Brianna Franklin Going to Africa! - First Year Missionary

Pictures from Swaziland

Tue, 27 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Little Sato kept crying until I tied him on my back with a towel, just like his mother or grandmother does every day
This is our "gift" that I wrote about in my last blog. And don't worry I wasn't the one who did the ugly deed. I was just posing.
My best friend in Swaziland, Treasure. She is the one who had her appendix removed.
Kids at the Care Points get only two meals a day, Sour Porridge(what you see in the picture) in the morning and Pap and Beans in the afternoon.
And everyone always eats with their fingers!
Bible time at the Care Point. Katie and Erin are sharing the gospel and Zenele is Translating.
A happy little girl with her stuffed animal
Me at the hospital visiting Nhloso. He had been burned from the waist down while trying to cook himself some food.
The garbage dump in Manzini, where people gather to go through the trash everyday.
A chicken chilling all day in a purse.
A little school girl at a rural clinic.
The Vanderwals, Mrs. Vanderwal's father, their friend Grace, and myself.
Myself working in the Luke Commission Eye Clinic.

The End is Near

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

So my time in Swaziland is coming to a close here in just three short weeks. And I am having all kinds of mixed feelings about it. I will be so sad to leave this wonderful country and all the friendships I have made over the past four months. I pray that one day the Lord will bring me back to this place and these people.
But on the other hand I miss my family so much, and I am very ready to move on to the next phase in my life. College! This summer I will be working again as a counselor and lifeguard at Camp Nathanael. Then starting this fall I will begin my freshman year at Cedarville University. Majoring in nursing.

The Gift

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

In Swaziland a sign of wealth is the number of livestock you have. That includes cows, goats and chickens. For example before a man can marry a woman he has to pay a "labola" to the brides family for her hand in marriage and that is always payed in cows. And it signifies that the man is wealthy enough to support his wife.
So if you really like or respect someone you give them an animal as a gift. Sunday our team received such a gift. Our very own rooster! We had no idea what to do with it. When we got it its legs were bound and we couldn't untie it because then it would fly away, and we didn't have any chicken food to keep the bird around as a pet. So we decided there was only one thing we could do with it.
Eat It.
During our first semester in South Africa we had two pet chickens which we named Lunch and Dinner (unfortunately we were never able to eat those two pesky birds) so the fitting name for our new rooster, for the short while that he was with us, was Breakfast.
Thankfully over the weekend we had two Swazi boys stay with us and although they are only 14 and 12 they were experts in the field of killing and cooking chickens. What an experience it was to see and let me tell you I know fully understand the saying "you look like a chicken with its head cut off". I was truly fascinated by the whole ordeal. And in the end Breakfast tasted pretty good. Although I wasn't brave enough to try the feet, intestines, or eye balls as the Swazi's do.

Appendicitis

Tue, 8 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Our translator and friend who lives in our house with us is named Treasure, and over the past few weeks has had really bad headaches and stomachaches and this past weekend after several doctor visits discovered that she had appendicitis. Saturday She had it removed, But Swazi medicine is nothing at all like the States. Something that would have been a simple surgery in the US and only kept her in the hospital for maybe one night has kept Treasure in the hospital three days and in tons of pain. Our team has all been taking turns staying with her throughout this whole time and have seen the horrible care given to her from the nurses, and this at the better of the two hospitals in town!
On top of having a surgery that scared for to death, her whole body in terrible pain that makes her cry every day, and terrible nursing care, her own parents refused to visit her for the first two days after her surgery because they were afraid of being charged with a huge bill. The hospital bill is around $2000 US which is more then they would ever be able to pay. So our leaders have payed the bill, which they can't really afford either, out of their own pocket. Trusting that the Lord will provide.
I am just outraged by the whole situation, and my heart is breaking for her. Please join me in prayer for my friend Treasure. Especially that her recovery would be as fast as possible and with little pain, And that the Lord would provide the money for the surgery and her stay in the hospital. Thank you so much!

