Courageous!!

This picture was taken rigft before they headed to the airport heading back to Atlanta!

Courageous is the first things that comes to my mind when I think about Joanna! We are putting out a major call for prayer and blessing for her. Joanna has been to Burkina several years in a row and we were blessed to have the opportunity to serve with her this past June. She has an amazing spirit, beautiful smile, heart for ministry, natural ability, and willingness to be lead by the Spirit of God. I LOVE being married, but I hate that I was so consumed with being married that I did not open myself up to being used by the Lord during my single years.

As you may be aware… I am not a home schooling mom. I so loathed the thought of home school that I told Chris while we were dating- yes pre-kids that if he wanted a wife that home schooled… it was not going to be me. For the record, I am a mom that supports home school 100%. I in fact, am jealous of the moms who do this and do it well. Seriously, each home school mom in my book has a hero metal to wear proudly.

Well, would it not be the case that God would have some type of home schooling in my future. Thanks Lord! In the past 6 months I have given up the right to not be a home school mom. Have not held back my feelings from the Lord, but have truly surrendered to walking in obedience even if that meant home school. During this time, the Lord made it very clear to Chris and I that we were to take this next year with Samuel and home school him. As the Lord revealed this to our hearts, we asked Samuel to be in on this process and asked the Lord to give Samuel a peace about this as well. …. He did!

We felt like God was asking us to take this time and invest in Samuel on so many more levels than schooling. He is a neat kid and is at the fresh I am starting middle time when so many things change. In thinking through what God wanted us to do over this next year, I really felt like God was asking me to do this home school part by myself. I really felt encouraged to look for someone that God would call to come and help us in this process. Well, I feel like we were blessed beyond what we could have imagined. After asking Joanna to just pray, I honestly was shocked when she responded. Not because she would not be obedient to God’s calling, but that God would give us greater than what we were praying for. We were asking for a teacher that would love our children and model Godly character. We are getting a teacher that is that and so much more.

Please pray for her. We are praying fishes and loaves as we know and have seen how God provides in times of need. We hate raising our support and we know the mindless energy that it takes . Our prayer is that Joanna will have every dime either given or committed as soon as possible. If her funds are there, she plans to come in January. Our prayer is that the months leading up to her arrival she will not have to focus on finances; rather, she will be able to prepare mentally, emotionally, and spiritually for this next chapter in her life.

Many people want to give financially but often feel like with their own financial plate, it is just not possible. Many have mentioned that they feel bad sending a $10.00 check because it seems so small and they feel embarrassed so it is easier not to give at all. PLEASE do not let that stop you. When 10 people give $10.00- that is $100.00. I am asking that you stop right now and prayerfully consider supporting Joanna. Take the money you would spend going out to dinner just one time this month and help her, help us, faithfully serve here in Burkina Faso.

To support Joanna financially: You can give a one-time donation or you can commit to a monthly donation. If you would like to do this, you can write a check to Engage Burkina with her name written in the memo line. You can send the check to Engage Burkina at 3522 Hiram Acworth Highway, Dallas, GA 30157. If you choose to make a monthly commitment, please include a note informing Engage Burkina that you would like to give a monthly donation and what that amount will be.

From my heart....

I adore these guys!!!  Just because picture...

Matt Wilmington did a sermon several years back and talked about his families mission statement. I really wanted to do something like this with my family but also desired a personal mission statement as well. One big confession for me is that many times God might put something on my heart and then I move forward with a right heart but get side tracked on a marketing view. It has been years and “I” have not come up with my personal mission statement because there was not anything that “I” could come up with that reflected my heart’s desire and sounded fluff and catching!

Fast forward to this past week…. I am in the middle of my time with the Lord. I am asking God to manifest himself in my life and may the fruits of the spirit be evident. I began asking the Lord once again as He knows my heart to give me a personal mission statement. One that reflects my heart, two-something I could share with others and it point them to him, and three- one that He inspires. After a gentle rebuke, I felt like this was a crash and burn attempt last time because I took my eyes off him and took the controls in trying to formulate the words of my mission statement. This particular time, I committed to wait on the Lord.

Seriously all the while I am praying this song is in my mind. I continue to move forward after prayer with more of my study and I find myself singing out loud… “To love the Lord our God, is the heart beat of our mission.” Talk about a stop dead in my tracks… Lord, in the past I did not use just a scripture verse as the heart beat of my mission because (and I say with shame) it was not fluffy and did not have this cutting edge sound. In my mind I needed a flashy statement that reflected the verse I would use. For the record, I love when people seeking God can put together something and in such a way that it could be used as a bill board…. so this is in no way a negative to those that God has gifted in this way or spoken to in this way!

