VERY EXCITING, BLOG CHANGING NEWS!

The day has come to switch to a totally new blog for the sole purpose of recording everything that happens while in Mali, both ministry and personal experiences sort of thing. I will not be posting here at Nisondiya for a very long time, as all my posts leading up to leaving for Mali will now be at my new blog. I will post there the entire time I am in Mali, allowing you guys to follow along on my journey to where the Lord has called me to. So, if you would like to continue following my life and all the Lord does in Mali, please become a follower of my new blog at: http://hereigotomali.blogspot.com/. It's been a pleasure to share my life with you guys up until this point, and I'm sooo excited to see what He is going to do next! See you at Here I go! :)

I really want to go camping. Despite my dislike for bugs, I really am a get dirt under my finger nails kinda girl. I’m ready to smell dirt again. I remember the first - and only - time I went camping. It was in good ole Bertie County, in someone’s back yard that lived in the middle of nowhere. It was scary, but oh so cool. I want to camp where the stars are.

I went through this stage of wanting to live in Montana for the longest time when I was sixteen/seventeen. I still have to say I could deal with a very long stay there. I want to cook something that took effort to find and kill. I want to taste sweet victory of actually eating it too.

Within me, there’s this girl (or maybe it’s a woman now?), that would love roughin’ it outside for a week or three. I want there to be dirt on my feet. I want to forge for my own supply of berries, and know which ones are those I can eat. I want to know the difference between the Milky Way and the other stars. I want to be able to tell my direction by looking at the sun, or trees, or whatever it is you do.

I just want to go camping really badly. But I’m just too scared to try it out in my backyard because there is this possum that lurks every night, and I promise you he is the size of a small dog. Not a Taco Bell size dog, but a beagle size. That, and I’ve yet to find anyone that shares this desire to camp, and/or would actually really do so. Maybe I’ll get a chance in Africa? I’ve heard we may be staying a week in a village - which includes camping out under the stars type of thing, with outdoor showers, bathrooms, and just about everything I am praying for right now. Please?

Tonight made me

ache for a kid. It felt so natural holding little Nayt. I loved it when you laid your sweet head on my shoulder. I loved that I was standing there talking with two of my best friends. I felt like I should say, “Hey, meet my son…”, but then I realized he wasn’t mine. :/ Someday, Natali. Someday.

I want that brood of kids. I long for a set of twelve sons. And a daughter or two :)

At least while I wait I can keep adding names to a list I’ve had since age ten.

Boaz, Hosea, Ezra, Hadassah Joy, Israel…

Just me and my imagination longing to be there already.

She walks with their five little hands in her two. One little guy even holding onto her bag. To be honest, she loves this. It tickles her to pieces that she is thriving. She feels at home here. Africa is home for her; He has ordained it from the beginning of time. His purpose is bigger than her and her wishes to remain with what she knew before. She knows she is supposed to be here giving hugs and kisses to all these children. She knows this is where she is to bring the Good News. She knows she must go show His love to these precious people. And she is here. Finally. Now she waits with bated breath for the day when revival sweeps this land, and He pours out His Spirit on all flesh here. Gosh, she can barely wait.

A mix of emotions and "cheeeeese".

Sigh - one that is both happy and one that is beginning to feel the pains I knew would eventually come. It’s almost Christmas, and with that comes lots of extra family time. And suprisingly, or not, family members eyes being teared up when you come in the room. You try not to cry, just to be strong - for yourself and for them. Because you know if you cry when they cry, then it will go on for a few minutes and everybody will cry. Nobody ever told me this would be easy, so I didn’t expect it to be. Especially the conversations with my Mom about not being here next Christmas. It’s not all bad though, because I’m suffering for the cause of Jesus. People will see how much His love means because I will not turn back, but do the thing many have deemed impossible. I will leave those I love dearly, for those who are unaware that Christ loves them even more.

I think the tears are a good thing actually, because without them there would be no feeling. The hurt and pain I’m experiencing is real. And feeling these is only human. This time is definitely making a weak person strong in His promise and His love.

Tonight I will go to the Christmas play practice that I’ve participated in ever since I remember. But it will be different this year, because I’m in the audience. But that’s a good thing, because it means I’ve been too busy to go to play practice because God’s been rockin’ my world with fundraising and other events. I will most likely babysit some awesome kids tonight and give away some more silly bands, just because I want to. I’m hoping to get some pictures of those sweet people in the Christmas play so that I can fill up my scrapbook for Africa with familiar faces. So, get ready to smile, people. Get ready. :)

46 days and a Visa.

Counting the rest of today, as it is only 9:56am Eastern time, there are 46 days left in the countdown. I mainly wrote this post for prayer for my Malian Visa. I sent the app. off the other day to the embassy in DC, and from there they contact the Malian embassy (which is close every Wednesday), and then send me my Visa. Would you pray that everything goes smoothly and quickly, as Christmas is approaching us? I'm not exactly sure when the embassy in Mali closes (if they do at all) for the holidays coming up (since they are not majority Christian, in fact only 1%). But for some reason I just feel that I should ask you guys to pray that everything goes smoothly. There is a lot of important documents that had to be shipped with my Malian Visa application in the mail, such as my passport, etc. My friend received hers back within a week. I sent mine out this Tuesday, so I should get it around Tuesday or Wednesday I suppose! I would appreciate if you would join in prayer with me :) Thanks.

I'll leave you with this fabulous news : There is an apartment awaiting my teams arrival!! :)

And a picture of some of the cutest little kids ever. They are from the city I am moving to (Bamako).

My mind is blown so much lately. Okay, here’s the backstory:

On the packing list for Africa it was listed that we needed a pair of sturdy sandals. Then I saw how much they cost, and the cheapest pair I could find were $40. There was no way I could see spending that kind of money on a pair of sandals when I already had some shoes that I could get along with okay. I was ready to deal with my Walmart flipflops and my old pair of Rainbows. My mom, on the other hand, really wanted me to have some nice sturdy sandals like the list said and she was searching high and low for them. :) So, long story short, a sweet friend who works at a shoe store nearby said that they carried Teva sandals. Then comes the shocking part. She knew about what I was doing next year and gave them to me for free. The exact style that I had liked online was on sale in the shoe store, and yeah… it’s a God thing. I guess He really wanted me to have some sturdy sandals for Africa too. :)

Today is...

only-fifty-days-left-day. :)