Update on the riots in Swaziland

Thu, 3 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

March 28th has come and gone and the scheduled riot did not take place. I have heard that the police force was prepared for any demonstrations so the textile workers are waiting for a time to demonstrate when the police are more lax about security. Please pray that the government will work with the workers for honest wages. Right now the workers are being paid the equivalent of $30 a week. Thank you for the prayers, notes and encouragements you are sending my way. How I appreciate the many prayers you are lifting heavenward for me and the people here. I have had the opportunity of going out to the bush twice the last two weeks with the traveling clinic. I was given the responsibility of taking blood pressures which kept me busy all day on Wednesday. It was quite tiring as I left the house at 8 am and got home again after 10:30 pm. It is hard to believe that there are only five more weeks of ministry for me in this country. I love this place, and although i miss my family, it is going to be hard to say good-bye to these wonderful people who I have come to love so much. Thank you all again for your interest, support, prayers and love that I have felt from you over the past months.

P.S. We are planning a huge carnival at one of the Care Points this Saturday with Face painting, Jumping castle, Water slide, pray for open hearts as we also hope to share the good news of Jesus Christ with these needy children.

Pray For Swaziland!

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

    So last week while I was writing my last blog, I was at an internet cafe when I heard a noise and the man behind the desk said to some one next to me that it wasn't safe outside. And I was confused I thought that the man was just joking because there has never been a time that I have not been safe in Manzini (the town we live in in Swaziland). But then another man came out of the back room with keys and locked us in the building and turned off the lights! I was so surprised and I had no idea what was going on.
    Well apparently there had been a lay-off of hundreds of factory workers who were striking because there pay was so low and some times they wouldn't even get payed for months. Since all those people weren't going to work any more there were a ton less people taking public transportation any more and many people were unhappy. So unannounced to us last Monday the nations' public transportation workers held a strike as an act of protest and solidarity. This soon was followed by a mob of angry men that were rioting.
    Thankfully It was pretty much all contained to one section of town and I was never in any real danger, but it was a very serious thing, windows got smashed, a person was getting beaten, and the riot police shot rubber bullets into mobs and several people that got badly hurt.
    The next day things were all better and the government is in negotiations with the factory workers and public transportation people and all has been calm. But things are still not over people are still
not happy and there is tension in the air. the Public transportation people have set a deadline on the negotiations and that is the 28th of March. If the people's demands haven't been met by then they will strike again and chances are it will be worse. SO PLEASE PRAY FOR SWAZILAND!!! and that all the negotiations will be done by Friday and that the people of Swaziland will be satisfied. If conditions were to deteriorate to much more we may have to leave Swaziland early and go to South Africa = (
     As far a safety is concerned do not be alarmed we are taking every precaution toward safety and we are in the hands of The Almighty God, and we find our refuge there.
Grace and Peace be yours in abundance.

1 Peter

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Several girls on my team and myself have started a Bible study on the book of 1 Peter. Along with studying it most of us have decided to memorize the whole book as we go. Memorizing two verses a day we will be able to get the whole book done by the time we get home. At the start the thought of memorizing a complete book of the Bible completely freaked me out. I was sure that I would never be able to do it, because I am horrible at memorizing scripture, but I figured I could give it a try.
We are know two weeks into it and I have the first chapter done. I LOVE IT! memorizing scripture in large chunks is the way to go. Doing this has added so much to my understanding of first Peter and has been such a blessing to me.
1 Peter is great and is packed with all kinds of Great stuff but my favorite concept so far has been the fact that Jesus Christ is yet to be revealed to us. I love the thought of it, We think that we know Him and we do have a relationship with Him but Peter talks about the hope we have for when Jesus Christ is revealed and the the glory of it. I wish I could give justice to this idea or just be able to go on about it but I do not have words for it and I am running out of time on the internet, so I will leave it to you if you wish to look into this and meditate on this idea and read 1 Peter.

Pictures!

Wed, 5 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Yeah! I was able to find some fast enternet that alows me to upload pictures! I hope you enjoy them!

This is our lovely house in Madonsa Swaziland. Were there are usually 17 of us living, but tonight some other AIM teams are coming through and there will be about 31 of us.

Saturdays are our Family Ministry days and for one of them we went out and cleared the land with Machetis and bush wakker for a new kitchen and we gave away shoes to all the kids. it was a great day and I had so much fun playing with these kids afterward.

My whole team on another Family Ministry day!

Thursday my team and I are going to South Africa for five days for a prayer retreat. Please keep us in your prayers that we would have safe travels and that this weekend would revive us as we draw closer to God and get rested up for the last two months of ministry we have left.

