The joy of fellowship. . .and other fun things

These are the other 8 women that I live with. On Sunday nights, we gather together for a meal. It is a time of fellowship and fun : ) We had sloppy joes and FRENCH french fries : ) Sharon and I prepared the meal for everyone! One of the other girls made cheesecake...mmm it was good! : )

The Choices we make do have effects. . .Who are you going to serve?

This morning, as I was reading my Bible, I came across a little devotional in a KLOVE book. I am going to post the devotional here and then reply with my thoughts following the post.

CHOICES

Joshua 24:15, "Choose for yourselves."

"Our lives are like icebergs. Only 15% is visible; that's reputation. The rest, our chracter, is below the surface, hidden. Chracter is what we think but never share. It's what we do when no one's watching. It's how we react to everyday aggravations. It's how we handle failure- and success. The thing that has muade us what we are is our choices. At the end of a successful career, Joshua challenges the people of Israel: "Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve. . . But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." So the choice is yours!

French writer Francois de la Rochefoucauld asserted, "Almost all our faults are more pardonable than the methods we think up to hide them." Ever notice that people with the weakest character tend to place blame on their circumstances? They talk alot about poor upbringing, financial difficulties, the unkindness of others, or other circumstances that have made them victims. Your circumstances may be beyond your control, but your charcater is not. You can no more blame your character on your circumstances,than you can blame the mirror for your looks. Developing character is always your choice. Every time you make a character-based decision, you take another step forward in your spiritual growth. "

My thoughts:

I believe that everyday when we wake up we have the choice to do the right thing or to do the wrong thing. We have the choice to have a good day or a bad day. Yes, things that are unfortunate may come about during the day, things that we did not plan, but it is our response to those things that define our character. It is our response to unfortunate circumstances that gives a glimpse into our cores. I liked this devotional, because it really challenged me. I know that even though it isn't always easy to serve the Lord, that is the choice I am going to make. Despite whatever my circumstances are, I hope to always choose the Lord and His ways above all else. I pray that as I choose to live for the Lord daily, that those around me will be able to see a difference within me. I hope to examplify a Christ-like character. Every choice we make does have an effect, it has a result. So, my question or challenge for you and for myself today is : What choices are we going to make today? Are they going to be choices that build our characters up or tear them down? Today, as you decided who you are going to live for and decide what choices to make, I pray that you seek to build your character up in Christ!

A Day in Albertville

Although, you can't see it very well in this picture, I was sporting my Huskers shirt here- Go Big Red! : )

Here I am holding a cup of some much needed coffee!


Left: Sharon making Malian tea with some friends from the school.

Living Free in Christ

Today, I am sitting here thinking about the past few days. They have all been full of so many encouraging things, I definitely need to share them. Last week, I took a placement test and was placed in the French intermediate class. They have 4 classes here. There are 2 beginner classes, 1 intermediate, and 1 advanced. Last Friday was our first real day of classes. My teacher probably spoke about 10 words of English the entire day, the rest was in French! By the end of the day, my head hurt. I felt as though I had probably understood maybe 50-60% of what she said that day. I was thinking that learning french was going to be an intense task! On Saturday, Sharon and I decided to ride our bikes about 2 miles to McDonalds. When we arrived there, it was sprinkling. As we were preparing to leave it was raining a little bit harder, so we decided to check out the surrounding stories( there was a shoe store-Sharon's favorite- : ) and a large grocery store/mallish place) So, waiting for the rain to go away, we walked around inside- we kept waiting and waiting..and it only began to rain harder!! So, we ended up riding our bikes home in the pouring rain- I wish that we had taken a picture when we got back, because everything was SOAKING wet!! Oh well..It was fun, I guess : ) On Sunday, we went to a french church here for the first time. It was different, but not in a negative way. Afterwards, we ended up going back to McDonalds with about 10 people from the school! Class continued on Monday and Tuesday- I was quite excited, because I felt that on Monday I understood about 90% of what the teacher was saying, which was really encouraging!! It was the same on Tuesday as well. God is definitely enabling me to pick up a lot of things in a short amount of time. I am excited to see where I will be by the time December rolls around!

