient here at the clinic. Please forgive me I'm writing off the top of my head and only have a few minutes:
A mother comes in the door with a baby strapped to her back and one at each side. The mother sits in one chair with a child in her lap and the oldest of the three in the chair just beside. When the mzungu (white person) comes over the child in the lap begins to scream. The older keeps a stoic face with wide eyes. I will lower my mask to give a smile but it is obvious it does not help the children relax. Now we will try to treat the child as his mother holds him in her lap. The child is screaming so I will kneel and lay on the mother's lap restraining the child as Dr. Bill gives the anesthetic. The child can not understand that there is an infection in his mouth and that if we do not take out the teeth this infection could cause many problems and in some instances even become fatal. The child's face may be swollen because of the infection. Dr Bill comes back ready to extract teeth from the child who is doing everything possible to get away. The mother holds her child, tries to restrain him, speaks calming words to him and instructs him to open his mouth. As Dr. Bill comes to pull the teeth the mother will look away. After a moment the bad teeth are out, the child is bleeding. With a tissue I will look up from the floor where I have been kneeling to hold the child and wipe the child's tears away and ask the interpreter to let them know I want to pray for them. We pray, the other family members are treated and we send the mother on her two hour walk home barefooted with a baby on her back, two bleeding children and also bleeding herself.

I am reminded that my heart was sick with sin before I even knew it. Sometime's I've wondered why God has allowed pain in my life. I think treating these children has shown me a bit of what my sin was like. God may hold us in a painful place but it is because He knows what is best for us. He does not enjoy seeing His children in pain. But there's no pain we experience that He has not. In fact the very pain that causes my tears ends up being a great blessing. I pray the Lord will help me to view my circumstances, even the most painful ones, in light of His great love!