A New Church!

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT

I tried to load some pictures today but alas the internet is was to slow, an hour isn't even enough to load one picture = ( I suppose I may try later. So I will just update you on a few things.
I have found a great church here in Swaziland, and it was quite by mistake. But I have been going there now far a few weeks and is only a ten minute walk from our house. The Sunday school is great almost on the some level as Vicki Slone's, which in saying a lot. And the worship is REALLY good. An excellent blend of African singing with African and semi-modern worship songs. Only the sermons are found to be a bit lacking and dull, as the pastor preaches with his eyes glued to his pulpit reading his sermon. But 2 out 3 isn't bad at all!
Yesterday after Church Elisa(the girl I do my ministry with) and I had a friend of ours from the cultural market over to our house. It was an amazing afternoon. Her name is Glory and all she wanted to do was talk about the Bible and what we are learning from the Lord! She is a strong Roman Catholic Christian and she had so many questions and great insights to share with us. She has few friends because of how out spoken she is for Christ, and I fell so privileged to be able share with her and be her friend. We all left encouraged and uplifted from one another and she is going to come back next week and bring some friends. I am so excited to see our relationship her flourish. well my internet time is running short so I must me going. As Paul would say "May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you."

Update

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Thank you so much for all of your prayers. The last week and a half been so much better for me and taught me to never underestimate the prayers of HIS saints. I don't even know where to begin or what it is that is so different, But I feel, for the first time since being back in January, that I belong here and I am enjoying it. Praise the Lord!

Last Tuesday I was able to go out into the bush with the medical Missionary couple that I meet. It was amazing! They run one of the most amazing medical programs I have even seen. They go out every other day and run a medical clinic, Eye clinic, Pharmacy, HIV testing, show the Passion of the Christ, and give away free Bibles and Medicine to hundreds of people each day. And they do it all by themselves with a team of about 11 Swazi nationals that they have trained. When I went with them I was able to follow around Mrs. Vanderwall, be her assistant, work in the Pharmacy, and do HIV testing. It was a very long day and I was gone for over 13 hours, but it was perhaps one of the greatest days I've had in Africa. But alas all good things can't last forever, that is of course with the exception of our eternal salvation, I will not be able to go back out with this couple far at least another week and I still have no idea if it could be a permanent internship for me after that. Please continue to pray that that will be an option for me.

The rest of this past week and a half has been slow and very difficult for me in ministry, has the girl who I do ministry with has been down with shingles and is just now recovering. But I have been making friends with several people at the market and have even meet a few people at the Hope House (the Hospice) who we've been visiting and doing small chores for. Well I must be going soon. Thanks again for all your prayers. God Bless

Roller Coaster

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Hello friends and family.

The last two weeks have taken me on a roller coaster of emotions. Since writing my last blog I have been very confused as to the direction the Lord was leading me. The things that I wished to do had fallen though and I was very discouraged and I was seriously contemplating weather this was where the Lord wanted me, or if I would be better off back home in the States where I could get a job and prepare for college. But then something would happen and I would feel a little more optimistic about what the Lord had for me here as a new internship possibility opened up about working at a clinic, which is just what I was looking for and was better than the first door that the Lord closed on me. Only a day later I discovered that the spot at the clinic had just been taken the day before. And I was back to my thoughts on going home. So the ride continues and after a few days I meet with lady who prayed with me and really encouraged me to stick it out and told me of another clinic in town where she thought I might me able to volunteer. And so I was going to give it another try when I found out that I girl from the other FYM team here in Swaziland who was also interested in the same stuff as I am had just gotten a call from the very same clinic and was going to be working there. Once again I plummeted from the rising hopes of finding an internship that is in some way connected to the medical field where I wish so badly to serve. This now brings me up to only the last few days were again things are beginning to formulate again there is a Hospice in town where I might be able to help out at, and only yesterday at a new Church that we have been going to did I meet a missionary couple who run a huge traveling clinic out in the rural areas of Swaziland. They said that they would love for me to come along with them and their team and I got their numbers so that we could talk more about it. This could be such an amazing opportunity! But I feel my anticipation rising. Could I handle it if this falls though?