This morning at the yardsale (some precious people threw me a yard sale to support fundraising), it could’ve been easy to be negative. It was FUHreezing outside, and we had snow later in the day. At 7:30am, I am not in the best oh my gosh I’m so extra awake moods. And like I said, it was colddd. After I woke up a little and had a cup of coffee or two, I was doing better, but I still wasn’t in the best mood ever. Probably because it was cold. Haha. {If you can’t tell, I didn’t like the cold.} Then it happened. A kid showed up to the yard sale with her parents. I was smitten. You could tell by her appearance, that her family is struggling to make ends meet, yet they came to the yard sale/fundraiser to support my move to Mali. As I’m typing this, it just hit me how selfless that little girl’s family really is. If you could’ve but seen the pain I saw in her eyes, you would know. That little girl, who we’ll call J, didn’t have the money to buy all the toys she saw and wanted on the toy table. Yet, her dad would give her 10 cents here, and 25 cents there to make a purchase. She even chose a baby doll. A baby doll me and my sister used to play with when we were just a little bit older than 4 year old J. In J, I saw the kids next year. I saw the Malian beauties and the pain in their eyes. I felt the pain of wanting to hug little J and whisper Yesu b’i kanu. I wanted so badly to be there in Bamako with the kids. Then I looked away as my eyes teared up. But, I know that I was there today for J. I know that God has a plan even in our meeting that lasted about an hour. I loved that her family hung around the yard sale, just talking and chatting, and laughing. Oh, did we laugh. And when little J rubbed her precious little hand over Coco (that is what she named her new little doll baby that she bought) I thought I would melt. She took care of her new baby so tenderly, and I wish I had had a camera at that moment. The way she looked down at the baby doll… gosh, it was darling. I wish I could’ve brought J home with me and showed her all my other old dolls from when I was a little girl… and given them all to her. To see them as He sees them hurts, people. It really does. But then sometimes it’s really good too. Today was both of those. And it was wonderful.

Two secrets revealed!!

For those of you who are not friends with me on Facebook (please friend request me if you're not - Natali Williams), I have some very exciting news. First of all, the secret from a couple of days ago was that there is an apartment in Bamako with my name and four other girls' names on it! No pictures yet, sorry :( BUT wait! I have another surprise! Through a miraculous thing of getting a loan of $1600 in just a few hours by just crying out to God and asking for prayer from people, but not from those people who ended up loaning the money (from people who prefer to remain nameless from the public), because I found out I had to pay for this expense out of pocket and then get reimbursed, I was able to PURCHASE THE TICKETS FOR MY FLIGHT TODAY and fly with the rest of the group!!!! Praise God for the amazingggg provision! I am officially leaving on January 26th. No more guesses with the countdowns! :) Not counting the hour left in today, it is day 54 in the countdown. I am almost at 50! Ohmygosh, wow! And I am amazed at how excited I am to get on those three airplanes. Can you believe the change in this girl since last October? I said to myself I would NEVER get on another airplane, because I was so freaked out and sweating like a crazy person. But here I am, a little over a year later, moving to Mali, Africa and excited about the flights over there (one I even have to take by myself to be able to meet up with the rest of the group). Oh! And I get to make a pit stop in Casablanca. :) That's in Morocco for all you people like me who never knew Casablanca was in Africa. It makes me want to watch the movie now. Lol. Anywho, aw ni su (or goodnight in Bambara). I must go!

I have a secret!! :)

I know something you don't know! Can you guess what it is?

If so, I am so stoked.

According to the new date that I am planning on leaving for Mali (January 26th), today is day 57 in the countdown. :) I can barely believe it is getting so close! These pirogue boats are in Mali, and I have heard that in order to get to a village (that I may be visiting sometime next year) you must take this boat there - one hour there, one hour back. To say I am excited doesn't cover it in the least. This is in Segou, Mali, about 3 or so hours from Bamako, the capital.

“18 “Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland.” — Isaiah 43.
I am a new thing. This thing that so many perceive as a desert for me is You making a way through something that should break me. I should not be able to do this, but with You and through You it is being done. It will be done. Now and in the future. Forever You will be with me. Where I should be thirsting to death according to the world, there will be streams of You, and Your grace, strength and love. You are my stream, You are the way.

[picture courtesy of Google Images]

I'm

longing for warm weather. What is wrong with me?! I’m a cold weather loving person, or used to be. I cannot believe I am seriously wanting 80 degrees right now. Or, maybe I can. Africa is where I want to be. Mali, West Africa to be exact. I want to be in that apartment where I am learning a new way of life. I want to be amongst the Malian adults and smaller people. I want to see and experience the move of God there. I long to eat that food, and add some recipes to my stash. If I could go tonight, I would. I just want to be in this place I feel like my heart’s residing in right now. I want the dirt, and the dust, and the messy feet. I want dirt underneath my fingernails and no makeup. I want a little person’s hand clasped in mine, and the laughter to abound. I just want Africa. Please, come soon. But most of all, I just want to breathe in that warm air, and know that I am there - that I’m at home on this Earth,and preparing to meet You in my eternal Home forever. Oh gosh, I so just made myself even more homesick for a place I’ve never known.

I'm Very, Very Thankful for You, and this past year.

This year has without a doubt been the best year of my life. And I am never going to be the same because of it! I am purposed and feel Hope in my life. As my friend Kylee has done, I am going to make this post month by month what I am thankful for, as this year has sooooo much packed in. The first part of this post will be just that.

December 2009
I am thankful for You continuing to stir my heart for Africa, and for allowing me to fall in love with You like I never had before. I wanted more of You, and I was NOT disappointed in my seeking, for I truly found You. :)

January 2010
I am thankful for God placing missionaries Glen and Karen Smith in my path, and finding out about an opportunity in Mali, West Africa to serve You. I truly surrendered my life to You, and will forever remember the hard nights I spent crying my eyes out, and just wanting to do what You wanted me to. I'm thankful for the time You clearly spoke to me and said, "What I've Shown You, Go". You even placed a West African professor in my life two days a week!

February 2010
This was the month I left everything behind and followed Your lead. Enough said :)

March 2010
I am thankful for You being there with me in my time of need. I knew I was leaving everything behind, but for how long I did not know. I had a choice, and I didn't want to make it, I wanted You to make it. I wanted only to follow You. Throughout this time You were faithful to me and never left my side. This could've shook me so hard, but I had peace throughout, amazingly enough.

April 2010
I felt in my spirit that I wasn't giving everything I personally had to give until I gave that year for Mali. I was so scared of it, and yet I knew You that's what You wanted me to give. I'm so thankful for you confirming that in a sermon right after I told one of my very good friends. I could barely believe all the loving ways You were showing You were in this. I was truly falling in love with You more each and every day.

