I have a new website with a blog! Please go here for the latest information!
Website: www.outoftheboxtoafrica.com
NEW Blog (on site): www.outoftheboxtoafrica.com/blog
Please come and visit and keep tabs on the work God is doing in Africa and how He is using me (and you) in the process!
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Saturday, April 16, 2011
What's Waiting in Africa?
Children! Thousands of children are experiencing the love and hope of Jesus through the work of Children's Cup who offer hot meals, medical care, find homes, give hugs and introduce JESUS!!! But, there are thousands more who have and are facing difficult times of abuse, loss, illness, loneliness, hunger... When you partner with me, you are sending me straight into the field to wrap my arms around those children to give those hugs and share the greatest friend they'll ever have, Jesus!! But it goes a step further, my role with Cup will be to build up their education and give them that extra boost of confidence in themselves to go out and live the dreams the God has given them! How cool? Thinking of all the children in Swaziland, I'm reminded of the story about starfish. Thousands of them on the shore... one boy throwing them back one by one... knowing he can't save them all, he says "It mattered to this one..."
Meet Thandiwe below... it mattered to her... how many more can we touch TOGETHER!
Meet Thandiwe below... it mattered to her... how many more can we touch TOGETHER!
Thandiwe’s Story
When Children’s Cup first met her, she was fourteen years old.
She stays with an elderly grandmother that is taking care of her and two of her other siblings. Her father died very close to her birth and her mother abandoned her and is now dead.
Thandiwe had tears in her eyes as she talked to us about how painful it still is to know that her mother did not want her. Because the grandmother is very old she spends most of her time taking care of her younger brother and sister and trying to help her grandmother. At 14 years old, she had never been to any type of school until by God’s grace we were able to help her.
She broke down and started crying as she expressed her thankfulness at having the opportunity to attend a first grade class at one of Children’s Cup’s CarePoints. And now, Thandiwe wants to become a teacher because of the loving example that her teacher at the CarePoint has been to her and the love that she has shown her.
I can't do it alone. Contact me to become a partner, bethanneyoung@gmail.comWednesday, March 16, 2011
Harder Than You Think
Some might think that when God finally lets you in on His big plans for your promise land, that everything is "uphill" from there. That is SOOO the opposite... Since the call, Satan has been messing me with, the path gets lonlier and more confusing, and the unknowns don't really go away- you just trade one for another. Do I see value? You betcha! Always? Some days it is harder to tell than others. You keep making sacrifice after sacrifice in the midst of that confusion and all you have to hold onto is one BIG promise He made to you- just you- and so there is "just you" to hold on to it. So that's where I'm at... holding on to pure faith that God has called me to Africa, even though everything else is kinda foggy and the road is pretty bumpy with no landmarks and the sacrifices have pushed me way out of my comfort zone. This song, Pioneer, resung by Rick Pino, sums it up...
Pioneer, Pioneer
Keep pressing onwards beyond your fears
And only your Father goes before you to your own frontier
Youʼre a Pioneer
Uncharted wilderness stretches before you
And you thrive on going where no one has gone
Still it gets lonely when darkness rears
So sing by the fire until the dawn
You travel light and you travel alone
And when you arrive nobody knows
But your Father in heaven, He is glad you can go
Cause those who come after you will need the road
And what you have done, others will do
Bigger and better and faster than you
But you canʼt look back, you gotta keep on pressing through
Thereʼs a wilderness pathway and itʼs calling you
Calling you, calling you
Keep pressing onwards beyond your fears
And only your Father goes before you to your own frontier
Youʼre a Pioneer
Pioneer, Pioneer
Keep pressing onwards beyond your fears
And only your Father goes before you to your own frontier
Youʼre a Pioneer
Uncharted wilderness stretches before you
And you thrive on going where no one has gone
Still it gets lonely when darkness rears
So sing by the fire until the dawn
You travel light and you travel alone
And when you arrive nobody knows
But your Father in heaven, He is glad you can go
Cause those who come after you will need the road
And what you have done, others will do
Bigger and better and faster than you
But you canʼt look back, you gotta keep on pressing through
Thereʼs a wilderness pathway and itʼs calling you
Calling you, calling you
Keep pressing onwards beyond your fears
And only your Father goes before you to your own frontier
Youʼre a Pioneer
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Break My Heart for What Breaks Yours
James 1:27
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
Entry from September 9/20/07
Today was the toughest day yet. Today we went to visit and pray with the sick children at the government hospital.
