March 17 – Stop Smoking Clinic

The clinic is over! The stop smoking clinic was one of my major tasks to accomplish while here in Guinea, and it went very well.

The first night of the clinic we had a decent size crowd to begin with, maybe 10-15 people. By the end of the 1st night we had around 20-30 people. Day 2 was a little discouraging at first because not many people were there when it was time to begin, but as the night went on more people came, mostly young people. Throughout the following 8 nights we had anywhere from 25-35 people in attendance, outside of church and team members who were there to support the program in various ways. 50%, if not more, were young people probably 18 and younger. The rest of the participants were probably in their 20s or 30s. There was one older man there that came every night and successfully quit smoking.

The young people were so interested in what was taking place each night, some even took notes. I don’t know if they were all smokers, maybe they smoked once or twice, or only occasionally. Either way they are all now more informed about the dangers of tobacco and the lies produced by the manufacturing companies. We even dedicated a night specifically to marijuana. That was the most interesting night. There was an older gentleman there who was amazed by all the facts and everything I shared. This man quit smoking cigarettes 5 or 6 years ago and was coming to the program as a support person. But he was literally shocked by all the facts and dangers about marijuana. I said something about how the effects of marijuana on the brain aren’t reversible and showed a picture of the brain activity of an abuser and he was like…..”Wait, wait, Miss….what you’re saying is serious! Noooo…you’re saying this is what happens to the brain. This is serious!” He must have stopped the presentation 5 or 6 times to interject or ask questions. All the students were laughing at him because, as we found out later, he used to smoke marijuana and was probably worried about the effects it would have on his life. All in all it was a good night. Marijuana is a big thing among the young people here so I hope that the information given sunk in and that they’ll share it with others. Many students skip school to hang out in unfinished houses and smoke marijuana. When I say many, I don’t mean 5 or 6. I mean groups of kids, lots of them from every school. Probably like 20 or more from a school…and there’s a school around every corner. Within 5-10 minutes of where I’m living there are 3 big schools (those are just the ones I know of, there’s probably more). Sometimes when I’m walking to the market I’ll see so many kids skipping school, just hanging out, walking around….anything as long as they’re not in school.

Anyway, the clinic was a success. At the end there were about 15 people who received certificates. Hopefully that’s at least 15 people who will not pick up a cigarette (or joint) again, or if they never smoked they won’t ever stop. The  biggest blessing was that some of the young people are actually interested in our church. During the clinic we would pray at the beginning and end of each lecture and emphasis throughout the lecture that cessation is possible when you give your will to God and that God will give you power and strength to fight the addiction. One of the youth made a comment that we “speak about God as if He’s real” and he said he wants to come to our church and find out more about why we speak of God like this. The majority of the people who came were Muslim, so to hear that from a Muslim young person was amazing. Many are respectful but to say they want to attend the church…that’s unheard of.

God is blessing in many ways and I just thank Him for using me and the rest of our team through this clinic. We not only want to show people how to quit smoking and live a healthier and better life, but we also want to show them the love of God and Christ. We want to share that God loves you so much and wants you to be in the best health and take care of the bodies He has given us. Our mission is to share Christ in all that we do and I think we definitely did that at the clinic. So I thank God. And I thank everyone for all their prayers!

~Alex

King Jesus is a listenin’…

About a year ago when I decided I wanted to take some months and serve as a missionary there were a few obstacles I had to overcome.

First I had to get over the fear/sadness of being away from my family and friends for possibly a year. Then I had to figure out where in the world I was gonna go. Was I going to end up in the bushes somewhere on a tiny island that no one has every heard of or teach in big morally corrupt city? As you all know by now I ended up in Guinea, which is somewhere between the boonies and corruption.

So I have a destination and its time to fundraise (oh joy ;/) but there’s still one big hairy obstacle in my way… L-O-A-N-S. Yes, the loan companies had started calling, the sad lot of the majority of college grads. I had no idea what to do. Letters were written, phone calls were made, but I had no assurance of getting my loans put on hold. I was told I had to wait until October to apply, and then told I had to make my account current. Then told I had to wait for this and that and the other. I prayed a lot and decided to step out on faith and just go. I figured God wouldn’t have brought me through the application process, fundraising, and training just for me to not come to Guinea.