May 2010
This month I was thankful for you sustaining me through all those difficult times before, and being with my Mom during her surgeries. I remember being amazed, and still am, at how Izzie the cat gave birth to those kittens. Thank you for that amazing opportunity to see little ones grow up, and just how awesome Your creation really is.


June 2010
This was one amazingggggg month! There was an awesome revival that took place in my own soul. One I will never forget. I fell even deeper in love with You through the weeks of revival, and You gave me some amazing new friends as well through it (and I get to spend more time with them in January before I leave! How thankful I am!!). There were nights where I stayed up and cried, thinking of how long a year was and the unknown that came along with that, but You calmed my keeping-me-awake-all-night-long-fears and gave me a peace that passes ALL understanding.

July 2010
This was the month where You broke my heart for all the people who don't know You through a children's class I was working with at church. I hope to be able to go back before I leave and see just how that one little girl who inspired all of this is doing.

August 2010
I'm thankful that You let me reach my last semester in my BA degree, and that You placed the West African professor once again in my path! I prayed about a new campus ministry to attend weekly, as the one I used to attend wasn't in session this semester, and boy did You ever confirm which one! I am very thankful for Victory Campus Ministries and the amazing friends You have given me through it!! Also, I was praising You big time when I was officially accepted into the program to go to Mali next year!

September 2010
This month marked the first speaking opportunity You placed in my path, and I truly cried out to You, not wanting to be like Moses and say I was unable to do what You had given me to do. And You were so faithful in giving me every bit of courage I needed to stand in front of that crowd, and I loved it! Also, I was sooooo thankful for Your faithfulness in provision. It was coming in BIG TIME. And something I had prayed for happened. My sister and her sweet little family were able to come visit me before I move. Thank You so, sooooo much for that one. (And stayed tuned in a couple of weeks, for I think I have exciting news to tell soon! Oh, how He is gracious!)

October 2010
I was so thankful that You kept remaining faithful, and the provision for next year kept pouring in. How awesome just to see it! Yard sale, donations, etc.

November 2010
This month has been awesome! I am just floored by generosity and faithfulness of Him. He has strengthened me beyond anything I EVER thought possible. I am so thankful for You, and my family and friends. I am almost about to graduate from college with my BA in English ( in 20ish days, people!!), and celebrating. I am very thankful for this holiday season, and being able to spend it with a whole bunch of people that I love so much. I am so blessed in every part of my life. And this marks the countdown in 2 months 'til Africa.


P.S.
Oh my goodness. You know what?! I'm going to be in Africa next Thanksgiving! I'll definitely have to post what that is like when the time comes!!
Here is some of my Thanksgiving this year:


My Mom's very yummy coconut pie that I'm not sure what I'm going to do without!! :D
My wonderful parents who I have come to love so much these past 23 years!

And last, but definitely not least, one of my (4) nephews, six year old Holden. I was talking with him earlier tonight, and said, "Holden, can I take a picture of you so that I'll have one in Africa when I go? I'm going to miss you." And he said, "Yeah!", much to my surprise! This is the kid who never likes me taking his picture anymore. We then went on to take like 15 more!! :) So this is my Holden picture for Africa. You've gotta love this little boy to pieces!

Okay, so I'd better go! I'm going out with Holden's mom, my oldest sister, Stephanie, to Walmart and maybe Belks for Black Friday at 12am midnight eastern time! :D This will be my first time ever doing this, and I am so excited! I just had to do it before I leave for Mali! :) I hope everyone has enjoyed an awesome Thanksgiving with family and friends, and have realized just how thankful they are to Him. Love you each and every one of you guys! Happy Thanksgiving!

So thankful & a countdown day.

I am very thankful for today, and tomorrow, and the days to come. I have my parent’s house to myself today. I’m watching Adoption Stories right now (which is totally making my heart happy for the years to come, and it’s been too long since I’ve watched it), and then I am planning on making an old pair of jeans into some capris :) This should be fun.

Tonight, my sister and her boy are coming over to my parents house, and we’re all spending the day together tomorrow as well. These moments are so special, and I’m beginning to realize just how thankful I am, once again. Tomorrow will be a day of great food and amazing relaxation. I hope to get everything squared away today with the flights for January (the date may have changed for departure lol once again, but all's good! Only maybe a day or two difference), and apply for my Malian Visa, and register (meant to last night, but we all know I’m forgetful) for the SALT Conference in Jacksonville.

Gosh, I love today.

Oh!! And today is 50ish something in the Big Countdown 'til Mali. It could be day 58, 59 - I think you get my gist. :) Anywho, here is Day 50-something :

Timbuktu!! You guessed it! Timbuktu (or Tombouctou) is a REAL place and it is in Mali, West Africa. Oh yes. And, I hopefully get to travel to this far away magical place next year! Yes, God has sent me to the land of Timbuktu. I so often get a kick out of that :) In this map (from Google Images, as all the other photos in this post as well) you can see the distance from Bamako, the capital city where I will reside, to Timbuktu. It's quite a long trek. :)
Here is a picture of life in Timbuktu. And yes, I am very excited, but nervous too, about riding a camel.

I also wanted to explain the racial differences in Timbuktu. There are a more Arab-looking people living there (called the Tuareg people) who are nomadic. Also, there are the Black Africans living there as well. There is a history of the Tuareg's enslaving the Black Africans, but I'll leave that for another post.
So, there you go. He has sent me to the land of Timbuktu. :) You've gotta love it!

day 64.

Yummy. Fo sho. This is supposedly some type of okra sauce with rice and onions and stuff in Bamako, Mali. Seriously, if that was in front of me right now, I would eat it without hesitation. Okay, I’m officially starting the daily countdown until the day I leave (to hopefully be carried out every day, but maybe just a couple days a week, not sure). Consider this day 64.

I’m seriously craving that now.

My Mali Missions Video (the other was just to get you familiar with the people)

Please feel free to share.

a new look for the African heat.

The temperatures in Mali can easily get to 112 degrees. So yeah, today I...

got 8 inches cut off my hair!! :DD Ahhh!! and. I. loveeeee. it. Here I come, Mali!

there’s just this piece of my heart that is connected to dogon country, mali. i can’t explain it. i pray for the precious people who make their dwelling in this gorgeous land. i just want to be there.

