When DID I grow up?

Life is crazy and I don't really know when I suddenly became and adult but here I find myself. I have had 2 job interviews over the phone with a school in Champaign. They just asked me to call again next week to chat with some of the teachers and get to know them. This is kind of like my 3rd interview with them and I have a really good feeling about it. I hope that I get this job but even if I don't, I know that the Lord has something for me. I can't hardly believe that I have made it to this point in my life. I have graduated from university, I am finishing up 4 1/2 months in South Africa, and I am interviewing for a real, "Big Kid" job! When did all this happen? I am in awe of how things are just progressing into normalcy as an adult. This is something I have been afraid of most of my life and here it is just happening around me. I still feel like I'm 12 most of the time but yet I am (somewhat) successfully seeming to navigate my adult life. It definitely helps that I am not the one in control and I know that but it still doesn't make too much sense most of the time. I wonder if this is how it feels for most people. One day I will wake up and find myself wrinkled and matured but I bet I will still feel like a 12 year old. But for now I guess, 23 and counting!

Thoughts...

Here are some things I have been chewing on for a while now...

I think my favorite thing about being here is just getting to sit and hear people's stories. Everyone has a story, both here and back home, and it seems that just about everyone wants someone who will listen. I love to hear about where people come from and what things have happened in their lives to bring them to where they are today. It is also really cool to be able to show people that God also has a story and how they can fit into God's story. Most people have a hard time really understanding how much God does love them and how much He wants to be a part of their story as well. However, it is really amazing to see when people finally do accept God's love for them! They are completely changed by this amazing love that none of us can fully understand!

Last week I went to an AIDS orphanage and spent the day caring for the babies. There were 2 four-month-olds there who they just found out were HIV NEGATIVE!!! This was totally amazing and these babies will probably be adopted!! Also, there was an 11-day-old who was SO precious! He won't be able to be tested for a couple of months because the babies have to be 3 months old to be tested for HIV. I spent most of the day praying that he would not have it. It was really hard to see the other children though, knowing that they will die young because of this disease that was passed to them by their parents. However, I know that my time there just caring for and loving on them will make a difference. I want them to know that God loves them more than anything and that I love them too.

There are so many thing here that are much like home. It is a big city and so much is the same. However, this is still Africa and there are still thousands dying everyday from AIDS. My heart breaks for this place and these people. Why aren't we as the body of Christ doing more for these people? Why is there so much wealth in America while little babies here are dying from preventable diseases? I just can't understand the mindset that we live under. What has gone so wrong in our hearts that we let this happen and then stand by and do virtually NOTHING to help these people? Where are Jesus' hands and feet? How can we sit by and NOT be broken by this? How can I go home in couple of months and resume my normal life while these babies are dying? How can I have been so complacent for so long?

Abiding in Him

Good Morning Friends!!

This has been another week of abiding in the the Lord's grace! We have been busy as usual but enjoying everyday.

My time at St. Vincent School for the Deaf is going well. Last week I was able to spend a good deal of time interacting with the kids. I am starting to understand more and more of what they are saying to me. This week I am going on Tuesday instead of Thursday. Please pray for Kim, the teacher I am working with. She really has a heart for seeing those kids come to know the Lord. Pray that the kids would be able to see the LOVE of Jesus in her life. Also, pray that her Bible studies with them would be fruitful and productive.

I am teaching the kindergarten class at Aurora on Wednesdays and that is going well. I am starting to know the kids a little better and they are starting to warm up to me as well. Although I spend most of the day with the youngest kids, during the break times, the older girls always ask me to tell them stories. I was able to share the Gospel with several of the grade 6 and 7 girls this week. Please pray that they would really come to understand the LOVE that Jesus has for them in a life-changing way.

Friday nights are youth nights at the church. I have really been enjoying my time with the kids and with the youth. This week we are having a big event and I am sharing my testimony. Please pray for me as I prepare for this time. Also, please pray that the Lord would be softening the hearts of the kids so they will be receptive to hearing the good news of Jesus!

Easter weekend, Amanda and I are hoping to go to Cape Town with Faslune and her family. Please pray for us as we make plans for this. We are currently pricing tickets and are hoping to find some that are within our price range. Their family is driving but there isn't room in the car for us. Please pray that we will be able to find cheap tickets.