We first went to the babies room. Fortunately all their mothers were there caring for them, but many had been there for months. Many of them have pneumonia and both mothers and children were fatigued by the long hospital visit. I felt God pulling on my to pray with them and talk with them. This was really pushing me out of my shell. I tried not to at first, but couldn't ignore the responsibility. I prayed for four babies and their moms by myself. I'm glad I could do this small thing for them.
Then this hospital visit got exponentially harder as we went down to the very last room- the abandoned baby room. One baby was only seven days old and was found in a dumpster! Another had been there fore a month or so. (She was so chubby and cute! :) )
There were two boys in cribs who seemed somewhat mentally disabled. This one boy was so happy for attention. He kept giving me thumbs up, high-fives, and he always smiled. His smile was so beautiful, regardless of the fact that almost all his teeth were rotten. He also had very crooked pinkies. I kept giving him stickers and he kept on smiling.
There were also three other boys in the room. (I wish I could describe for you this place. It is certainly not the children's wing in a U.S. hospital. Picture a movie with a scene from a mid-centruy mental institute, from the bland, dreary atmosphere, blank walls, white metal bed posts, and scratchy gray blankets complete with holes.) The one in the middle bed was slightly shy but responded to the stickers. I gave him high-fives and tickled him. He laughed and it was fun. Mary translated for me and we found out from him that his stomach hurt. He said he lived with his dad, but his dad wasn't there. He thought his father would come tomorrow, but at the discussion of this the boy started to cry. Mary told him that Jesus would be with him. He started to cry more... MY HEART BROKE COMPLETELY NOW... I wanted to cry so bad with him. To pick him up from his scratchy-gray-institute-blankets and hold him... but God actually helped me hold it together. I was so thankful that I was was able to get him to smile again by being silly. I gave him and his neighbor sheets of stickers and we left. The hardest part was leaving. Leaving and knowing that they'd been left before, knowing that there really wasn't much we could do for them at the moment. I was an emotional wreck and as we got back to the hotel room, I laid on my bed and had a very emotional cry.
I wonder what God sees when He knows these children are hurting- they are His children and this world is not fair to them. I do know that He is intimately aware of everything on their hearts.
Psalm 56:8
8 You keep track of all my sorrows.
You have collected all my tears in your bottle.
You have recorded each one in your book.
As painful as it was for me to see these children and so many others we met in Africa, I know it is painful for God. We often ask God to give us His heart, to break our hearts for what breaks His... this is what this hospital visit did for me. His love extends to much greater lengths than ours ever could. I don't want any child to ever go through life not feeling loved, that's my personal agenda. I have a very strong feeling that this is God's heart too...
Will you help me get to Africa so I can be His arms to all the orphaned children He puts in my path? Please, please consider partnering with me monthly so I can be there by August! bethanneyoung@gmail.com
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
Entry from September 9/20/07
Today was the toughest day yet. Today we went to visit and pray with the sick children at the government hospital.
We first went to the babies room. Fortunately all their mothers were there caring for them, but many had been there for months. Many of them have pneumonia and both mothers and children were fatigued by the long hospital visit. I felt God pulling on my to pray with them and talk with them. This was really pushing me out of my shell. I tried not to at first, but couldn't ignore the responsibility. I prayed for four babies and their moms by myself. I'm glad I could do this small thing for them.
Then this hospital visit got exponentially harder as we went down to the very last room- the abandoned baby room. One baby was only seven days old and was found in a dumpster! Another had been there fore a month or so. (She was so chubby and cute! :) )
There were two boys in cribs who seemed somewhat mentally disabled. This one boy was so happy for attention. He kept giving me thumbs up, high-fives, and he always smiled. His smile was so beautiful, regardless of the fact that almost all his teeth were rotten. He also had very crooked pinkies. I kept giving him stickers and he kept on smiling.