Psalm 55

16 As for me, I call to God,
and the LORD saves me.
17 Evening, morning and noon
I cry out in distress,
and he hears my voice.
18 He rescues me unharmed
from the battle waged against me,
even though many oppose me.

my Mali missions video

** You'll want to pause the music at the bottom of the sidebar.
Can we not give them a home with Him?

Please feel free to share.

you're about to get some sweet, precious little owners.

i had to look through my overflowing Africa trunk once again :) these clothes have been waiting, and waiting, and waiting - but soon they will have owners! beautiful little people that will love them and play in them.

this little set of five onezies has an owner, or five.

these two little pairs of pants have an owner that’s like six months or under.

and, oh, this little onezie has a special little girl waiting just for it.

i can’t wait to meet these sweet, precious little owners. thank you, Target for making such cute clothes and for having that awesome clearance sale last year. i’m sure these new little owners will thank you, too.

You know, I’m so glad that at twenty three my life doesn’t consist of getting the perfect white picket fence; but, instead this. my heart is tied to this place. it amazes me how You have placed me here. oh, am i glad. i thank You for making me alive with Your love, and for giving me the strength when i am weak to continue this race You have set before me. You know where my steps will go, and for that, I am thankful. i think this birthday has been the best birthday ever just simply because i am found in You and know Your love so deeply. i can only imagine how much greater it can grow from here…

gosh, this twenty third birthday was just perfect. :)

Thank you guys sooo much for praying. My mom still knows nothing of me putting the need up here (hehe), but she came to me this morning and was like she slept wonderfully last night. great news because of prayer :))

i humbly ask for your prayers.

today’s been a crying day for me and my mom. but Jesus never said following Him wouldn’t take everything. tomorrow will be better. :)

sweet conversation this afternoon

Me: you know, i'm moving to Africa right?
three year old Meredyth: wowwww.
Me: do you know where Africa is?
Meredyth: far, farrrr away...
Me: do you know what i'm going to do there?
Meredyth: be like tarzan?
Me: bahahahahahahahahHAAAA! (insert myself almost rolling on the floor) no, haha. i'm going to go and tell other little boys and girls about Jesus.
Meredyth: Jesus loves me.
Me: yes, He does. And i'm going to go and tell other little kids that.
Meredyth: me too!
i love you, Meredyth!

Koutiala Mali Visit 2009

the 500th post!!

So, it's the time of my blog where I tell my readers just how awesome this is to have a 500th post. I have made so many lifelong friends who I never would've known except for this wonderful world of blogging. I am so happy to know each and every one of you, and I count it as a privelege to call you guys friends.
God has changed my life in these 500 posts - drastically! Just go back and read my first post ever and you can see just how much my life has changed since May 2009. I was aware of change, but boy, if I could've only know how much my life would've changed I'm not sure I would've believed it :) There had always been within me this passion to be a missionary, but if I'd have known that in less than a year (of my first post) I would have told God yes to His will, which meant going overseas for a year to a country I barely knew existed, and to a continent that I had said no to so many times. Oh gosh, what a blessing it is to have this blog to see where God has brought me from. He has awakened a true love between Him and I, changed my heart about a people, and given me a boldness I never thought possible. I am so blessed - so, sooo blessed. I never knew a love like this existed, but He showed me just how He is in love with me, and how He wants more than anything for that love to mean life to me. Literally life. Like I know what it is now to live, to live for Him and no other! :)
Thank you so much - to each and every one of you - for praying with me and for me in these past 500 posts. They have truly touched my life in more ways than you could ever know. You guys have been the friends when I thought I had no one to turn to. When I couldn't exactly tell my family what was going on, or how i felt, you guys have stepped in as my family, and I am forever grateful for that. I have more moms than I ever thought possible, and more sisters than I could've ever wished for. When i began this blog in May 2009, I could've never seen just how much it would have been a part of my life. It makes me tear up just thinking about how different my life would've been had I not began this blog. Thank you so, sooo much my moms and sisters. Your comments over the months have changed my life. You have celebrated with me, mourned with, worshipped at the feet of Jesus with me, prayed fervently at His feet with me, and seen miracles right alongside me :) I truly love each and every one of you. and thank You, and you guys. I can't wait to see what comes next...

Natali

oh wowwww.

tonight was so awesomeeee. it was GLOW on ecu campus. what was awesome was the student’s testimonies, the coming together and worshipping God at playboy’s number 5 party school in the US. to experience God on this ground and know that there is a lost and broken world all around you, but He is here even in the midst of it. ohmygosh, just awesome. God is awesome. and i can’t wait for tomorrow night at vcm.

oh! and let me not forget - i have 5 new sisters and brothers in Christ after tonight :)

you have to read this.

this is a post by one of the missionaries that i'm going to be under while in Mali in just three short months. this post is awesome. it opened my eyes to Bamako and just how much i am looking forward to not only living in Africa, but also that this is going to be so eye-opening. i desire to know You like never before, and i know this is just the beginning. i want to be after Your heart like David was. i believe i've made the first baby steps, but there's a world of change to go, especially in my prayer life. let me just be honest, i feel like such a failure some days and then others i feel as though i'm pretty good. but there's none like You. You are sooo holy and good. Me leaving my comfort zone for the zone You want me in is without a doubt very challenging, but i know obedience to You is going to be so worth it.

wowwwww.

88 days or so and i'll be living in africa. can you say, "WHAAAAA".

oh yesss.

i so just made a tube top dress that i found in Ross into a skirt. yessss. and without a sewing machine. that's what's up :D

okay, it’s 2am. enough of this Satan, i’m going to bed and i’m sleeping because i know He will be with me everywhere i go. You have no hold on my life. He is right here with me, and as much as you want to make it seem like i’ll be alone, i won’t. so there. eat that. oh, and don’t forget, God gave me skype. what then

hosea 2

14 "Therefore I am now going to allure her;
I will lead her into the desert
and speak tenderly to her.

15 There I will give her back her vineyards,
and will make the Valley of Achor [a] a door of hope.
There she will sing [b] as in the days of her youth,
as in the day she came up out of Egypt.

16 "In that day," declares the LORD,
"you will call me 'my husband';
you will no longer call me 'my master. [c] '

17 I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips;
no longer will their names be invoked.

18 In that day I will make a covenant for them
with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air
and the creatures that move along the ground.
Bow and sword and battle
I will abolish from the land,
so that all may lie down in safety.