We are continuing to meet more and more people in the apartment complex and the Lord is giving us amazing opportunities for building relationships with those people. Please keep praying for us to have boldness as we seek to share the love of Jesus with these people.

I am currently looking for jobs for August. Please pray for me as I am doing that. I want to teach where the Lord's wants me to teach.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support. Please let me know how I can be praying for you as well. I love you and miss you!

Sending my love from Africa,
Nikki Lutes

Just a Quick Note

Hello Friends!

This has been a crazy and hectic week but the Lord has been faithful in answering prayer and flexing His power! Here are a few points to pray over and I will write a more detailed post next week.

- Ministry at the school for the Deaf on Thursday
- Work with the children at the church on Friday
- Teaching the kindergarten class at Aurora on Wednesday
- Ministry within the apartment complex has started really picking up so pray that I would have time to spend with my new friends there and that they would see the love of Jesus through me.
- Please pray against the attacks of the enemy that have been bombarding our team
- Team unity
- Please pray for the relationships that are forming with the other young adults at the church
- My ATM card was lost yesterday and a new one will soon be in the mail. Please pray for it to arrive quickly.
- I am beginning to apply for jobs for the Summer and Fall. Please pray for the Lord's will in both of these things.

Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support! I love and miss you all!

Sending my love from Africa,
Nikki Lutes

The Lord is Faithful!!!

Hello Friends!!

I hope you all are doing well this week and that the Lord has revealed Himself to you in a new way! The Lord is faithful and will always keep His promises to you! This week He has shown Himself in my life to be exactly what He is, faithful! If you're up for the journey, settle in with me while I brag on the Lord!

Tuesday was a rough day for me as I woke up with a migraine and was out of commission for most of the day. That evening Amanda encouraged me to go with her to deliver some banana bread she had made to some of our neighbors. I really didn't want to do anything but lay on the couch with the lights off and the doors closed. However, I decided to go with Amanda anyway. We delivered the bread to our neighbors and then went to Faslune's house to say hello. We ended up staying for about 2 hours and chatted about spiritual matters. It was really amazing. Also, Faslune wants Amanda and I to go with her to Capetown the next time she goes to visit. That would be an amazing opportunity for us to connect with her even more!! God is SO good and faithful to open doors when we are willing to get up and walk to them!

Wednesday we went back to Aroura, the school that takes kids out of the poor townships and gives them a Christian education. We have been going there every Wednesday. When I arrived at the school, the principle of the school asked me if I would be willing to take the Kindergarten class every Wedensday while I am there. Currently, there is one teacher for both Kindergarten and first grade. Because these children do not learn English until they come to the school these children need a lot of intensive teaching and the grades really need to be split. However, becuase the school is a private non-profit school and staff is limited, there is only one teacher for both grades. Since I am a certified teacher, one day a week the littlest ones will have their own class. God is allowing me to do what I love, and giving these kids what they need!

Wednesday night I was able to share with my small group from church about what the Lord is doing. They were very excited to hear all that is going on and they were very encouraging to me as well. I was also able to really connect with one of the girls in my group. She and I have a lot on common and were able to relate to each other's struggles. God is faithful in making those connections with others that we really need!

Thursday I went back to the school for the Deaf. I was a little unsure of why I was there the first week but this week the Lord really showed me a glimps of His purpose for me there this week. I was able sit and chat with one of the teacher's aides for a while. She told me a little bit about her family and upbringing. She and I connected very well and I am excited to see what the Lord will do this week!

Thursday night, Amanda and I were invited to dinner with some of our neighbors. They seem very desperate for friends and community. We sat and chatted with them for several hours. We are hoping to be able to have them over for dinner soon and continue building these relationships.

Friday was a rough day for us. Amanda and I both felt the spiritual warfare that was going on. Please keep praying against powers and principalities of this dark age that we are fighting against. However, the Lord is good and gave us the strength to keep going!

Saturday was thee Ladies Breakfast at our church. We had a good time of fellowship with the women of the church. We also had one of the college students from the church over for lunch. Later that evening I had dinner with one of the ladies from the church and we chatted for a couple of hours. After I got home, I went over to Faslune's for a little while. Saturday was a long day but the Lord provided several opportunities to sit and chat with people who needed that encouragement.

