Returning to Ethiopia.

Dear Family and Friends,
 
If you had told me just a few weeks ago that I would be traveling back to the beautiful country of Ethiopia at the end of this year I would’ve told you you were crazy.  But I’m learning every day that God’s ways are not my own, and that His timing is not mine, either.  The doors continue to swing open and I am stepping out in faith.
 
When I returned from my trip with Mocha Club last summer, I already knew that I would go back to Ethiopia again someday.  I didn’t know when, but I knew that wasn’t the last time I’d stand upon Ethiopian soil.  God had instilled in me such a love for the people there.  There are days during which I am overwhelmed by how much I miss them and how very much I want to return.  I am thankful beyond words for the opportunity the Lord has given me this winter.
 
I have been accepted as a member of a team departing for Ethiopia on or around December 29th and returning on or around January 11th.  I will, once again, be spending time in Addis Ababa (the capital), Nazaret and Ambo.  While ministry plans are not yet set in stone, we will spend the majority of our time serving Women At Risk in both Addis and Nazaret.  Women At Risk provides spiritual, emotional and psychological counseling to former prostitutes while also providing job training.  While in Ambo, we will visit the Compassion school and work with the school children and street boys.  I will have the opportunity to see familiar faces and build upon relationships that began back in the summer of 2009.  That, to me, is an incredible blessing.  Our ministry plans will come together as my team and I have conference calls in the coming weeks.  If there’s one thing I’ve learned from last time, it’s that not all will go according to plan, and flexibility is key.  I am so excited to see where God will lead us and how He will minister both to us and through us during our two weeks on the ground in Ethiopia.
 
Please join me in prayer as the trip approaches.  Pray for Jesus to be reflected by myself and my team.  Pray that the Ethiopian people would have open hearts to receive His love.  Pray that the Holy Spirit would give us the right words in each situation.  Pray that as a team we would be of one heart and mind, that we would maintain an attitude of humility and service, that we would have hearts that are willing and teachable.  God WILL change us.  He will challenge us, stretch us, mold us.  And He will uphold us and strengthen us through it all.  Pray that we would rest in those truths and that we would not try to do any of His work in our own strength.
 
Between now and my trip, I will need to raise a total of $3,050.  I know that’s nothing to God, and I trust that if His plan is for me to be a part of this trip, that the funds will surely follow.  If you feel led to support me financially, please visit https://www.mochaclub.org/africa-trips/, scroll to the bottom of the page and select “Make A Donation” under Winter Ethiopia Trip: December 27th, 2010 – January 9th, 2011.  Enter my name in the first field (“Trip Member’s Name”) and fill out the rest.  If you’d prefer to write a check, please let me know and I will provide you with the information necessary to do so.  Please note that all donations are tax deductible.  To those of you who may have supported my first trip to Ethiopia with Mocha Club, I sincerely appreciate you and your generosity and understand if you are unable to support me financially this time around.  If you have any questions about finances, or the trip in general, please feel free to email or call me!
 
Thank you all in advance, from the bottom of my heart, for prayerfully and financially supporting me as I prepare for and go on this trip.  I thank God for each and every one of you.
 
During my first trip to Ethiopia I wrote in my journal, “I want to go in the direction He calls me and not be afraid of it.”  He is a God who answers prayers.  May He receive all of the glory.

Blessings,
Brittany

He has told you, O man, what is good;
And what does the LORD require of you
But to do justice, to love kindness,
And to walk humbly with your God?
Micah 6:8

To read more about my first trip to Ethiopia, please visit my blog at http://brittanyneedsafrica.wordpress.com

A matter of trust.

I mentioned in a recent blog that I often start a post with a subject and a general outline in mind, and before I know it I’ve ended up elsewhere.  As of late, I’ve found that to be true in the lessons I’m learning from the Lord.

Recently, God laid it on my heart to take a certain matter one day at a time.  I have a tendency to look further down the road and attempt to predict the outcome.  Sometimes, what I think I see afar isn’t ideal, and so I start to experience fear and change my mind about what it is I “ought” to do.  Oh, sure, God has confirmed through His word and in various other capacities what He’s asking of me.  But no, I can’t possibly do it.  The future looks far too scary.