19 I will betroth you to me forever;
I will betroth you in [d] righteousness and justice,
in [e] love and compassion.

20 I will betroth you in faithfulness,
and you will acknowledge the LORD.

21 "In that day I will respond,"
declares the LORD—
"I will respond to the skies,
and they will respond to the earth;

22 and the earth will respond to the grain,
the new wine and oil,
and they will respond to Jezreel. [f]

23 I will plant her for myself in the land;
I will show my love to the one I called 'Not my loved one. [g] '
I will say to those called 'Not my people, [h] ' 'You are my people';
and they will say, 'You are my God.' "

if that didn't plant a seed of hope in me... wow.

i am sooo glad i'm following You.

bamako, mali.

1 Keep me safe, O God,
for in you I take refuge.
2 I said to the LORD, "You are my Lord;
apart from you I have no good thing."

3 As for the saints who are in the land,
they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight. [b]

4 The sorrows of those will increase
who run after other gods.
I will not pour out their libations of blood
or take up their names on my lips.

5 LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup;
you have made my lot secure.

6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.

7 I will praise the LORD, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.

8 I have set the LORD always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.

9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,

10 because you will not abandon me to the grave, [c]
nor will you let your Holy One [d] see decay.

11 You have made [e] known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Psalm 16

there some little guys that you should know about.

God has placed these boys on my heart so much. i can barely believe this is happening right now.

so, the long awaited paypalish sort of thing & my support letter.

“Where You are, I want to be. It’s Your love that has changed me.
I give my whole life to honor You. In Whom I live, in Whom I move.” – Brooke Fraser

Dear Family & Friends,
As I graduate from East Carolina University this December, I’m packing my bags and moving to the continent of Africa in pursuit of the Call to missions that God has placed on my life. Ever since I was a little girl I’ve had a passion within me to be a missionary, and so here I go. I’m finally putting that God-given passion into action and going where He has told me to go.

A team of Assemblies of God missionaries, Glen and Karen Smith, has invited a select number of young adults to go live amongst the Muslims of Mali, the world’s fourth poorest country. Their ministry is called “SaFE” (Sahel Formation Experience) and it seeks to disciple workers for the unreached peoples of the world. You can find more information at their website: http://www.sahelnomads.com/. I’m ready to get my hands dirty in the harvest – so, so ready. There are twelve million Malians who need to know the love and grace He has for them. And I’m saying, “Here I am, Lord. Send me,” just as Isaiah cried out to God in Isaiah 6:8. From mid January 2011 to January 2012, I will be living in the country of Mali, West Africa, specifically the city of Bamako – the capital. While in Mali, my role will be to participate in hands-on ministry (children, youth, community outreach, etc.), agree to be personally mentored by a missionary, to learn a new culture along with its language, and to join a group of those who desire to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.

More than anything, I want these precious people in Mali to know Him. To know His love, His grace, His arms that are waiting for them to run to. I desire to be used by Him all my life to see His kingdom come. I want to give Malian kids an inheritance their parents may never leave them, an eternal inheritance that nothing could ever take from them. I want to love on these people and sit and listen to the stories of who they are, and tell them how He loves them so.

My living conditions will be basic as I seek to draw closer to the needy that God leads my way. There are, of course, financial needs that must be met in order for me to go to Mali. As a SaFE team member, I need to raise $900 in monthly support (for an approximate annual total of $10,800), and $2,600 in cash for insurance and airfare. The Assemblies of God World Missions has set up an account for tax-deductible contributions to be made towards my time with SaFE. All I’m asking is that you be willing to pray and see if God has plans for you to help in this mission. I truly desire to see and believe that God is going to change lives, not only the Malians who need to know of His love, but mine as well. Should God lead you to support me financially, there are enclosed details after this letter.

I just want to thank you for taking the time to consider this opportunity of helping with this mission and my future. I could never say thank you enough for my appreciation of your prayers. May God bless and pour His grace into your life as you listen to His voice.
Ne tarra (“I am going” in the Malian language Bambara),
Natali Williams

You can make cash/check donations to:
Assemblies of God World Missions
1445 Boonville Ave
Springfield, MO 65802

** If you’re sending something through the mail to the Assemblies of God World Missions you will need to make sure to write my name and account number (648393-7) in the memo section of the check, so they can deposit it into my account there. Afterwards, headquarters will issue a receipt for charitable giving credit, and you can tear a portion off to send with any future contributions (if you were to feel lead to support me monthly).

Online donations: click on https://secure1.ag.org/contributions/index.cfm then type my last name (Williams) or my account number (648393-7). This will take you to a listing where you can select my name and make a secure online contribution with your credit card/debit card. A receipt will be sent to you.

Also, if you would like to receive a monthly newsletter of what God is doing while I’m in Mali for free of charge, please include your email in a comment below, or email me at: natali.williams@ma.agmd.org.
My phone #: 252-325-1932.
I look forward to hearing from you and God bless!

"Look at the nations and watch--and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.” – Habakkuk 1:5


I cannot say thank you enough for praying about this and letting God lead you. I love you guys!

today is a lot better than last week, by a bunch.

okay, so i’ve had a lot on my mind lately. and naturally, lots of things on your mind can weigh you down. i had this feeling that crept up last week, except if you’d asked me what was wrong i probably wouldn’t be able to explain it, because i honestly didn’t really understand it myself. but now i know. i kinda knew it at the end of last week too, but it was harder to accept than it is today. the topic: my “normal” may never be my “normal” again, in fact, i’m sure it won’t. but God will give me a knew normal, and it will be good.

a very sweet friend of mine wrote a blog post a few days ago, preceded by this one earlier in the week - including this same thing of her old ”normal” never being the same again after she moves to TN to pursue missions. and it hit me hard. okay, ellie, please don’t freak out :) you didn’t cause me to have a bad week, those words just hit home for me when i read them on your blog. i think i subconsciously knew this, but never really thought about it. and from there my weekend turned into a oh-my-goodness-i’m-going-to-miss-this-comfortable-predictable-life-next-year. or ellie, if you want to look at it like this, your writing that caused me to get an inch closer to Jesus. :) so either way you look at it, all’s good.

i realized i still had a bunch of stuff that i hadn’t truly surrendered to Him. like my normal not being my normal anymore. that i wouldn’t know everyone that passed by me. more importantly, that i would miss everything that happened. and that hurt. i’m not going to say i’m completely over it, because i think daily a person has to surrender their will for His and do as He says. but i do believe somehow, someway i’m becoming a little more accustomed to the fact that there is a new normal for me out there, and He has it planned for my good. and maybe, just maybe, getting me away from all that is comfortable in my life is so that i can fully rely on Him for everything. i won’t have that comfortable chair at my parent’s house, or even my favorite glass to drink out of (believe it or not, things like that were freaking me out big time), but i’ll have Him and new apartment, and the new people. who knows, i may even find my favorite cup ever in bamako. or better yet, this will be the defining time of knowing He has all the little germs on stuff under control, and even if something looks weird, it might actually taste pretty good. so maybe this new normal thing isn’t so bad after all.

