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Thoughts from Gigi...
Hi <<First Name>>,
Lemuel co-founder Ginger Muchmore shares her heart after her most recent visit to the Plateau:
It has been said that God’s blessings teach us to praise while the trials that He allows in our lives draw us to more intimate praying. Manis captured this idea years ago when he told the small Lemuel staff that he wanted us to pray from a praising heart.
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On February 1, I arrived on the plateau with my dad, John Beerley, and Krischelle’s mom, Jane Frost. It had been 5 months since I had last been here but 11 years for my dad. As the plane flew over the Lemuel campus, my dad’s heart soared with joy while mine fell in despair. He saw trees, houses, a church and a school while I saw evidence of a terrible drought. The trees that 5 months ago raised their leaves high in praise, now drooped in mourning for water. While my dad and I were looking at the same thing, we saw two different pictures. He saw Manis’ vision thriving while I saw it threatened. My dad raised his eyes in praise while I lowered mine in prayer.
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As we walked onto the campus, my downcast attitude changed to one of awe. In the midst of this drought, joy was resounding everywhere. The kindergarten children were singing their hearts out to the beat of a drum, the kitchen staff chatted amicably as they prepared meals for the students, the grounds crew were laughing and joking …. Joy was everywhere. Even the thirsty plants managed to push out a few little flowers in thanksgiving for the tiny bits of water that seeped into the parched ground.
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I was reminded once again what Lemuel stands for. The staff had embraced the vision that launched the ministry…share the heart of Christ in order to draw people to the person of Christ. Whether it was the cooks who cared for us so lovingly, Williamso leading the development program, Djephson doing an apprenticeship in thanks to Manis for his education, Almais and Thony in the school, or Regilien sharing his faith while planting trees, our “kids” were now adults carrying on the vision.
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The Development Staff
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Regilien (in the yellow boots) planting trees in the Lemuel garden with another staff member.
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Almais and Thony leading school chapel.
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I realized how easy it was for me to get overwhelmed by the fact that we serve our heavenly Father but daily fight the powers and principalities of the unseen world. My first reaction had been to be overwhelmed by the work of the enemy while my dad’s was to be overwhelmed with God’s faithfulness. There is so much evidence of God’s Spirit at work here … so much to praise God for. So, how had I allowed the enemy to drive me to despair? The answer is, I had forgotten that while God loves our praise, He longs for times of intimate communion with us in prayer. He allows us to experience trials so that we run to Him and on our knees, talk to the One who is our beloved Father and the only answer to the enemy’s attacks.
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While here, I have been reading the stories of women whose faithfulness to the Lord has caused them to suffer much persecution. One woman said she struggles to know if the true sadness is the evil of those who persecute or the lack of prayer and support from the church in the free world. How easy it is to dive into our day, forgetting that around the world, the cause of Christ is causing some to be persecuted, some to live on the frontlines of the battle and others to crawl through the valley of despair to claim the hope that we have in Christ.
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The area is in drought, people’s crops have failed so they are looking to Lemuel for help, the country is in political turmoil making travel impossible, the enemy is advancing in full armor…. YET, there is so much to praise God for.
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Would you please make a commitment to embrace the praise and pray from a praising heart? Cry out to God on behalf of the country, the ministry, and the exhausted warriors who press on day after day. Ask God if there is a way that you can help. Remember, these are not people living in some remote part of an island somewhere… these are our brothers and sisters.
Thank you, and may you continue to pray from a praising heart.
Ginger
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L to R: Jane, John, Gigi, Ani
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Get a tax receipt when you donate to Lemuel through Extreme Response. Designate the gift to “Lemuel Ministries.” Be sure to specify any specific projects as well.
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