When I finally was able to get in touch with the loan company from over here in Guinea, which is NOT easy! I had to Skype them late at night when its normal business hours over in the USA and the internet connection is better here. And when I say better I don’t mean high speed internet, I mean that it doesn’t kick me off every 5 minutes and it only takes a few minutes to load web pages. You didn’t know internet like that still existed huh? Well it does here in Guinea!! No high-speed wireless for me! Anyway… I was finally able to get in touch with the loan company in December and applied for the forbearance over the phone (Skype). They told me that it would be 10 business days before an approval or denial letter arrived at my home. So my dad and I waited… and waited… and waited. Every time I emailed them or we talked on the phone I asked if the letter came. The letter never came. So I decide to call (Skype) up the loan company one day and ask about my loans. They tell me that the forbearance was denied and I should have gotten a letter, which my dad never received. My next question for the loan folks was what do I do now? They said I had to make my account current before I could take any further action on my loan situation. By the grace of God and with the help of my parents I was able to bring my account up to date (that is a miracle in and of itself).

Next step: call and try to consolidate loans, get an extension or something. Remember how I said the internet connection is not always so great here? Yea well the time I tried to get something worked out with an extension the connection cut out while I was in the middle of my conversation with the loan guy…very frustrating. By now I’m past the point of frustration and just ready to give up. I had begun formulating a plan to just stay in Guinea forever and change my identity in hopes that the loan companies wouldn’t come after me. It was really starting to sound like a good idea, stay here, start a garden, live off the land…yea sounds good. BUT…

About 2 weeks ago, my dad and I tried to Skype the loan company again. I wasn’t looking forward to the call because I figured it wasn’t going to do any good and I’d be in the same position as before calling them. But alas we called anyway because we had to. So after a few attempts we finally get connected and have a decent enough connection that the customer service rep can hear me with minimal echo. I go through my story about how I’m calling from overseas and I’m a missionary who is broke and living off of less than $200 a month so I definitely don’t have money to make a $500 something dollar payment on my loans every month. I’ve sung this song so many times I can do it in my sleep and I figure this time won’t make a difference. That is until the loan lady says: “I think I can help you with the forbearance.” My first instinct was to say “Hey lady we already tried that and it didn’t work so just help me with the extension and consolidation like I asked.” But thank God I kept my mouth shut and listened as the beginning of a miracle took place. She didn’t only apply me for the loan but read me the agreement over the phone! She asked if I agree to all this formal loan business and I said “Yes ma’am”. I was dumbfounded and confused. I asked a few questions before getting off the phone about if it doesn’t get approved or something like that. Then my dad and I talked about the strange conversation we had just finished. I’m pretty sure we were bother confused and wondering what had just happened. Looking back, I was confused but had a sense of peace. We decided to just wait and see what happened… the worst thing that could happen would be a rejection right?

The days pass and I count every business day. I wait for a call or email or smoke signal from my dad telling me the fate of our strange conversation. As the days pass, I think about my loans more and more during my free time. I try not to worry and remember that God is in control, but I’m a worrier by nature. Finally tonight (its Sunday the 1st as I write) I get a call from my dad saying my loans were approved for the forbearance! I didn’t think I heard him correctly so I asked: “I was approved for the forbearance???” The next thing I said was “Hallelujah, Thank You Jesus, Praise GOD!” I can’t explain how happy I am. God is truly amazing and on time. It makes me wanna cry.

I’m not sure why I was approved now as oppose to 2 months ago. I take that back, I do know why….God is why. For whatever reason He saw fit to delay the forbearance until now. I’m so grateful for what He’s done. King Jesus listens when we pray! He’s a powerful God and He’s in control of ALL things. Just when we feel that all hope is gone, He shows up and shows out. God never ignores our prayers, sometimes we just don’t hear when He tells us to wait.

I want to thank everyone who’s been praying with me over the past months, probably since last March or April when I made this decision. You’re as much a part and witness of this miracle as I am! Thanks Dad for being patient with me and the loan people and everything else you’ve helped me with since I’m not home to do it myself. And of course I want to give thanks, glory, praise and honor to my God and Father in Heaven. I serve a very much living and powerful God. He knows, He sees and He cares. He’s SO concerned with us and our problems.

 

Proverbs 15:29 “He hears the prayer of the righteous”

Philippians 4:6 “Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God”

James 5:16 “The effective prayer of a righteous man (or woman) can accomplish much”

AMEN AMEN and AMEN!

God is powerful and willing to answer our prayers…all it requires from us is a little faith and giving up the problem to Him.
So I dare you…step out on faith. Let go of your problem and let God. It may be small compared to my loans or much bigger, but God sits high enough and looks low enough to handle them all.

What a MIGHTY God I serve!