God calls us to live out of our comfort zone for Him, and i’m truly finding what that entails with this journey. some of it is awesome, some of it is not so awesome, but through it all, i’m finding He is right there with me, holding my hand, and whispering His sweet promises in my ear. it is through the strength He gives me that i continue taking every step forward.

this is a gift from a little girl named lauren.

this little dress with that perfect print is soo going to you, little malian one. i don’t know your name yet, but the Belch family sure did want you and other little malian girls to have some very pretty things. oh, and there are shoes too! and i’ll make sure, lauren, to tell the little girl that wears your dress who gave it to her. gosh, this family is too sweet.

in Your presence is fullness of joy.

this past week has been a mix of stuff, but oh, in His presence is fullness of joy :) fundraising news: approximately another $1400 is headed for the mali account. how awesome is GOD? this is like around $3400 in just a week. how awesome is He?! GOD is sooo showing up :))

pray for mali button.

i've put off asking this of my readers because it felt selfish to me, but i'm seeing it in a different light now. so, my friend, stephanie frey, made a button for my blog,

and i humbly ask if you would share it with others. add it to your side bar, write a post about it, anything you would like. advocate for mali, please. more than anything, mali, west africa needs prayer. prayer from those who truly mean it. prayer that means business against the bondage they are in. so, please, could you share this button for mali?

just one of the many aspects of next year that i long for...

my heart longs to be there today. to hold hands with the impoverished children, pick them up and never have to stop hugging them. to kiss them on their foreheads and tell them i ce kanyi. you’re beautiful. fearfully and wonderfully made by Him. He loves you. and so do i. and then there’s the fact that i’m going to get know some of you little ones. no longer will it just be a face, but there will be a name and a living, breathing human being in my arms. but i want that to happen. i want it to finally be real. i want to advocate for you. you, and your precious little self. even though i don’t know you, little ones, i’m praying for you.

to say that this family is beautiful is an understatement. gosh, katie davis, you’re one of my very few living heros. God bless you and your 14 daughters. praying for sweet scovia and dear precious jane. He is still the Healer. http://kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com/

if you want to get a sense and feel of bamako, mali - the capital city where i will be living next year - please read this post (it's by the missionaries i will be working under). it'll probably break your heart, just like it did mine, but it also made me even more happier for the day when bamako finds the kanuya of Yesu. the love of Jesus is more than enough...

i think tears make a person feel better. and give a little relief. i feel so silly crying over that, but sometimes it just hits me, and i realize just how far i will be. but i trust You. and i can skype you. :)

Hillsong - The father's heart (Beautiful exchange)

that class was awesome.

once again, my very sweet west african professor brought mali into the classroom when she didn’t have to (the topic on the syllabus was haitian women in NYC). we talked about timbuktu today and how it is a real place. lol. that was hilarious to see myself in the other students (looking back a while). “it’s a real place!”

we watched a clip that explained the customs of the touagreg men being veiled and the women unveiled, and how the women are the heads of the households in this culture. and then it happened, my professor explained how i am moving to mali next year. didn’t expect that. the funny thing is, she still insists that i’m going to bamako to study at the university, even though i’ve explained that it’s more of a humanitarian aid work sort of thing that i will be doing (being careful not to turn her off because of her faith). she even offered to call a friend that works at the university and set me up. honestly, this woman is so kind. and she’s of the faith that is so plastered these days of being soooo hurtful and anything but loving. perhaps she’s a person just like me, but is bound in chains. gosh, i could do a sermon.

i should’ve gone to senegal this past summer when she passed out the study abroad packets in class last spring, but oh well. we talked about bambara, & i loved hearing her pronunciation of it. it was like music to my ears. earlier in class the professor explained that her grandmother never lost any of her teeth before she died (in her 80s) and how in the wolof culture they say that they need to lose their teeth before they die, or their grandchildren will die instead. and how her mother will not eat chicken that anyone else besides herself prepares (more of a personal thing instead of cultural). how she scrubs it until it is white, she says. and i got to thinking… it’s really not that different from all these other silly things i as an American think of or have been taught.

west african people have my heart. oh, so much. and i am just in awe of how He has prepared me. really, it’s crazy good to think about.

um, wow. fo real.

um, i was on Fb and this new window just all of a sudden popped up and this began playing. uh yeah, that's God...

well, before crunch time (haha... i am such a horrible student/procrastinator)...
for months i’ve wished i was in mali, and i still do - but WHOAAAAAAA is there a lot to do before then!

apply for a malian visa. purchase a plane ticket. get a yellow fever shot and figure out what else i need to do medical wise. pack, pack, and pack some more. speak. take in my surroundings and the people i’ve known all my life one more time. buy a packet of tissues for the airport. thanksgiving. graduate. Christmas. the SALT conference in florida. attend some awesome services with some friends in january in NC. and hug some people more than i have in my entire life. try not to tear up at odd times. realize there is still skype. take pictures with everyone so i can slip them in my suitcase. and last but not least, live the life He wants me to live while all this is going on. to trust Him when it seems everything is going crazy, & i’m being stretched like a rubberband (thanks to kimberly for the analogy). just to trust Him. because i have NO idea where all of this is taking me, but He does. and i trust His plan.

i tried to think of a title that would pop. but i couldn't.

tomorrow marks the first day of the school week for me. this fall break has been an awesome, busy time. i’m 98% closer to a step being done for next year. that took two days, plus all those other times i jotted stuff down. i felt very relieved after placing 150ish stamps on letters and stuffing them into the little blue square mailbox guy at the post office this afternoon. i also sent out a very important email that i’ve needed to get done since october 1st. and i bought enough camis (big thanks to two very special people) to supply myself from january to january. and i daydreamed about being in the marketplace in bamako and seeing the prettyful bracelets and such. i’ve just now realized what i will be getting my family the belated Christmas after i return. and if you’re reading this twin a, the secret’s out and now you can dream with me of what it will look like - because i am so looking forward to finding out. holden and i had this convo a while back, but i can’t seem to remember what he wanted me to bring him, other than something having to do with animals i believe. i’ll have to ask you, little buddy, because i can’t forget. also, i received an email today about english department gradutation. it’s at 2pm on december 17th. don’t let me forget.

a taboo topic.