Needless to say, having that attitude and trying to predict what will or won’t happen as a result of my obedience has left me frustrated and has caused a sense of shame as the struggle perpetuates.

But then there’s that glorious truth: His mercies are new every morning, and His compassions fail not (See Lamentations 3:21-23).

The Lord has carried me through each day with that truth for the past couple of weeks.  I thought the lesson in all of it was to take it “one day at a time”.  While that may be partially true, the Lord, in His grace, is revealing an even bigger truth and lesson to be taken hold of:

He is trustworthy.

One day at a time means I do not worry about what’s waiting weeks, months and years down the road.  It means I trust in the goodness and grace of Jesus and in the fact that each and every detail of my life and the lives of others is laid bare before Him (Hebrews 4:13).  I don’t need to know everything, because God knows, and He holds my hand (Psalm 73:23, Isaiah 41:13).  He is trustworthy (Psalm 33:4).

The matter isn’t so much my obedience.  The matter isn’t about what I have or haven’t done at all.  It’s a matter of trust.  Do I trust in the knowledge, power, goodness and love of the Almighty God?  Do I believe His word when it says, “No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:11)?  As I grow in trust, the obedience will be a natural overflow.  Taking it one day at a time is teaching me to trust, to stop reaching for answers and to merely walk in the grace and strength of my Savior daily.  He is faithful to remind me constantly that He knows me.  He knows what I think and feel and hope for.  He’s not ignorant of the things that I face daily (Psalm 31:7, 38:9).  He is with me.  He loves me.

He is trustworthy.

A follow-up…

For those of you who read the previous post, “A confession.”, check out this morning’s RELEVANT MAG devotional (you can sign up to receive the “Deeper Walk” devotional via email HERE):

“Let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith…” Hebrews 12:1,2

A STORY IS TOLD about a young boy who lived in a quiet village. On the edge of the village was a grassy knoll where the boy would go to sit, relax and look at a rock formation in the distance which strangely resembled an old man—complete with oversized nostrils and deep wrinkles around the eyes and lips. As the boy grew into a man, he often returned to sit and gaze at the rock carving. One day, while passing through the village, a tourist stopped and asked him, “Did anyone ever tell you that you look like the face on the side of the mountain?”

Whatever we love the most will eventually shape our lives. We become what we focus on.

If our primary concern is money, accomplishment, power or ourselves, then selfishness and self-absorption are natural affects. Eventually, like the rock formation on the outskirts of the village, we will take on the likeness of the object of our desire.

If we gaze on Him, look at His beauty, meditate on His Word, find a grassy knoll in our daily routine on which to escape the demands of our lives and learn to gaze on Him, then we cannot help but begin to reflect His image.

(Written by Margaret Feinberg)
Direct link to the post here.

A confession.

I have a confession to make.

I’m a planner.  I’ve never been good at spontaneous, although sometimes it’s a lot of fun.  But it’s just not “me”.

I think I get it from my mom.  She’s one of the most together, organized and on-top-of-things people I know, and I’m thankful for the qualities she’s instilled in me.  I think planning ahead is good, but flexibility is equally as important.  I’m learning that it’s important to know where to draw the line with planning ahead.  For instance, I can’t map my life out as the pretty little picture I think is best.  First off, it’s not going to go the way I planned it.  And second, even if I could have it my way, there’s a better way… There’s God’s way.

I have great expectations, and while that can be good, my expectations should simply be the faith and belief that God will do great things in my life for His glory.  My expectations should not be my own plans and how I want them to play out.  I’ve tried that time and again and it always ends with disappointment.  My expectations have boundaries, but with God, there are no boundaries.  My focus has been on all the peripheral things and trying to fit them neatly into my life.  If my focus is on Jesus, those peripheral things frustrate me less, they worry me less, and I end up enjoying them more because they don’t make or break me.

I mean, after all, Jesus said, “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).  Does this mean seek Him so that you can get the things that you want? Absolutely not.  We are to seek Him for… HIM!  Jesus is the treasure and the reward.  If we have Him and nothing else, we should not only be content, but full of joy.

May we treasure Jesus today and may we continue to grow in our love for Him, confidently proclaiming that no matter where He leads and no matter what our circumstances, He is good, He is loving, and He is forever worthy of our praise and adoration.

