Getting Close.......

Two days ago we got Ben’s birth certificate.  I started panicking…just a little bit.  Not because I spelled his name wrong on his birth certificate, which was a very real paranoia for me, but because getting his birth certificate is the first step in the sequence of events that needs to happen for us to return to Sierra Leone.  Which means….we’re going to go back soon!!!  First comes the birth certificate, which allows us to get his passport, which allows us to get his visa. Throw in a set of immunizations that he needs before we go and….we’re out of here.  Y.I.K.E.S.

Every time I come home the same thing happens.  Am I REALLY called to live in Sierra Leone? I can do ministry in America too! The cultures are the same……which means people here get my hilarious jokes!! I spend a lot of time in Sierra Leone just looking like an idiot. 

So for the last two days I’ve been like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in terms of my feelings about going back.  When I think about the work going on over there, the people I love, the potential for ministry, I’ll be so excited that I can’t WAIT to get back.  The next minute I’ll think about this new little baby and be terrified to take him to a country with lots of snakes and weird diseases, but few doctors.  I’ve been away for a while now.  Our two month trip to get married has turned into almost a year and a half.  On the one hand, I can’t wait to get settled into our own house, finally unpack all the wedding gifts that I’ve been saving and really begin our new life as a family.  On the other hand, although our life for the last year has felt very UNsettled, I know that there are many ways I’ve settled in just fine.  I’ve grown used to microwaves, unlimited electricity, good roads and cool weather!  Most importantly, I’ve grown used to having my family close by and talking to them all the time. 

Such is the battle that I have every time I come home. (This extended trip and the addition of a small, fragile human has just thrown in a few extra questions). 

As I start to get myself all riled up with the uncertainty and fear that moving across the world can induce, I start to think about…..Jesus.  I remember how much He loves me.  I remember His promise that life is HARD, but that He will never leave me by myself.  I remember how much He loves my children. 

And then I think about how much He loves Sierra Leone.  Having children of my own has given me a whole new appreciation for how much our God must love His children.  How His heart breaks for the poor, for the orphans.  And now I’m sitting here bawling because I’m in awe of the fact that we get to partner with Him to love on these people.  (I’m also going to still blame some post-partum hormones.  Is there an expiration date for those?)  Needless to say, when I fix my eyes on Jesus, things like fast internet and Subway and air-conditioning, although REALLY awesome, lose some of their luster.  Especially when I remember this

And This

And this

Serving Jesus in Sierra Leone is definitely challenging!  But what an adventure!

One of the biggest hurdles we have before going back to Salone is to complete our support raising. I haven't changed my support since I originally went over 4 years ago, as a single person.  Now we're a family of 4.  I've been really blessed to be able to work while we've been in America to make up the difference, but that opportunity is rapidly coming to a close.  Peter will be taking over the position of Country Director of our organization which was a position previously held by another missionary and is unpaid.  In order to return to Sierra Leone we need to increase our support by $400 a month.  If you feel led to partner with our family and the work in Sierra Leone feel free to contact us via e-mail at pesheriff14@gmail.com or by phone at (541) 220-0737.  

I'll be honest and say that raising support is a challenging and humbling part of working in Sierra Leone.  But so many times, when I was over in Sierra Leone and it was hard and I was discouraged, knowing that there were so many people back home who were praying for me and sacrificing their own money so that the work could continue....wow.  What an encouragement!  Such a great picture of how the body of Christ each has its own part and works together to love and to serve.  So thank you SO much!