i want to write about something that i just want to get off my chest - my future husband. no, i am currently not in a relationship with a guy and honestly, i know that God planned it that way because i need to focus on Him right now and the Call that He has on my life. no, i don't know when that "time" will come or if it will come. i really want it to come, but over this past summer i have laid all my desires at His feet, because i want to please Him and do His will, not mine. i want kids - oh, so badly. at almost twenty three, it pains me to see all my friends with their guy, engaged or married. it really does. i stare at the bride and groom at the altar and tear up lately. but i know when and if my guy comes it will be the right time when he shows up. i have promised myself that i will not settle in life, and just take the first guy that i see so that i can have my dream of being a wife and mom to a gazillion kids. i want to do Your will.
for all the people who have thought this, but haven't said anything for fear of hurting my feelings, i am fully aware that me leaving next year and consecrating myself to the Call He has placed on my life is narrowing down the pool of guys (haha, if i can call it that) to like one or two. but i so desperately want to be with that guy (if God wants me to) who is equally passionate about serving God in full-time missions and raising children in a home that exemplifies what parents are supposed to biblically. i don't just want to marry to be married. i want my marriage to be from God and serving Him with everything we have within us as one. i realize that God will have to send this guy my way who has this same love for missions as i do, but i trust Him. whether He sends me this guy or He wants me to remain single, i trust Him. it's not without sacrificing my desires, but i pray Your will be done.
BIG HAPPY SIGH. it's off my chest now. :)

i have an urgent unspoken prayer request. i need some prayer warriors. thanks.

Jehovah Jireh - my Provider - is soooo mind blowing.

i am just plain overwhelmed at the goodness of God and His people. I spoke yesterday at my home church, a church that is rather small in size compared to a lot of churches, but i received a love offering that blew my mind. I've been thinking of my plane ticket and shot a lot lately, not worrying mind you, but just saying, "okay God, i'm looking to you for this one, because i have no way on earth to earn money for a plane ticket to the continent of Africa. and it's getting about the time where i need to start doing this." for those of you who have traveled to Africa, you know the overwhelming expense of a plane ticket there :)
There was a two day yard sale scheduled for last friday and saturday, and i had it figured out, that and speaking at church would definitely be enough to get the plane ticket purchased and shots. those two things together - the yard sale and speaking at my home church. well, God just showed me yesterday that even though the yard sale has been postponed because of horrible flooding in my hometown until a later date in november, He can still work and bring in more money than little ole me ever thought possible through just one of those. i am still in awe. i even have two monthly supporters due to yesterday's presentation. God is just too awesome for words. i now have more than enough money for a plane ticket and a yellow fever shot.
i think i'm still in a dream state :) God is working those wonders that i knew He would.
EDIT
oh, and here's a very humorous part of my day straight off the press:
a repairman came to work on our freezer today, and he was asking me what i majoring in during college, etc. i told him english, and then how i was moving to africa (i love how God gives these opportunities to share). then he says (while he's working on the freezer) "are you really sure you want to do this??" and in mid sentence the freezer shocked him. haha, just a little jolt to hush him up. bahah! :D I love how God is humorous. :)

which toms should i pick??

help! lol. i'm having a toms crisis and i need your input on which shoe to get :))

i cannot stop listening to this.

Rahab Ministries from CCC Omaha on Vimeo.

a bad-kind-of-weird, yet strangely-turning-out-to-be-good day.

so, i just emailed my essays to the professor. that’s a relief.
now off to fall break and a wonderful four days with people i’ve missed. it’s not without reading and bunches of work for classes involved, of course, but none the less they call it fall break. :)
we read about you, bamako, for class today. i thought that was a little awesome :) oh, and i found out we continued the movie about mali wednesday when my body mistakenly decided to sleep in. but, there’s still one more day of you, little mali movie, because they didn’t finish. so i get to sit there and dream of you, dogon country, once more while in class and let your words tickle my ears as i become strangely familiar with hearing bambara and wanting to speak it too.
oh, and let me not forget how my west african professor keeps adding things about you, mali, into the class and looking at me when she says it. of course, she knows of my venture, but nontheless this is one of the sweetest things anyone has ever done for me.
i keep coming across Americans in my reading who have moved to Africa to serve for extended periods of time (even Peace Corp volunteers) and i long to know my new name the new nation surrounding myself will give me. or how long it will be? and how it will sound on my tongue. i long to write it down, for that is part of my fascination with everything. my love of the written word and how it appears. the allegorical allusions and metaphors. the similes that make me smile. and imagery. oh, sweet imagery.
and last, but oh so not least, i’m giving this Sunday to You. i want my words to be Your words, and for You to be glorified. this isn’t about what i can do for mali, but what You can do. i just want them to know it’s not me - so desperately. please, take over me

this Nisondiya, this Joy.

joy. noun. 1 the feeling of knowing i’m Yours, and that i now have a lion residing in me - Judah’s roar. 2. His unending love and grace. 3. the indescribable way i lay my head down and fear subsides when i think of Who You are. even though many enemies i may have, the One who spoke all of us into existence whispers to me i am His and am loved oh so dearly. 4. in the place of my ashes, beauty now dances. no longer am i hopeless, for you have given me a Hope and Happiness none can steal.

i have it all. anything i could ever want. and it’s You. and i’ll forever tell of this Nisondiya, this Joy

just keeps thinking of those precious people. and how He has privledged me so to be able to do this with Him. He didn't have to use me, but He is. that is proof grace covers everything. anyone can be used by Him if you allow Him to take over. are you willing?

i have one thing to say. :)

dogon country in march.

p.s. remember how i prayed to be able to go here while in mali?

every time i see this picture, i smile.

bamako fabrics.

bamako is the capital city of mali. notice the fabrics in this picture. i am in love.

every color of the rainbow.

i'd say i have enough shirts & skirts for mali. gosh, God is awesome in provision! :)

updates, updates, updates!

