Moving....

I've moved to Tumblr! 

:)

Not that anyone really reads this, but just in case my new site is:

meganrosefouts.tumblr.com

Loving the "hell" out of them....literally.

War. Abduction. Sex Trade. Violence. Rape. Torture.....Africa.

These things make my head spin. They make me want to go to Africa and fly in and save all the little suffering babies. Impossible. But, if I could do it, I would go in a heart beat, whether I would come out alive or not. Life isn't fair. And the more I hear about all the horrible, gut-wrenching things going on all over the world, the more thankful I am for the life God has given me. Why was I born into a loving family? Why was I so blessed that I got to grow up in the United States where wars are fought on different soil? I know there are people all over the world suffering, but my heart was left in Africa, and that is where it will stay I'm afraid.

I feel like God is calling me to work with the Refugees who come to America. So dad, you can breathe a sigh of relief. Working with African babies doesn't mean I have to be in Africa.
However, seeing footage of the damage done by the Lord's Resistance Army, and pictures of tiny children in Darfur make me so extremely grateful for the baby brother that I have.

I just wish we, as Christians, as Americans, and just as people, could really love the hell and the violence and the suffering out of people.
But, we can't. So....I'll just have to stick with loving the hell out of the ones God blesses my life with.

Grace and Peace....don't take it for granted.

Coffee and Bananas.

Today in Sunday School we were talking about how Christians have such a bad rap and why.  Then we started talking about the people who are extremely Christ-like, but aren't Christians.  For example, Mahatma Gandhi.  Then it got me thinking, would someone like that, who shows compassion and wisdom and love be sent to hell?  Someone who fought for equality and freedom of religion.  Someone who built his life off of nonviolence and truth.  Some things I don't understand.

We then talked about how everyone has a connection to God, whether they realize it or not, and whether they are Christian or not.  The Spirit of God hovers over the earth, like it has done since Creation, therefore, everyone has encounters with the Spirit.  And human beings are made in the image of God, whether those characteristics are the ones being brought out the majority of the time or not.  So, once again Im troubled by the idea that people like Gandhi would be sentenced to an eternity in hell.  I find that hard to fathom.  Of course, Gandhi wasn't perfect, but I think he actually got what it should all be about.  What the Christian faith is based on, and he wasn't even a Christian.  Things like that baffle me, and Im at a loss.  

His quote, "I like your Christ, but I don't like your Christians, they are so unlike your Christ" makes me wonder if Christians turn people away from God.  In fact, I know Christians turn people away from God.  So that leaves me to wonder, if people were more like Gandhi, or more like Mother Teresa, a God-fearing woman, how different would our city, our state, our nation, our world look?  How many unsaved people would be longing and desiring a relationship with God because of how others live?

Crazy to think about.

Of course, we're all human, and humans aren't perfect, and we all sin.  So that's unlikely to happen.  However, if Mother Teresa can serve and love as extravagantly as she did, and Gandhi can show wisdom and acceptance as much as he did, then why can't we?  If Jesus can walk the streets and eat with the "undesirables" and make friends with the hopeless, why can't we?

Because we're scared...but that's a whole other entry.

6 months. Half a year, 180+ days.

6 months ago today I was on my way home from Africa.

Actually, 6 months ago today to the minute I was on the plane from Dallas to Amarillo with 10 minutes to go before I landed.

Thinking back to the thoughts going through my head as I walked down the terminal to meet my family throws me back to 8 months ago when I was arriving in El Paso for training camp.

Anxiousness, joy, optimism, pessimism, fear, strength, weakness, and chaos all flooded my thoughts.

It's funny how I had all those emotions when I was going to Nigeria, and also when I was flying back to America, and then finally back home.

Anxiousness about being somewhere completely new and unknown.  Anxiousness about being back in Amarillo with hot water, a clean bathroom, my family, and independence.

Joy about being able to share God, seeing Africa for the first time, meeting new people, and making new friends.  Joy about finally seeing my family, being home, eating food that I actually liked, and being cold.

Strength to take on the unknown and help others.  Strength to handle the shock of being back in America and being able to handle the people who take things for granted.

Weakness because I was scared and had no idea how I would make it, and didn't know if I had enough strength to do what God wanted.  Weakness because I was emotionally, spiritually, and physically exhausted.

And chaos because I was, in fact, going to Nigeria with nothing but the company of two other college girls and God.  Chaos because The Western World is so amazingly wonderful compared to the Third World.

I look back and see the parallels between the trip there and the trip back and thank God for the opportunity.  It's crazy to think that 8 months ago I was counting down the hours until I was in Africa.  7 months ago I was counting down the days until I was in America.  and 6 months ago I was counting down the minutes until I was hugging my family.

There's not really a point to this blog....It's just hard to believe that it's already been 6 months since I've been home.