But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.  More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.  Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Phillipians 3:7-14

note: I always start these posts thinking they’re heading one way and they end up elsewhere… hope you’re bearing with me

I need Africa.

Exactly one year ago I was standing on Ethiopian soil.  I was surrounded by people whose language I could not understand and whose lives were dramatically different than my own.  I was sharing my life with a team of people and there was rarely a moment alone.  I was being confronted every single day with my own pride, selfishness and greed.  And it was the best experience of my life.

I found myself profoundly touched by the people of Ethiopia.  I began to understand God’s vastness and greatness and that He cannot be contained within borders of countries, He transcends our cultural differences and He is the common bond that we all have.

I saw people worshiping Him with their whole hearts when their circumstances seemed impossible.  We met a little girl who was able to worship Him after her father had been killed and as her mother continued to deteriorate from AIDS.  I watched women who were former prostitutes worship the God who redeems them every single day.  I saw them lift their hands and praise the One who created them, the One who is with them when no one else seems to be, the One who cares infinitely more for them that any one of us possible could.  I saw them affirm the goodness of our God in their poverty.  I saw joy in them.  I saw peace in them.

I saw Him in them.

God showed me a lot of things within myself during my time in Africa.  Things that I need to repent of and trust the Holy Spirit to work out in me.  God showed me a lot of things about Himself during my time in Africa.  Things that result in a greater love for Him and a deeper understanding of who He is.

We all have our “Africa”.  God uses experiences and moments to challenge us, to grow us, to strengthen our faith, to humble us.  Some of them are “Africa” moments.  They’re huge, life-changing and often overwhelming moments.  But not every moment is Africa.  Not every lesson is wrapped up in an earth-shattering experience.

I’m not in Africa this year.  I’m on American soil where life can be comfortable and “easy”.  But I need Africa.

Why do I need Africa?  Because I need to be reminded that my God is still God in the dark moments.  I need to be reminded that God is IN those dark moments, that He does not abandon us.  I need to be reminded that there are broken hearts and lives all over the world that He desires to heal and redeem.  I need to be reminded of how broken I am, how selfish and unthankful I can be, and how desperately I need Jesus.  I need to be reminded to be generous and to love and care for the widow and the orphan.  I need to be reminded that if I love Him, I will love others.  To love Him is to love others.

I need to remember the big lessons, the “Africa” lessons, and live them out in the everyday moments.

Brunch with friends.

I’ve been talking for a while now about making brunch and inviting friends over to enjoy it.  Last Saturday I was able to do just that, and I really can’t wait to do it again.  There’s a minor problem here though: I didn’t take any pictures.  I know, who am I?!

I made the following recipes, which all come pretty highly recommended:

Fluffy Pancakes - I planned on lemon ricotta pancakes but the ricotta in my fridge had gone bad… uh oh. But these were classic and delicious!!
Bacon Cheese Frittata – I omitted the bacon and added broccoli!
Banana Banana Bread – If I’m being honest, this isn’t my favorite banana bread recipe, but was still good.

I also made fruit salad (watermelon, strawberries & blueberries), bacon (the good stuff from the deli) and sausage.  Everything was a hit and I can’t wait to do it again.

I don’t know what it is but I really just love to feed people.  I was thinking recently about my Gramma Fowler (my mom’s mom) who passed away about 5 years ago.  She loved to be in the kitchen cooking and baking.  She refused to attend any family gathering without bringing something along.  I see more and more of her in myself these days.  I’m starting to understand the joy that she found in that, yet I’m not sure I can articulate it very well.  I really wish sometimes that she was still here and that I could share my love for cooking with her and learn from her in the kitchen.  I’m thankful for the incredible recipes we have of hers and can’t wait to try more of them in the future.  They’re recipes I hope I can pass down to my own children some day!  And hey, if you’re lucky, maybe I’ll have the chance to share of few with all of you.

What’s cookin’, good lookin’?

Forgive me for the cheesy title to this blog post.  It’s early, and these things are still funny to me.  Okay, fine, you caught me… I always think cheesy things are funny, 7:30am and any other time of day.