so, i have sort of been MIA for a while. it is such a good thing that this semester is my last semester of college, because it is totally tiring me out. i just keep saying to myself, "natali, this is your last semester. it's your last semester..." haha. in december, i'll have an english degree in my hands, and i'll be oh so happy.
i wanted to update you guys who still read my blog (wouldn't blame you if you didn't, because i haven't been very good at blogging lately), about my progress towards mali and such things as fundraising. God has really been blowing my mind lately (sorry i haven't exactly shared most of it) on the fundraising end of things and the opportunities He is still sending my way. not only has He provided numerous opporunities that i never expected to come my way in a million years, but i am enthused about them oh so much.
a little back story before i share these opportunites: this past saturday i cried out to God and told Him that i didn't want to be like Moses and say that i couldn't do something when He called me to do it. i said, "i don't want to be like Moses, and because i stutter tell you no, that i can't do what you tell me to do, but i want to do what you have told me to do, what you give me to do with your strength. because when i am weak, then i am strong in You." and what do you know but the next morning i was asked if i would share what i'm doing next year tonight in the service at campmeeting. God had sent something my way to test my word, i know it :) i didn't want to be like Moses. i want to do what it is He has given me to do, and i'm was going to do it with the strength He gave me. :)
okay, back to the opportunities coming my way:
you see, the program i am going to mali through doesn't exactly allow me to itinerate or initiate speaking engagements at churches. this past sunday i was asked to share what i will be doing next year at a sectional campmeeting service. God provided big time. not only did He get me that opportunity to share there at that service, but that specific opportunity has lead to 3(maybe 4) more speaking engagements and a 2 monetary gifts. that is just plain awesome. if you knew me in "real" life (lol), you'd know that i am naturally a very shy person in front of crowds and people that i'm not familiar with. like, i was the kid in the Christmas program that refused to say her lines once she was on stage. and i am sooooo ready to speak again. i'm sure i'll get butterflies, but the point i'm trying to make is i WANT to do this again. :)
also, some very sweet people, (and those of you who are friends with me on facebook have been invited :)) ; and if you're not friends on fb with me, please add me! i'd love it!) have organized a two day yard sale this friday and saturday, and also a fundraiser dinner in early november. however, we are getting some crazy flooding in my hometown right now (please be praying for the families & businesses who are losing so much), so the yard sale may be put off until later. we have had an overwhelming 15-20 inches of rain since sunday, and the last time the water was this high was in 1999 with hurricane floyd, which was commonly known as the flood of the century. but please be praying that whatever the outcome of when the yard sale takes place, that God would work a crazy miracle in the funds and things given. i know that whether it takes place this weekend or next month that He works all things together for my good. i truly believe that.
also, i am speaking at my home church this weekend, unless the flood prevents service from happening. so could you pray that the words i say are not my words, but His, and that the video that i have prayed over and worked on since april would convict the audience and give them a glimpse of His heart? i so do not want this to be all about me, but rather ALL ABOUT Him.

soon i will put up a link and share my letter that i'm sending out to friends and family about my calling to mali next year and how you can pray and give towards it financially if you feel God is leading you to do so.

i can't think of a way to wrap this post up, so i'll just leave you with a picture of the land i long for more every day.

more than just knowing

i want to see and experience life like one is meant to. like You created me to. i want to be full of passion for what You are passionate for. i want to love what You love, and hate what You hate. i want my thinking to align with Your thoughts, & my soul to be anguished over what You are anguished over. i want You to break me over what Your broken for, and to fully love like You do - without limitations or reservations. i want to give others the same grace You have given me, and for forgiveness to be engrained in my actions - to treat a person like you do, with their slate clean, and in my heart a love for them still. the same love i had before they ever committed any wrong. all because You first forgave me. little ole me, who is just as they are. and the little ole me that You are still working on. i don’t want to just float through life, never realizing that i’m breathing and that i truly need to live for You with everything i find within myself. i know that i walk with Your spirit within me, but i want to walk like i truly believe it. that’s why i follow You, because You have broken this girl and renewed within me a desire for none but You. in You i move. it’s not me, but it’s Your spirit inside of me. it empowers me beyond anything i ever could. i am daily dying to self, learning You are all i want.

so i want You to lead me. You, and You alone. i will keep pushing my desires out of mind, and replace them with Yours. You have truly changed my life.

i love that i have a chance to warm up to you beforehand

i love that i’ve been taught about griots, how to pronounce it correctly, and their purpose in society. about doing things for your older sisters and brothers if they tell you to and the respect that is there. about baobab trees and how griots were buried in the trunks. how the audience in mali is called naamu & in the call and response technique it is also their response. that i know what a libation to the ancestors will look like. that the epic of sundiata is behind the lion king and all its awesomeness. how women are supposed to gain weight. how bamana is the same as bambara. how there are totems for families and about the west african hierarchy in polygamy and the senior wife. gosh, these last two semesters & my classes all about africa have been invaluable to me. i love how He placed a west african in my path before i go. i absolutely adore His ways.

He just keeps pointing to precious Mali.

um, how awesome is God?! my familia went to the asheboro zoo today (me not included because of school & other plans tonight), and coming upon the african safari area of the zoo, my family sees this. those pictures above are of mali. mali, west africa. mali. my mali. the book they were in at the exhibit was turned to those exact pages, displaying beautiful mali and telling the story of a family and how it is there. those pages could've been showing the story of a people in ethiopia, uganda or south africa. but it was MALI. and my sis took pictures for proof of just how awesome all of that awesomeness is.

God just keeps leading me and saying this is exactly where you're supposed to be, My daughter.

exactly. i'm just so overwhelmed. i love Your ways. and You are good. so, so good.

i like

silly bands. little kids that say moo-sick. converse. counting down to things. poetry. wet, sloppy kisses on the cheek from little kids. playing this-little-piggy-went-to-market on those same little kids. saying Yesu b’i kanu. reading. last semesters of college. guys who love some Jesus. daydreaming. laying in the grass. praying for mali. peaches and bananas - but not together, bahaha. friends who point to Him. autumn days. seeing my breath in front of me. birds in the morning. missionary biographies. and being a twin.

sincerely,

twin b

the seed i've received i will sow

http://sahelnomads.com/?p=373

just to revel in it.

gosh i love that it is autumn. if only the cool days and gorgeous oranges and reds would appear, then i would be at home. i think this is going to be my favorite thing of physical north carolina that i miss when i move.

this weekend is going to be jam-packed full of stuff. awesome stuff. stuff i really need right now. services and books. talks and reminiscing. babysitting. re-organizing my two huge boxes of stuff that i have to my name for next year and taking the time to breathe and realize just how awesome this season is in my life.

more than anything, i’m ready for it to be just me and You this weekend. i’ve found myself busy this week, and i am ashamed. i want to speak with you while i write again and just revel in the love. last night was awesome, but i want that everyday. the more i know You, the more i can’t be without You.

as i go to sleep tonight, i dream of the day you hear of your inheritance for the first time. Yesu b’i kanu, little ones. Yesu b’i kanu. your inheritance is mighty and holy. oh so holy. and good. soooo good. aw ni su, world. goodnight.