There were also three other boys in the room. (I wish I could describe for you this place. It is certainly not the children's wing in a U.S. hospital. Picture a movie with a scene from a mid-centruy mental institute, from the bland, dreary atmosphere, blank walls, white metal bed posts, and scratchy gray blankets complete with holes.) The one in the middle bed was slightly shy but responded to the stickers. I gave him high-fives and tickled him. He laughed and it was fun. Mary translated for me and we found out from him that his stomach hurt. He said he lived with his dad, but his dad wasn't there. He thought his father would come tomorrow, but at the discussion of this the boy started to cry. Mary told him that Jesus would be with him. He started to cry more... MY HEART BROKE COMPLETELY NOW... I wanted to cry so bad with him. To pick him up from his scratchy-gray-institute-blankets and hold him... but God actually helped me hold it together. I was so thankful that I was was able to get him to smile again by being silly. I gave him and his neighbor sheets of stickers and we left. The hardest part was leaving. Leaving and knowing that they'd been left before, knowing that there really wasn't much we could do for them at the moment. I was an emotional wreck and as we got back to the hotel room, I laid on my bed and had a very emotional cry.
I wonder what God sees when He knows these children are hurting- they are His children and this world is not fair to them. I do know that He is intimately aware of everything on their hearts.
Psalm 56:8
8 You keep track of all my sorrows.
You have collected all my tears in your bottle.
You have recorded each one in your book.
As painful as it was for me to see these children and so many others we met in Africa, I know it is painful for God. We often ask God to give us His heart, to break our hearts for what breaks His... this is what this hospital visit did for me. His love extends to much greater lengths than ours ever could. I don't want any child to ever go through life not feeling loved, that's my personal agenda. I have a very strong feeling that this is God's heart too...
Will you help me get to Africa so I can be His arms to all the orphaned children He puts in my path? Please, please consider partnering with me monthly so I can be there by August! bethanneyoung@gmail.com
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Trust in Your Leader
Matt 13:31-33, 52
31He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32 Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”
33 He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty poundsa]">[a] of flour until it worked all through the dough.”
52 He said to them, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”Nugget from 9/17/07, Swaziland, Africa (First Trip)
God was telling me that what I'm doing may feel small to me, but to His kingdom it will mean so much more. He was also saying that I'm prepared, whether I know it or not, I'll have what I need when i need it.
He also gave me this analogy: Any leader, when faced with a desperate situation, pulls out all the stops! Isn't God a great leader? Africa is in a desperate situation... He's telling me that I'm the BEST person for the job right now! What an honor!
Out of everyone, He is choosing me!! God is calling me, in these desperate times, to be HIS hands and feet in Africa, to share HIS heart with the Swazi people! And He thinks YOU are the best person to partner with me! Again, what an honor! God has chosen us, for this moment- such a time as this, to partner together to do HIS work in Africa! Let's not fail to act, leaving Him to ask His second choice or go to His back-up plan.
Listen to the tug on your heart, obey His prompting, Accept the role and partner with me today! bethanneyoung@gmail.com!!
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Run or Get Dragged
At prayer night on Friday, God gave me a really great visual of His expectation for me during this season as He propels me into the next one. Maybe it will mean something to you as well, so that's why I'm sharing it...
First off, did you ever see in a western how they tie the criminal up to the back of the wagon or horse and then the wagon/horse is set in motion, leaving the man to run like crazy and eventually fall and be dragged until unconscious.
Now, that's the visual God gave me as I cling to my promise land (Swaziland) just like those criminals... I WON'T LET GO... and God expects me not to. But then He spoke clearly to me about not just waiting for the future, but making the most of the present. I think I've been doing a really good job at trying to see the value of NOW, but I think God expects me to do better... after more reflection, I think a lot of it is my attitude towards the present and being more positive... but I'm sure there is more.
Here is the nugget I got about my reaction to the present: I can either be dragged all the way to the future promise land, or I can match my pace and run my heart out. Both get me to the end result- exactly where I want to be, but each has different consequences when I do arrive and that is the powerful difference.
Being dragged- basically, if you go limp and become an inactive, defeated participant a couple of things happen...
1- You miss the beauty of God at work in your life, because your face is in the dirt and your focus is on yourself... "When will I be relieved of this pain??" You miss the opportunity to build that testimony of what God can do with an obedient friend, and you miss the chance to praise in the midst of trials which is so powerful and intimate!
2- You can't see the potholes and debris on the road, you are now at the mercy of your circumstances. Sure God is there, divinely directing things, but how much harder are you making it on yourself if you aren't prepared to steer in the direction He tells you, or jump when He asks you?