These last couple of nights have been some of my favorite nights thus far here. I've ended up in our community kitchen with some of the other girls here, and we've had several late night talks about life. Sharing experiences, sharing God's calling on our lives, sharing in each other's pains/troubles- it has been an amazingly, encouraging time for me! God is definitely using the other girls here to challenge me and to teach me new things! I am just so thankful that I serve the God of the Universe...He definitely has been surrounding me with His love! He is good!

Well, today is Wednesday. I do not have classes on Wednesday. Therefore, today is my catch up day. I need to work on homework for an online class back home, do some reading, study my french, and do french homework, etc etc : ) I think I am going to like Wednesday- it is a midweek break : ) Funny thing - lots of the businesses are closed in town on Wednesday- everyone takes a break...all the schools in France do not have classes on Wednesday- it is a law. Just a little bit of info for you: ) Wouldnt it be nice in the States to have a law declaring Wednesday a family/break day?? Oh, the things it would do for our country : ) Anyway, thanks for everyone keeping up with me and for your prayers..definitely seeing God at work in me and those around me!! You could be praying for this: This week I am supposed to have a meeting with the headmaster at the highschool, because Sharon and I are hoping to help in the English there- or do some sort of after-school ministry there. We would love to be able to build relationships with highschool students in hopes of leading them to the Lord!! It seems that much of the youth in Europe do not seek God- hardly any go to church or get involved in church groups..so we are praying that God will use us and the short time we are here, to make a little ripple in the water!! Please pray for this! Thanks! Merci beaucoup!(Thank you very much)

Just in case you don't know my family....

My nephew, Jordon, and IMy niece, Madison, and I

My sister-in-law, Anita, and I
My mommy!
Me and Mom
My lil' bro, Joel, and I
My sister, Christy, and I

My nephew, Ty, and I
My niece, Taylor, and I
My niece, Morgan, and I
My older brother, Jeremy, and I

The current status of my heart. . .

So, I am now sitting in ma chambre( my room) in Albertville, France. I am going to be studying at a missionary language school for atleast the next four months. Life as I know it is about to change, because I soon approach a day when I will no longer be allowed to speak English : ) I am here in France with one of my closest friends, Sharon Lane. Sharon spent 2 out of the 6 months in Africa with me. It seems that God has brought us together, because our passions are heading in the same direction. We both feel the need to learn the french language, so that we can return to Mali, West Africa and more effectively minister to the people of Africa. I arrived at my school this last Saturday night. The next morning when I woke up, I walked outside on the veranda, and the view was breathtaking! I posted some pictures already of the view, it is so beautiful here! It seems that God is definitely at work here. There are two other girls that are studying here that are also going to Mali. Four out of 9 single girls studying at this school are heading to Mali-what a small world we live in : ) Both of these girls are heading to Koutiala, which during my time in Mali, I was able to visit Koutiala and the hospital in which both of these girls will be working! My heart is so happy, because I have a passion for Mali to be reached for Christ, and well obviously others do too! God is definitely good! Everyone keeps asking what my plans are after I leave the language school- and how long I will stay in Mali- it seems as though my opportunities are endless...should I stay at this language for a year(which is the normal term)? Should I return to Mali next summer and stay for 3 months, 6 months, or 12months +? I am not really sure what I am supposed to do..but I do know that as long as I continue to trust in the Lord, He will lead me in the right direction. There are so many choices and lots of opportunities to serve, I am curious to see where I will end up! I wonder if I will serve in Africa my whole life or only for a short time? I wonder if I will serve as a single woman or if I will marry? I wonder if I will be fluent in a tribal language, or end up in a country where English is spoken? I wonder. . . Despite all of my questions, I know that for now, I am where I am supposed to be. God has lead me here, and I am anxious to see what else He has in store for me. . . time will tell!

"God does notice us and He watches over us. But it is usually through another person that He meets our needs." ~Spencer W. Kimball

MY NEW ADDRESS WHILE IN FRANCE:

HANNAH HAMPTON

C/O AFEB

50 RUE DES GALIBOUDS

73200 ALBERTVILLE, FRANCE

P.S. I love mail ;)

A little peek at the Effiel Tower