I am trying to be brave and stick it out but after being here only two and a half weeks and having my plans and hopes dashed so many times I truthfully am about ready to quit. Yet God has called me here to Swaziland. This whole past year has been a picture of how God has provided for me and brought me to this place, but I don't understand where He has gone just now. I can't see Him very clearly. Why has it seemed as if God has stopped providing for me in the middle of my trip? I am so confused. Is He trying to teach me patient endurance; will I have to do what I do not enjoy doing. Have I stopped relying on Him the way I ought to; is He trying to bring me back to a place of total reliance on Him. Or is my time in Africa up, has the purpose of this trip already been accomplished. Do I need to go home to prepare for college and get a job or is it just my "flesh" that desires to take the easy road out and go home? I have so many questions and no answers.

Please pray that my roller coaster ride stops here, and that these new opportunities would not fall through. Pray that the missionaries I meet will take me on and that I would me useful to them in their work and be a blessing to them. And pray that I would continue to dig in deep in search of all that God has for me, and grow in His knowledge and understanding.

P.S. Please do not think horrible for me here, some times I can not help the mood I portray in my writing. This past week at the Hospital I meet two great women and was able get to know them very well and pray with them and encourage them as they encouraged me.

In the Dark

Sat, 26 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Hello everyone! So I have survived my first week back in Swaziland, and what a long week it was. Last Saturday we arived here and settled into our new house. I was able to unpack a little bit and that was nice but I am still living out of my suitcases. And WE HAVE MANGOS TREES IN OUR FRONT YARD! I must confess that my diet this week has mainly consisted of Mangos. I would post a picture of our house but Swazi enternet is agonizingly slow and I don't believe I could acomplish the task.

As far as finding a ministry internship for the next four months, I am still quite in the dark. More so now then when I first got here. This week I have been to several different Care Points exploring the different opportunities there and I've also been to the hospital twice. My original hopes of doing basic healthcare at the Care points seems to be falling through and I am feeling inadiquet for other internships available to me. Please Pray that the Lord will soon open doors for a ministry internship that I would enjoy and be affective in. Also pray against discouragement and homesickness as I am trying to discover God's will for me here.

MY NEW ADDRESS

Sat, 26 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

MY Swaziland address is

Brianna Franklin C/O Julie Anderson

POBox 5526 Mbabane

Swaziland, Africa

Please don't send any packages they take months to come. letters and padded envolopes can make it in about two weeks!

Back 2 Africa

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Wow! I'm heading back to Africa after a whirlwind 3 week stay with my family and friends. It's gone by too quickly and it's time to head back whether I'm ready or not. I think I'm ready, but it's hard to leave everything I have and love here. (Maybe a little taste of what it was like for Jesus to come to earth as a baby) I'm excited, yet nervous, about my new ministry in Swaziland. I'm excited because the plan is for me to do hands on care for young kids who come to the Care Points around where we are living in Swaziland. These are kids that have no one to care for them in the daytime, either they are orphaned and/or can't afford school or food! My ministry is to show God's love for them by caring for their physical needs by teaching them hygiene and helping them with minor ailments like skin lice, worms, rashes, cuts etc.. I'm nervous because I'm not sure how everything will come together for this ministry to actually happen. Pray that the details for doing this will come together! I'm writing this at the Lexington airport and will board my first flight in a few minutes so you can pray for safety as I travel over the next 30 hours. Thank you all for your prayers and support!

Christmas at Home!

Thu, 3 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Merry Christmas everyone and a happy New Year!

I know this is a terribly belated Christmas greeting and I am even late on the new year thing, but I have just been delighted being home and with my family. I've loathed the idea of being online for more than five minutes, let alone writing!
Before some of you start thinking that I quit my missions trip early and will not be returning to Africa, let me inform you that with AIM we are given a four week break over the Christmas holiday to come home. So I have been back in Kentucky for the last few weeks and will be returning to Swaziland on the 14th of January.
It has been so wonderful being home with my whole family. We had a great Christmas and my Grandparents and Uncle came down to celebrate. I was able to be a part of my church's Christmas program in which I was a Wise Man in our live "Walk through Bethlehem". I've played lots of football and volleyball with my brothers and sisters and friends and even played out in our first snow of the year.

Back to Swaziland!