3- The most detrimental- You arrive at your promise land- yes, you do arrive- but you are now battered, beaten up, worn out, defeated in spirit (remember you had your face in the ground the whole season and negativity builds up!), and you have lost some of the vision God had once given you. You find that you need healing and spiritual "first aid" before you can even start the task you've been waiting for all that time.
But, what if you matched pace with the driver? What if you ran the whole way, stayed on your feet? Things would be much different during the journey and at your destination!
1- You would be so encouraged, because you would have seen God at work in your life. You would have seen His passion for you and the mission He has for you and therefore, it would be instilled in you! Essentially, the vision would be clearer, not blurred. You would be blessed on the road to see the beauty of God at work and created a huge testimony that could carry you through other hard times. The work that you experience God do during this time of travel and change, can become a foundational element of the work you will do in your promise land!
2- You learn to be obedient, you learn to listen and discern the voice of God! You learn to face trials- potholes and obstacles- face on with faith that God will steer you right around them or through them. Again, this is building up foundational truths that will likely sustain you later in your mission. Remember intimacy is built as you are learning His voice, trusting His promptings, and being obedient.
3- Finally, because of the last two, because you stayed on your feet; you arrive at the promised destination whole and healthy!! Praise God! Not only that, but you are STRONGER! (You've been running and training the whole season! Now you are READY!!) You are much more CONFIDENT, not only in yourself, but more importantly in Yahweh God! You can do anything with Him!! You don't need time to heal, you don't need time to regain your vision... you are ready to "hit the ground (still) running" when you get to the promise land.
And that is what I believe God expects from us in the season of waiting for all that He has burned into your heart. Use this time to run passionately, matching your pace with the Holy Spirit, learning to trust God completely, and doing all you can to arrive in your promise land fully prepared to begin walking out the dream He gave you.
1 Corinthians 9:24
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.
Hebrews 12:1
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us
Isaiah 40:31
but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
First off, did you ever see in a western how they tie the criminal up to the back of the wagon or horse and then the wagon/horse is set in motion, leaving the man to run like crazy and eventually fall and be dragged until unconscious.
Now, that's the visual God gave me as I cling to my promise land (Swaziland) just like those criminals... I WON'T LET GO... and God expects me not to. But then He spoke clearly to me about not just waiting for the future, but making the most of the present. I think I've been doing a really good job at trying to see the value of NOW, but I think God expects me to do better... after more reflection, I think a lot of it is my attitude towards the present and being more positive... but I'm sure there is more.
Here is the nugget I got about my reaction to the present: I can either be dragged all the way to the future promise land, or I can match my pace and run my heart out. Both get me to the end result- exactly where I want to be, but each has different consequences when I do arrive and that is the powerful difference.
Being dragged- basically, if you go limp and become an inactive, defeated participant a couple of things happen...
1- You miss the beauty of God at work in your life, because your face is in the dirt and your focus is on yourself... "When will I be relieved of this pain??" You miss the opportunity to build that testimony of what God can do with an obedient friend, and you miss the chance to praise in the midst of trials which is so powerful and intimate!
2- You can't see the potholes and debris on the road, you are now at the mercy of your circumstances. Sure God is there, divinely directing things, but how much harder are you making it on yourself if you aren't prepared to steer in the direction He tells you, or jump when He asks you?
3- The most detrimental- You arrive at your promise land- yes, you do arrive- but you are now battered, beaten up, worn out, defeated in spirit (remember you had your face in the ground the whole season and negativity builds up!), and you have lost some of the vision God had once given you. You find that you need healing and spiritual "first aid" before you can even start the task you've been waiting for all that time.
But, what if you matched pace with the driver? What if you ran the whole way, stayed on your feet? Things would be much different during the journey and at your destination!
1- You would be so encouraged, because you would have seen God at work in your life. You would have seen His passion for you and the mission He has for you and therefore, it would be instilled in you! Essentially, the vision would be clearer, not blurred. You would be blessed on the road to see the beauty of God at work and created a huge testimony that could carry you through other hard times. The work that you experience God do during this time of travel and change, can become a foundational element of the work you will do in your promise land!
2- You learn to be obedient, you learn to listen and discern the voice of God! You learn to face trials- potholes and obstacles- face on with faith that God will steer you right around them or through them. Again, this is building up foundational truths that will likely sustain you later in your mission. Remember intimacy is built as you are learning His voice, trusting His promptings, and being obedient.