Sunday afternoon, my small group went to visit an orphanage nearby. We toured the facilities and then played with the kids for a couple of hours. It was a great time with the kids and with my group members. For some of them, it was the first time they had ever been to an orphanage. Serving with these people was a great time of bonding on a deeper level!

This week has been full of praises moments of seeing God's greatness! Please keep praying for me and my team as we are seeking to serve the Lord. Also, please pray specifically for Micah and Justin as they have been sick for most of the week.

Your prayers and support are appreciated and powerful!

Sending my love from across the ocean,
Nikki Lutes

Week Three Begins!

I have been really bad at this whole updating thing but only having Internet once a week does put a bit of a damper on the possibilities. The past few weeks have been a crazy time of growth and learning. The Lord is teaching me so much about Himself and how I am to be more like Him. I am learning that I am a very prideful person and I really like to control things. I guess these are things I already knew about myself but being here has brought them much more to the forefront of my attention. I really am working on loving others more but sometimes I get in the way and then things fall apart. I desperately want strong community with my teammates but I feel as though I get in the way of that at times. The Lord is teaching me a little more each day about how to relate to them and love them more.

The weather here is AMAZING and I love it! It has been raining a lot here but even when it rains, it is still nice. The humidity is really low here which is so wonderful!! Last weekend we went to the Lion Park and Crocodile Farm for Stacie's birthday. That was really amazing and we got to hold animals and play with lion cubs! I was in heaven! I am loving my time in Africa even though it really doesn't feel like Africa.

Pizza!!

Evidently, the pizza places in Chicago will actually deliver to Terminal 1 at O'Hare International Airport! This is fantastic news! Since I am getting to spend my night here, at least I can get some pizza to make like a little better. It should be here any minute and I am super excited about it! Also, I got to chat will a couple of different people here who were also waiting. I love having conversations with random strangers! It totally rocks! Who says that my ministry hasn't started yet? Pah!

Another Straw

So, I guess God is serious about making me trust Him. My passport did come well before 3pm today but that is a really good thing because I left for the airport well before 3pm today. Because of impending weather, my dad decided that he was going to take me up to the airport today instead of tomorrow. So, I am currently sitting in O'Hare airport and I will be for the next 23 1/2 hours. Yay! At least I am at the airport so I know that if the plane leaves on time tomorrow, I will be on it. This is just one more straw that Satan is trying to use to make me give up and not go. However, this is also one more straw that the Lord is going to use for His glory if I let Him. I have resolved to not get upset or irritated by the situation and I hope that I can keep that resolution for the next couple of days as I continue to travel.

36 Hours to Go!

I am leaving for South Africa in about 36 hours and it is starting to feel real. After a wonderful day with friends, food, games, and some 'see ya later!'s I feel mentally and emotionally ready to go. However, I am still not finished packing and I haven't gotten my passport back yet. It is supposed to come tomorrow before 3pm and I am sure that it will but it is really cutting it close this time. My natural desire to control my environment is kicking in but I am trying hard to not let it get to me. The next 18 hours may be a struggle for me to trust that the Lord is working out all the details, but I know that He is! I believe that He is and I will keep telling myself that He is until I no longer have to believe it and the passport is in my hands. When will I ever just learn to let go and not worry about the things I know the Lord is taking care of?

Plan B

So, I found out this morning that my visa got rejected because of a mistake at the embassy. How wonderful! However, even though this sounds like a crisis situation, it is not. There is a plan B. I will get my visa at the airport instead of getting it in advance and I will just have some extra paperwork when I get there. I'm sure that paperwork will also come with a small amount of headache as well, but that is par for the course.

So often in life there is a plan B. Seldom does "no" really mean no and there are loopholes in almost every system. As Americans we are so used to finding a way to get our way that we don't accept no for an answer. We don't accept absolutes, it just isn't who we are. I for one, am glad that this is one of those circumstances. However, there are absolutes in this world and unfortunately, many people do not acknowledge these absolutes for what they are.

Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." That is an absolute that many do not accept. Even people who call themselves Christians do not always accept this absolute. They want a loophole so badly that they refuse to acknowledge the supremacy of the Lord's words. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. No one, not a single soul, can get to the Father without a saving relationship with Him. Those are hard words to hear, but hear them we must!