Fri, 14 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Hello again! I think some of you might have thought I had fallen off the face of the earth, and I am so sorry I have not written in over a month! So let me go back and quickly recap on the last month and half's occurrences.

Shortly after writing my last two blogs, my team and I were divided up into two different teams according to where we felt the Lord leading us to do ministry for the second semester, whether in Kenya or Swaziland. As for myself I am going to Swaziland for the next semester! After our new Swazi team was formed, the fifteen of us all went down to spend the next two weeks there getting familiar with the ministries, people, and culture.

We lived out in the bush for those two weeks on a little homestead with cows, chickens, ands goats running rampant, poop everywhere, outhouses, bucket baths, no running water, and little electricity. Those were great times! during those two weeks we learned how to catch baby chicks, sweep the ground with a branch, travel using public transportation, learn a few words in SiSwati, and make new friends with the people we are going to be working with in the coming months.

As for my ministry internship for the last for months I am not sure as to what exactly it will look like but I will go ahead and tell you what the plan is.

In Swaziland a great majority of the children are orphans but there are no orphanages. Because of the family value of the Swazi culture, when a child's parents die relatives and neighbors will take the child or children in. Most of these homes and many others don't have money to feed all the children living under there roof. So many different organizations have come into Swaziland and set up Care Points, which are central locations in many communities where kids can come and get a meal of porridge before school and pap(white, bland corn substance) and beans after school. The younger children who are either to young or to poor for school will stay at these Care Points and learn their colors shapes and numbers in English.

AIM has set up eight different Care Points in which I wish to in charge of the health care of all the little children, which includes teaching the children about general hygiene like washing their hands and blowing their noses, giving them medicine for worms and skin lice, and giving them baths.

Compassion

Fri, 2 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Great things are happening in the ministries here in South Africa. In the slums great friendships have been formed, fellow Christians are being discipled and encouraged in there faith, and the gospel is being shared with people who are hungry for the Truth. Two weeks ago we were able to gain admittance into a nearby hospital, which is very exciting.

For the past two weeks I have gone to the hospital. My first day there my friend, Abby and I found the children's cancer ward and made friends with three little girls. Abby had brought crayons and paper and we had a fun time coloring and getting to know them. While we were there a nurse and a doctor walked though the hall talking about each patient. When they came to one of the girls named Cebisile the nurse was saying that they didn't know what was wrong with her but she had a lump on her leg and couldn't put any pressure on that foot. Then the nurse said they didn't know who the girl's guardian was and all they had was an address they didn't know if it was any good.

My heart sunk when I heard that. Can you imagine being 10 years old, sick with cancer, and all alone in a hospital with no one to love and comfort you? I can not even begin to fathom it. I later discovered that this is not a rare story, there are many children in ward 8 that have been dropped off and left for dead by there parents.

So many of these people and children go through incredible amounts of abuse and pain that it is surreal and just to hard for me to comprehend. I don't feel what I ought to feel for these people and I don't know why. I want to be on the floor sobbing for the hurt and pain that they feel. Please pray that God would give me an over whelming love for Himself and from that love would flow a Christ-like compassion that would break my heart for these people.

Halloween

Fri, 2 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Season's Greetings

Oh how I miss the bright fall colors and chilly autumn air!

Here on the other side of the world we are going through the opposite season. It is spring time right now. There are many thunderstorms and everything is turning green after a long dry season.

In light of the Halloween holidays I have been thinking about how when I first got to Africa I thought that I would only see a witch doctor if I went deep into the bush to some uncivilized tribe. But to my surprise I discovered that witch doctors are very prevalent in both South Africa and Swaziland. They are called Sangomas and there are several in each of the slums that we work in. The Sangomas practice ancestor worship and sacrifices. The Devil has a huge strong hold in this area. Many people believe in the power of the Sangoma and go to him or her for blessings and healing. Sadly many evil things happen during Halloween even to the extent of child sacrifice. So this Halloween we decided to dedicate the ay to the Lord. We all dressed up as Bible characters, played games, eat great food, shot off fireworks, and ended the night with an incredible time of prayer and worship!

Martha

Fri, 26 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Hey Guys! sorry I forgot to write this earlier but Martha is all better! Praise the Lord. She recuperated about two or three weeks ago. I am so sorry I did not inform all of you sooner. Thank you so much for your prayers!

