Time is Precious

I've been thinking a lot about "time" lately, and always the same cliches come to mind..."Time flies"..."Make the most of your time"..."Time is of the essence"...or my personal favorite, "Time is precious, use it wisely"  There hasn't been a moment in my life where these cliches have been more true.

The count down has started.  Its official, this is our last month here in Nigeria and I can now say that by this time next month I will be most likely at my sister's house or Erica's spending time with my little loved ones and hopefully eating a big fat bean and cheese burrito (yes, that's right...its the simple pleasures in life) 

We've got 22 days left here in Jikwoyi, Abuja, and right now I'm sitting in the darkness of the night on our back porch listening to dogs bark and the goats chomp on grass, slapping the mosquitoes from my flesh and looking up at the stars.  Its crazy to think that the stars I'm staring at right now are not the same stars that your eyes back in the States see.  The sky is so vast and so enormous and Ive been blessed to say that my eyes have seen the San Diego stars and the Nigerian stars.  How beautiful these Nigerian stars are...don't worry, they look just like every other star in the sky, but I think they might be brighter, the sky is clearer here.  Or maybe I just love them because as I sit here and dwell on where I am going to be in 23 days from now, I know a part of my heart is going to be left here under these Nigerian stars.

Time is a crazy paradox to me, we can never have enough of it and yet we waste it all the time.

At the beginning of this trip, 5 months seemed like so much time.  The plans we had and the longing to see our loved ones, 5 months seemed like a life time, but now I can honestly tell you 5 months is not enough time.  There is so much still I want to do here in Jikwoyi, there isn't enough time to see all the people I want to see and there isn't enough time to do all the ministry I long to do.  There is still so much work to be done here and I know that us being here has planted seeds and that in some crazy way we have been blessed and honored to work along side the Lord in serving the people of Abuja, but I believe the work here isn't done.
My prayer during this trip has been that I wouldn't waste a single moment and now more than ever I feel this burden to truly have my eyes and heart opened fully so that I may embrace all that God has for me here.  I want to have full confidence that our time here was used to the fullest. 

I will write again soon...at least one more time before I leave this home of mine, here in Nigeria. 
But I wanted to encourage those that are reading this, don't waste your time and go about life thinking that you have all the time in the world to do whatever you'd like.  I know its cliche, but I started the beginning of this blog with cliches and so Ill end with them as well (that my OCD) But seriously, as I sit here and think about how I wish I could stretch 22 days into years, souly because I don't want to say Good-Bye and because I know that its only by God's grace and His will that I will come back here again, I mean it when I say...don't take your time for granted. 

Where ever you are, whether in America or some far off place...its all the same.  Time is valuable and when it starts running out it creeps up on you and its gone before you know it.  Take time to enjoy where you're at where ever you are.  Smile with people, help a stranger, play with your kids...there is so much you can do with your time...its precious...USE IT WISELY!!!

Until next time...

Making Every Moment Count

I hope this entry finds all of you readers well and in good health.  As I’m sitting here trying to figure out what to share in this blog, one thought came to me that I want to share with you all…its simply a word of gratitude.  The words “Thank You” don’t even do justice for what I’m trying to convey.  I know I’m not the greatest blogger and I am by no means a writer or an intellect with some crazy great theological discussions to fascinate you, but I know that you have been faithfully reading this.  I know that I don’t know who exactly you all are, but I have faith knowing that these words aren’t falling on deaf ears or blind eyes.  So, I just want to say thank you for making me feel close to you even though I am so far away.  Thank you for taking the time out of your lives to share what’s been going on in mine. 

On to my update… We just got back from a 2-week trip to Lagos.  Lagos is about 10 hours south of Abuja and it use to be the Nations Federal Capital.  Have you ever been to New York?  If you have then Ill tell you this, Lagos is the Nigerian New York.  It’s a city packed with people in a small area and everyone is busy and going somewhere, it’s where all of the trading goes on and its jam packed with buildings stacked high.  We traveled there for our week of rest and we ended up staying at the Calvary Chapel with Pastor Kefas, a native Nigerian who has been there for a few years building up the church in Lagos.  He was so gracious to let us stay in his home, which is also the church, free of charge.  After a week of resting and going to the beach…yes, I said the beach!  It was beautiful and for a moment I forgot where I was, I thought I might be back in San Diego except for all the trash.  Anyway, after our week of rest we spent the next week helping Pastor Kefas with ministry things through out the week, mainly evangelism in the community.  We went out every day and shared Gods word with the people around the church and one day we put on a children’s event and 80 kids showed up!!  It was awesome and definitely more kids then we had even hoped for.  We sang songs, played games and shared the story of David & Goliath.  The kids loved it so much that the very next day 50 kids showed back up again at the church, we weren’t expecting that so we had to put together something pretty quickly.  But God is so faithful and we shared the story of Jesus calming the waters and I truly believe great seeds were planted in those kid’s hearts.  There was about 10 Muslim children that were present both days, so I just keep praying for Gods truth to be revealed to them all the more.  I wish we had more time to spend there and help Pastor Kefas build up his church and ministries, but God knows the timings of all things.  Keep Pastor Kefas in your prayers, that God would continue to strengthen the church in Lagos and that His word would continue to be preached with power and boldness.

Lagos is just another place in Nigeria where false doctrines of the Bible are being taught.  Nigeria is filled with churches that entice people by promising them money and prosperity, declaring that if they give to their church all their needs will be met financially and more.  It’s such a consistent lie here and the sad part is many Nigerians believe it because of the poverty they live in.  Continue to pray that Gods complete truth would be made known.  The Lord says that man cannot live on bread alone, are we a people that truly believe that? Are we the Church that believes more then anything in the power of God’s grace and do we believe that no matter what our circumstances are, God is good and faithful to bring all things to His glory?  Do we want to see God’s glory here on Earth; do we want to see His will be done?  If you say HECK YES to those questions, then PRAY for the false churches, not just here in Nigeria but all over the world.  The Word of God is not to be mocked, or taken however we choose to read it.  Pray that people would fall under God’s conviction and turn from their ways of selfishness and comfort.  Pray that the Holy Spirit would bring light and life to the word being preached.  AMEN!!

Once again I end this blog with letting you all know that our team is still in need of financial assistance.  This is our last month here and we, as a team, truly desire to make the most it.  We are planning a few children’s events for the orphanage we have been spending time at, as well as at the church we have been serving at and anything you could give would help us make these events a great success.  Please make your checks payable to SEND Ministries and in the memo write Rheanna Davis.

The address to send your support to is:

SEND MINISTRIES at 885 East Vista Way. Vista, CA 92084

Until next time, may the grace of our Lord Jesus, the love of God and the sweet fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you now and forever.  Amen!

Much Love,

Rheanna