OK so the Lord did not literally speak but He so spoke to my heart. Connie, I want you to stand on the basis to Love me with all your mind, soul, heart, and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself. My very first thought was loving you Lord will be way easier than loving my neighbor. I then began to meditate on this verse… yep another confession not knowing where it was in the Word…. To love God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. This does not just mean to practice the expression of love as a feeling. Loving means Obeying!Trusting!Following!Honoring! and oh how the list go on. Then to love my neighbor as I love myself. I do love myself and want the best for me so even when someone rips me up, cuts me off in traffic, makes a stupid choice, hurts my kid,- Connie love them. Seriously think of all this verse means…WOW I honestly want to live this way.

So I finish my Bible study and then later take some time to find out the reference of this scripture. This verse is mentioned 3 times that I could find in the new testament. First, in Matthew- When asked which is the greatest commandment of the law. Second in Mark- When Jesus says there is no commandment greater than this. Third, in Luke when Jesus says, “Do this and you will live.”

So for all to know, I believe that God has given me a mission statement for my life;

To: Connie

Love the Lord Your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with your strength, and with all your mind, and “Love your neighbor as yourself.” -Luke 10:27

From: God

To take this a step further, I believe that God was asking Chris and I to talk to our kids about a family mission statement. Be ready… I am so excited to share with you what God is doing in our home and how He is speaking to our kids and giving them scripture that they want to bring to life in the lives of our family!

A Big Fish Out Of Water...... AND Loving It!

So I think I just had my first official girl’s night out since I have been in Africa. I have to start by bragging just a little bit on Jesus. He placed this amazing vision on the heart of a woman here in Burkina to help girls/teens in crisis. She prayed for years and the doors never opened. She did not allow the lack of an open door to end her praying. Due to the war in Ivory Coast- 8 years back, God moved Steve and Amy Nehlson to Burkina. An amazing family!! Who ever knew that God would connect these two women to come together and start this amazing ministry….. The Dorcus House!

Currently there are I6 girls that are living at the Dorcus House. These girls will capture your heart and mostly due to the fact that they glow. One of the things that I have expressed since living here is that I hate that I do not see people smile very often. Maybe I am just not at the right place at the right time, but I have had to work at times to pull a smile out of people. These girls walk in a room and they light it up with their smiles. I believe this is because they truly have a deep appreciation and love for the Lord. When you are saved from much, I think gratitude goes to a whole new level.

So a little about this ministry… They run an amazing program. Just a few things they are doing for these girls… First- They are loving them and giving them Jesus. Second- They are loving them more and giving them Jesus. Third- They are watching lives change as these girls surrender their lives to the Lord. They have regular prayer and bible study. They all have responsibilities in cleaning and cooking on a rotation basis. They are being taught to read and write French which brings so much value in and of itself. They have learned how to make purses that are amazing. They know how to make soap and are learning to sew clothing. They have been given a gift. They are being taught a trade that after leaving, they will have skills to return home and use to look for work. There is no doubt that God is doing some amazing things in the lives of these young women!

Ok so fast forward… There has been a CMA youth camp here at the LAC. 11 out of the 16 girls were able to come for the final 2 days of the camp. I was so excited when they showed up at my door during their break time to visit. We began talking about the evening and they could not wait for the closing ceremony to begin. They were stoked about praising the Lord through song and dance. I told them that I would try to stop by. Well, glad I really did get ready for this because at 9:00pm, I had 11 girls at my front door ready for me to go over to the worship time.

Please picture this… a couple hundred black people and then me. My tan is not even good. Yep, I was so the only white person to be seen and everyone knew I was there. I stood out like no one else. I think the only thing brighter than me were these shoes that I want to bring home for Pastor Brian to wear one Sunday morning.

Take it a step further… White girl who cannot dance, danced and worshiped with them until 3:30am. It was amazing. What was even more amazing is that I am missing my family and girlfriends badly. I am nowhere near ready to be done here, but just to have a phone line and good internet to communicate…. Please help me here Lord! Desperately miss my mom sisters and brother.  I miss my Randal girlfriend, My Roswell 6 girls, my amazing Jax friends, and my dearest Bec. I have been one of these girls that has been so blessed with amazing girl friends in each place I have lived…. Really only God could give friends like I have. Well would it not be just like Him to fill that void with these amazing girls and worship. I was totally embarrassed trying to learn some of these African dances. My children would have been like, “Mom, please stop!” BUT… in it all was a gift for me. I really experienced this time of worship in His holy presence as a gift. I learned that being a fish out of water may not be something I will run from in the future; rather I may need to run to it…. I would have never thought such a gift would have been awaiting me!

Please pray about supporting us. We are only able to be here because people give! Can you support us $10, $25, $50, $100 a month? See the link below that will take you directly to our support page. If you want to support us by sending a check please email us and we will get you the specific information needed. Click below to give in-line!

https://www.cmalliance.org/give/online-giving?projectName=Approved+Special&projectDesc=Chris+and+Connie+Feild&project=1-X7434-49-12