I will be writing more this week. Love you All.

My Life in Africa!

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Dear Friends

Thank you so much for all prayers and encouragements. I am so sorry that I have not had much time to write on my blog but now I will tell you more about what I have been doing over the past 5 weeks. The first week was training camp in Gainsville, Georgia where I met all 35some of my present teammates-who by the way are amazing! That first week was filled with ministry seminars and team builders as we all struggled to learn each others names and where everyone was from.

After that we were off to Africa but before we could get to our final destination there were 2 days of travel of ahead of us, which was mainly comprised of a 9 hour flight to Germany, a 14 hour layover, and another 10 hour flight from Germany to South Africa. That may of been the longest 2 days ever but nevertheless it was exciting because we were in Europe and on our way to Africa.

Now before I tell you about what we have been doing in Africa, I want to explain a little about how this is all working. This first semester is called The Awakening. It is a time of intense discipleship and spiritual growth, as we are taught, challenged, and prepared for the ministries we will be involved in. IN the morning we have sessions with a different emphasis every week. We have been learning about; the importance of living a life of complete surrender to God; discovering our identity in Christ; Spiritual Warfare; and the Spiritual Disciplines. In the coming weeks our focus is going to shift to learning to study and teach the Bible.

After our morning sessions we go out into the slums and an orphanage to do ministry. In the slums our ministry is doing street evangelism but it is more on a relationship level and many bible studies have lately arisen from the friendships that are being built. We also are involved in children's programs, playing with street kids, and working in kreshes (African word for daycares).

In 2 weeks we will be dividing into 3 smaller teams. The teams for the second semester will be going to either Kenya, Swaziland, or staying here in South Africa. At that time we will be more seperated and do ministry as a team until Christmas break.

I hope you found this at least a little bit helpful in explaining what has been happening here in a more overall sense. Next week I will try and write in a more personal (what's happening with me sort of way). Again thank you so much for your prayers they are very coveted!

With much love and by His grace,

Brianna

ps- If you wish to put a smile on my face getting mail is a very exciting thing and it only takes about 2 weeks for the mail to arrive and once I have your address I will write you a postcard back!

Swaziland

Fri, 5 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Hey everyone! I am in the Kingdom of Swaziland! And I love it I was even given a Swazi name. It is Celuthando, But you say it with a click at the beginning, and it means "Ask for Love"

This country is about the size of New Jersey, and has the highest AIDS population in the World. It is estimated that About 65% of the Kingdom is infected with this disease and if things don't chance arourd here the Swazi people will have all die out by 2052. So the need is SOOOOO great for these people to know the truth!

For two days this week I was able to visit the hospital in town. My heart was breaking for the women I saw in the one ward. All I could do was hold there hand and pray. My heart hurting for these people.

One Monday our time is up in Swaziland and we will go back to South Africa. and hopefully there I will have more time to write and tell you all about what I am doing here in Africa. Rest assure I am well and and learning so much about our awesome Lord and savior. God Bless!

P.S. A really good friend of mine from our team hear in Africa got sick two days ago and is know in the hospital here in Swaziland. Her name is Martha and I ask that you will pray for her that the Lord will heal her, or if it is His will that the doctors here will be able discover what is wrong with her and be able to give her the right medication for a speedy recovery.

New Address and Stuff

Tue, 11 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Hey everyone I am flying to South Africa a week from tomorrow. And I will be able to receive mail and or packages! So I know you will want to know my new address. So while I am in Johannesburg South Africa it will be

Brianna Franklin
AIM Johannesburg
PO Box 1284
Ifafi, South Africa 0260

The next couple of days will be hard for me as I will be leaving my family and starting this new adventure. So I ask that you would please keep me in your prayers. I have a feeling that this next week will be a little overwhelming, I pray that I would find my strength in the Lord and not lean on my own understanding. This year I strive to know God more deeply in all his awesome power and Love. I also ask that you pray for unity for our team and the impact that we may have for His kingdom.