I believe it’s been a while since I made you all hungry by writing about my recent adventures in the kitchen.  I’m not sure how many photos I have to truly taunt you with (you’re welcome!), but I do have some… Including some glamor shots of the LEMON RICOTTA PANCAKES I made last Saturday.

I suppose I’ll start by telling you about those…

There’s this great brunch spot in the city called Sarabeth’s.  It came highly recommended and if you know me at all, you know I love a good pancake.  Breakfast/brunch foods in general bring me much joy.  I think this is the case for two reasons: 1. Breakfast foods are delicious (it’s that simple); and 2. As a kid, my parents used to make a big breakfast on the weekends. Sometimes it was Dad making french toast, other times Mom making monkey bread. Either way, I just remember the huge spread on the dining room table, complete with real Vermont maple syrup (for which there is NO SUBSTITUTE), and eating breakfast together as a family or with friends after a sleepover.  Brunch just brings me back to those happy memories and makes me feel like a kid again.  I often say I wish I could be five again.  A much simpler time, and I was also a little peanut (seriously, I was adorable… and I’ve got pictures to prove it.)

Proof!

Anyway, back to Sarabeth’s… so not only was their restaurant on the Upper West Side quaint and the outdoor seating lovely, but I got these pancakes… these delicious, sweet, creamy (and did I mention DELICIOUS?) pancakes: Lemon Ricotta Pancakes.  Now, while I anticipated them to be good, I have to admit, I was still a bit unsure.  I mean, does liquid gold (real maple syrup) go well with lemon ricotta pancakes?  Because, as a Vermonter, I can’t NOT use maple syrup… it’s an egregious sin.  Well, here’s the verdict on these pancakes:

1. Delicious (because I think I forgot to mention that before… Oh, I said it twice already?)
2. They taste like lemon poppy seed muffins turned pancakes and sans poppy seeds
3. The texture is really light and creamy and fantastic
4. They taste amazing WITH maple syrup or without (but as I mentioned, the maple syrup is a must for me)
5. If I was a guy and Sarabeth was a real girl and not a restaurant, I would propose

Alright, that last one was awkward… but I dare you to try these pancakes and disagree.

After trying these amazing pancakes, of course my first thought was: How can I recreate these at home? So, I went on a little search for a recipe.  I found one on my favorite community-based recipe site, Tasty Kitchen, and decided I would start there.  I’ve also bookmarked several other recipes that vary, be it using more ricotta, less flour, etc.  I’ll be trying a new one either tonight or tomorrow morning and will continue to search the whole wide world until I find the recipe that creates the most Sarabeth-like lemon ricotta pancake.

Here’s a look at the pancakes I made (click here for the recipe):

Told  you it was a glamor shot…

These pancakes were, taste-wise, on the mark.  Super yummy.  In terms of texture, though, they were a bit fluffier than the Sarabeth’s version.  I’d like to get that creamy texture and think that the recipes that call for less flour and a bit more ricotta will definitely achieve that.  I’ll certainly keep you posted.  However, if you like a fluffier pancake, the recipe linked above is worth trying.  My roommate Anna said they were the best pancakes she’s ever had, so you can’t argue with that!

Next on the list are cookies I’ve made a few times before, but I think are probably the best cookie recipe I’ve found to date. Nothing too crazy: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip.  I love cookies with oatmeal but raisins ruin everything.  It’s funny because I love a good Raisinet, I really do… but start throwing raisins in cakes and cookies and I start throwing a fit.  I’m sorry, I don’t know why, but it can’t be stopped.  Carrot cake? Love it. Carrot cake with raisins? Don’t you dare.

I’ve gone a long way to tell you that this is why I love Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies… they’ve got everything good going for them.  The oatmeal, chocolate chips, and don’t forget the pinch of cinnamon that gives ‘em that little something extra… And this recipe I’ve been using is nearly perfect in my opinion.  When I first made it I thought the amount of oatmeal was a little absurd, but really, I just love everything about these delightful cookies.  And you can verify all of this information one of two ways: 1. Make them yourself; or 2. Ask the friends I’ve made them for.

Hopefully I’ll have some more delicious recipes for you to try out in the near future.  I really need to find some taste-testers to keep on hand.  Is that what getting married and having kids is for?  Sign me up!