Love

Since being here, it has become a normal thing for me to wake up in the morning, get on facebook and be greeted with yet another new engagement! Since I have moved here it's like all my friends finally decided to tie the knot or get engaged! It makes me SOO happy but now I don't read it with such enthusiasm anymore. Now instead of.."AWE Jennifer!!! so and so is engaged!!!" it is "uhhhhhhh jennifer someone else is engaged! good Lord..." 

guess I'm getting to the age where everyone is getting to that point in their life.   It's the most surreal when people I grew up with are already married! I just keep telling myself while everyone else is getting married and pregnant...I'm just getting MORE AWESOME! haha :] but it's been a fun topic for me and Jennifer lately. I don't think I will ever regret coming out here and really living life for 9 months. Taking a leap of faith...moving to Africa...working in places some people don't even enter...and doing it to bring more people to the kingdom of God. 

Well I say all of this because I had an encounter with a guy the other day and after awhile I thought God just may have used him to talk to me. Now that Holiday Club is over, I've fallen back into my normal routine. So in the mornings I go out with Eric and Anele to different places for HIV/TB outreaches and then club in the afternoons. This past week we went out to Retreat Taxi station. I had been there a few times and the same faces are always there. My job out on these outreaches is to target the men and get them to fill out surveys for me. We have found out that most men don't go to the clinics for whatever reason and Living Hope as an organization wants to find out reasons why. So I get to be the face of this project and go out and ask people on the streets why. So I was talking to one guy in particular. I told him what I was doing and asked if he'd be willing to help me out and he looked at it and said sure why not. I stood next to him but didn't pay him much attention because I didn't want to just watch him write. Well he read one of the questions and just smirked and said 'ha! us guys don't go to clinics!' I just smiled and said well why do you think I'm getting you to do this survey! I want to know why not. A few minutes went by...he gave me some ideas of how to advertise more and what not. Then he just started talking to me. He told me that when he was younger he was a bad guy. I just asked well what does that mean and he went on to say he used to have many girlfriends and when he was done with the relationship he wouldn't tell her...he would just move! He laughed and said yeah!...she thought we were still together but I'd already be with someone else and never talk to her again. Now this guy looked like he was in his late 50's early 60's. One thing that stuck out to me in this conversation was when he said 'you know we live in a messed up world now a days...the mistakes I made when I was younger is what has led me to be a great dad and husband now a days. I finally realized that what I was doing was not good and I changed. I just smiled and said I'm proud of ya for realizing that...because most people just continue in that. Now I thought the conversation was over and I was hoping he would just finish my survey and we'd go on with life. But I was wrong. 

He filled out a few more questions and looked up to me and said, Don't end up with anyone unless they love the Lord. I couldn't help but smile big and say oh absolutely. Then after a few words I couldn't really make out...he then proceeded to let me know that when I'm ready to get married I don't need to be with someone who is a quick talker. I think I looked confused because he immediately said you know...guys who always know the right things to say to you. The smooth talkers...those guys aren't good for you because they have been around and obviously know how to get the ladies. Now for those who read this....I am a HUGE Texas Rangers fan. HUGE. I absolutely love baseball. What really made me think maybe just maybe God is using this guy was when out of the blue he said...What makes professional baseball players so good? I just looked at him and said...well they practice alot. He said exactly! These guys that feed you all these lines practice alot. You need to be with a guy who is quiet..and sometimes just doesn't know what to say because THAT is a guy that is in it for the right reasons and who will have the genuine want to be with you. 

I don't know but I think that was one way this week that I witnessed the Glory of God. Just by having this random guy, someone who had no idea that Jennifer and myself have constantly talked about marriage...and that baseball, out of all the sports he could have mentioned, was what first came to his mind. After that conversation I couldn't help but think of all the girls I knew at ACU that went solely to find their husband. Who knows maybe someone reading this is wondering why they don't have that special someone yet. Well I'm here to let you in on a little secret....LIVE YOUR LIFE. I promise that when you are ready...whether you think you are now or not...God will lead you to the right person. He is not only working on you in this very moment...but also working in his/her life and he will have y'all both ready at the same time. 

My mom used to always say this saying and it used to annoy the heck out of me. But I feel like now is a good time to throw it out there.

love..joy..peace..PATIENCE. 

haha I promise when you least expect it there will be someone who walks into your life and suddenly it's evident that that someone is everything you need. :] 

&& when you realize who it is, it's a wonderful feeling. 

my little two sense for the night. take it or leave it people! 

hopefully it'll make at least one person smile. 

that's all I want. 

go youtube the song 'She thinks she needs me' by Andy Griggs 
when you found someone that the song describes..you got yourself a keeper! 

Love yourself. Love others. Love God.