Only By His Grace,
Brianna

God is Good

Thu, 6 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

All FYM-ers, myself included, will be leaving for Georgia in 6 days for a week of training before those of us headed for Africa depart on the 19th of Sept.! As the time at home draws to an end I find my nerves and excitement rising and the task of concentrating on anything becomes increasingly difficult. It will be a miracle if I can remember to pack at least half the stuff I need.
   For many months I have considered the date of September 12th to be the beginning of my missions trip, but in the last couple of weeks I have realized that this trip actually began March 9th. The day I got accepted to this program. Through Blessings and trials the Lord has been leading all the way.
One of the latest tests that God has brought me through was due to my procrastination and inexperience with paper work. The dead line for all paper work was graciously pushed back to the tenth of last month. I thought I would just make the dead line when I sent in all my stuff on the sixth. The thought of making copies of all those papers never occurred to me until is was about two weeks later and AIM had not yet received any of my paper work! I was freaking out. I was on vacation and had no way getting some of those papers refilled out any time soon. After a few days I calmed down and realized that I needed to put this in the Lords hands. Soon afterwards my package did arrive at the AIM headquarters, a real example of the term "snail mail".
    Lastly I want to share with you a way in which the Lord has taught me a lesson through one of his countless blessings on me. The Lord has abundantly blessed me in the financial area of my mission trip. Within four months from sending out support letters all of the money has come in through many generous gifts. Praise the Lord! So several weeks ago I was explaining this to Miss Eva, an elderly lady in our church, and I told her
    "God is so good! He brought in all the money for my trip so quickly" and she replied
    "God would have been good even if he hadn't have brought it in." The truth of that statement struck my heart and a silent tear rolled down my cheek. I realized just how ignorant I was in making such a statement and opened my eyes to how truly blessed I am, for a sinner such as I is truly undeserving and yet God is good!

Camp Nathanael

Tue, 31 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Camp Nathanael!!!!!

        The past seven weeks I spent at Camp Nathanael. It is a small camp in southeastern Kentucky, run by Scripture Memory Mountain Mission where my parents work. This summer I worked as a counselor, lifeguard, assistant recreation director, and team leadings. I have been so blessed by all that has happened is summer. God has worked in my life and in the campers lives as well. To be honest, I began the summer feeling quite inadequate to be a counselor, responsible for the spiritual welfare of so many young girls. The thought of being asked questions to which I would not know the answers, terrified me. I simply prayed that God would use me and be the strength I knew I lacked. God more than answered that prayer and felt that God used me inspite of myself.
        The theme verse for the entire summer was Matthew 5:16 which read, Let your light so shine before man so that they may see your good works and glorify your father in Heaven. We emphasized the importance of shining brightly for God every moment of every day and to make the kinds of decisions that glorify God. This is so hard to do especially for young people who are faced with so many temptations at school and home. The girls in my cabin could relate with the various individuals from our daily dramas which depicted many so-called Christians making poor choices and dishonoring God in the process. One of the high-lights of the summer was one night after our cabins camp fire. I was given the opportunity to talk with seven of my girls about serious issues they were dealing with. All of them wanted to rededicate their lives to Christ and be assured of their salvation. Each of the girls took a turn to pray and by the time we were finished we were all crying. I was touched by the sincerity of their prayers and their true desire to live changed lives.
        I was also blessed with many new friendships formed with the great staffers that God provided for camp. I had many great talks with great Christian girls who challenged me in my faith. I look forward with nervous anticipation to having more wonderful friendships with the many who are going to Africa with me in the near future.

COSTA RICA!

Sun, 10 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Eighteen years ago I was born in San Antonio de Belin, Costa Rica. My Grandma, two Uncles and thirteen cousins still live there. So after over a year of saving all we earned three and a half weeks ago, my sister Alanna and I went to Costa Rica! It was amazing and brought back so many sweet memories.
This time of year in Costa Rica is rainy season and mango season. So it would rain every afternoon, and every day I would go out with my little tree loving monkey cousin Linea and pick several mangoes, My favorite fruit. It was an amazing trip. We were able to be there and celebrate my Grandmas birthday, we baked, swam, played in the rain, played indoor soccer, went to the beach, snorkeled, got sunburn, ate the most delicious Costa Rican food, played with cousins, went on a picnic in the mountains, saw a tarantula and toucan, went to the mall, made a puzzle, watched Jeopardy, and played in the mud!