3- Finally, because of the last two, because you stayed on your feet; you arrive at the promised destination whole and healthy!! Praise God! Not only that, but you are STRONGER! (You've been running and training the whole season! Now you are READY!!) You are much more CONFIDENT, not only in yourself, but more importantly in Yahweh God! You can do anything with Him!! You don't need time to heal, you don't need time to regain your vision... you are ready to "hit the ground (still) running" when you get to the promise land.
And that is what I believe God expects from us in the season of waiting for all that He has burned into your heart. Use this time to run passionately, matching your pace with the Holy Spirit, learning to trust God completely, and doing all you can to arrive in your promise land fully prepared to begin walking out the dream He gave you.
1 Corinthians 9:24
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.
Hebrews 12:1
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us
Isaiah 40:31
but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
First Community Visit
The following is my journal entry from my first full day in Swaziland on my first trip:
September 16,2007
(After visiting a rural community where Cup was starting a Carepoint in partnership with a local church.) No words could ever explain what this community is like., what the people are like. There is so much red dirt and trash scattered among the sticks like bushes themselves. It is very dry- no grass, just dirt. There were shacks set up here and there. Some with mud covered walls, others were stick structures with large stones between them. Some roofs were thatched and some were corrugated metal held down with everything from rocks to old tires.
Many people and children were outside kinda of "hanging-out". We immediately started passing out smelly stickers to the children and I had to model smelling them.
The children were so precious and you just wanted to take each one home and clean them, feed them, love them, give them anything their hearts desired! Love... so much love...
I then proceeded to tell about the three women who showed us their homes. One was a young woman who had lost her parents to sickness. Another was a woman raising her four sons alone since her husband had left her to return to Mozambique. She allowed us to look into her house and I noted in my journal that it was smaller than my bathroom back home and had very little inside. I won't ever forget that feeling as we prayed for her and at the Amen, I saw the tears of thankfulness in her eyes. The power of God!! Another was the mother of seven children. Her husband had died years ago and now needed support from World Vision and other international relief organizations.
What caught me the most is the challenge they have just to get basic necessities like fresh water... The people in the community have to get water from the river, which is quite a distance away (we drove there- they walk). But even worse than having to trek for your daily water, FIVE people have died from crocodile attacks. Now they have a make-shift fence around a portion of the river for some protection. Except, because of the drought they have to go around it- the water is too low inside the fenced in part. Can you imagine having to get your water- life source- from a croc infested river??
This community walk forever changed my view of the world... and this was only the beginning of my experiences...
(I'll try to scan and upload pics from my photo album...)
September 16,2007
(After visiting a rural community where Cup was starting a Carepoint in partnership with a local church.) No words could ever explain what this community is like., what the people are like. There is so much red dirt and trash scattered among the sticks like bushes themselves. It is very dry- no grass, just dirt. There were shacks set up here and there. Some with mud covered walls, others were stick structures with large stones between them. Some roofs were thatched and some were corrugated metal held down with everything from rocks to old tires.
Many people and children were outside kinda of "hanging-out". We immediately started passing out smelly stickers to the children and I had to model smelling them.
The children were so precious and you just wanted to take each one home and clean them, feed them, love them, give them anything their hearts desired! Love... so much love...
I then proceeded to tell about the three women who showed us their homes. One was a young woman who had lost her parents to sickness. Another was a woman raising her four sons alone since her husband had left her to return to Mozambique. She allowed us to look into her house and I noted in my journal that it was smaller than my bathroom back home and had very little inside. I won't ever forget that feeling as we prayed for her and at the Amen, I saw the tears of thankfulness in her eyes. The power of God!! Another was the mother of seven children. Her husband had died years ago and now needed support from World Vision and other international relief organizations.
What caught me the most is the challenge they have just to get basic necessities like fresh water... The people in the community have to get water from the river, which is quite a distance away (we drove there- they walk). But even worse than having to trek for your daily water, FIVE people have died from crocodile attacks. Now they have a make-shift fence around a portion of the river for some protection. Except, because of the drought they have to go around it- the water is too low inside the fenced in part. Can you imagine having to get your water- life source- from a croc infested river??
This community walk forever changed my view of the world... and this was only the beginning of my experiences...
(I'll try to scan and upload pics from my photo album...)
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