Simply Significant

Sun, 10 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT

While I was in Costa Rica my wonderful Grandma started a devotional book with my sister and I called "The Discipline of Surrender." We learned about the different symbols that God uses in the Bible and what they are meant to teach us. It was an excellent study and we learned about the significance of the unadorned alter, the shepherd's staff, manna, Gideon's trumpet, the thorn in the flesh, the donkeys colt, and several others. I learned that God uses the common and insignificant things to portray His power and teach us a lesson. It also helped me see the need to take a deeper look into the Bible and not to take anything for its face value. I had never really realized the huge significance of a simple shepherds staff in the hands of an almighty God. Now in my own devotion time I have begun to look deeper into the importance and meaning of the humble objects God uses to teach us lessons.

True Joy in God

Sun, 10 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT

In 1731, Jonathan Edwards said this in a sermon, please read it slowly and think on the immense joy and goodness that we have in fellowship with God.

"The redeemed have all their objective good in God. God Himself is the great good which they are brought to the possession and enjoyment of by redemption. He is the highest good, and the sum of all that good which Christ purchased. God is the inheritance of the saints; he is the portion of their souls. God is their wealth and treasure, their food, their life, their dwelling place, their ornament and diadem,and their everlasting honor and glory. They have none in heaven but God; he is the great good which the redeemed are received to at death, and which they are to rise to at the end of the world. The Lord God, he is the light of the heavenly Jerusalem; and is the "river of the water of life" that runs, and the tree of life that grows,"in the midst of the paradise of God." The glorious excellencies and beauty of God will be what will forever entertain the minds of the saints , and the love of God will be their everlasting feast. The redeemed will indeed enjoy other things; they will enjoy the angels, and will enjoy one another; but that which they shall enjoy in the angels, or each other, or in anything else whatsoever, that will yield them delight and happiness, will be what will be seen of God in them."

Graduation

Tue, 15 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Hey guys, it's been a while since I've written last. I'm sorry about that so let me fill you in on some of the stuff that's been happenin around these parts.
First of all let me start with school. I know this might sound just a bit strange, but as of May 11, 2007 I both graduated form high school and finished my first full year of college. What a great day that was! If you wish to know more about that scenario just ask, and I might perhaps write about that in my next blog. Anyhow graduation all went great, except for my emotions. I hadn't had much sleep the week before because of a terribly hard Anatomy and Physiology final, and I cry easily enough as it is. And being one of two graduates at a very small Christian school, I was asked to give a speech/testimony. Needless to say it was horrible, I blubbered my way through the whole thing, which was only like 2 minutes because that's as long as I could see out of my eyes. After that anything and everything else made me cry. But it must not have been to to bad because after the ceremony a very special man came up to me and gave me a rose and a thousand dollar check for my missions trip. Well I think I am going to stop now before I start to cry again just thinking about Gods goodness.

Facebook

Tue, 15 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

To all you AIM'ers out there that are going to Africa I really want to get to know all of you guys, but I have a crazy busy summer ahead of me working at a camp. I am going to try as hard as possible to read as many blogs as a can. I am a huge fan of facebook, and I think that facebook would be a great way for us to get to know each other. So if you have a facebook look me up under Brianna Franklin Network: KCTCS , and leave me a message telling me that your with AIM going to Africa. We could even set up a "Going to Africa" Group. Please let me know what y'all think about this idea.

Humbled

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Update Alerts

Thank you so much for all of your support so far. I have been so encouraged by all of you and have already seen God's hand working in miraculous ways as He is providing for and teaching me already. As I stated in my support letter, before I leave for Africa I must have 60% of my support already in. I must admit that I was a bit nervous about how all this was going to work out. I didn't know when support would start coming in; I wondered if I would only get one time gifts; would I have enough; if most of the support would come in as monthly gifts; and if I would meet the 60% deadline in time. All I could do was pray, trust, and wait.
I am sitting here stunned and overwhelmed at the way the Lord is providing for me. About a month after sending out my first letter I have about 50% of my support already in! God is so good to me, but why? I don't understand. This week I have been so concerned and distracted with all that is going on around me that I have lost focus on God, and yet he is still right next to me showering be with blessings; blessings that I don't deserve, blessing that most of the time I don't even notice. I have been humbled. I am before the throne of God praising Him for His goodness. But how can I stay in the Lords presence? For I know I'm prone to wander. Next week will I again lose sight of God? I pray not, but that the Lord would shackle me in his presence.