So, you may be wondering why a sane mother of 3 would go to Zimbabwe... Well, I have an answer- God said. I must admit at the onset of the idea I wasn't thrilled. I saw danger, accidents, loneliness, the "unknown"... a thousand reasons not to and only 1 saying yes. So, why would I commit to such an upheaval of our lives?
It started one night last May, when Ryan came home from work and said he had found an article about a place in Zimbabwe he felt God leading him to go to, possibly that summer... maybe the next. As I tried to outwardly remain calm, I was shaking inside- Zimbabwe!... as in AFRICA!!! It felt like he would fall off the edge of the world if he went that far away. But knowing that I have a tendency to run to fear, I decided to read the article first before voicing my concerns:
http://www.imb.org/main/news/details.asp?LanguageID=1709&StoryID=9618
...and that's when it happened. As I finished reading, I told Ryan that they should have just put "And Ryan Sifford please contact us at..." as the last line of the article. It fit him like a glove, like Someone actually wrote it about him and that's when I knew- He's going to Africa. (and somewhere in the back of my head "Am I?")
Last summer, was crazy busy- it ended up working out (by God's perfect design) for him to go that August with another team from Georgia. We spent all 3 months getting him ready: which included having the exact dollar amount needed for the trip handed to him on the exact day he needed it, in the form of a bonus at work he didn't even know he was up for. The whole summer was amazing, crazy and still a little scary. It was a long 2 weeks with little communication. I tried to keep my "falling off the edge of the world" suspicions at bay while we counted down the days. We were overjoyed to pick him up at the airport 2 weeks later. It took about a week for him to adjust back to life here. Watching him the whole week I knew, his heart was still in Africa... we might all be going back. As I struggled with this fact, I realized- I wasn't struggling with God about going vs. not going... I was struggling with letting go of my life and where I thought I saw it going. In some ways, grieving the life I thought I wanted and instead choosing to pick up the life God wanted me to have. I won't lie, it was hard- but I knew the right decision. The calling became obvious to me when one Tuesday night I shared with my small group that I saw this on the horizon and I just wasn't sure I could do this. I insisted- I am not this kind of person... I don't do these kinds of crazy things! As I drove home, I turned on the radio and a sermon came on. The pastor's first words were "Jonah didn't want to go to Nineveh, but God got him there in the belly of a whale. Wouldn't you rather go to Nineveh, not in the belly of a whale, but instead getting to be a part of His purpose there, getting to praise Him in it." In that small moment it became clear to me- God is going to do this with or without me... He's going to fix that hospital whether my feet ever touch the soil there or not... He can plant seeds in Paige's life on some mission trip in college and I can miss it or I can go and get a front row seat to watch Him move in her.... God can speak to Ryan there in Sanyati, as he gets to be in his Gifts for 100% of his time, and I'll be there right next to him or He can speak to him on some WorldChangers trip and I could get to hear about parts of it the next week.... the choice was mine. I decided right then and there that I'd be a fool to say "no" and let fear rob me of all that God has planned for us.
That's not to say there aren't still scary moments or moments of feeling completely overwhelmed... there are, but God has already been moving so much in our lives and in our children's lives that I can't imagine saying "No, let's just stay here." This is our moment to really put to the test all we believe, all we've been taught, all we've taught our kids- Is God big enough? I think He is.
-Rashel
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Welcome to our blog!
Welcome to our blog.
Over the next several days we will add information about our mission to
Zimbabwe to serve at the Sanyati Baptist Hospital. We are excited about what the Lord has been
doing and that He chose to share it with us.
Please join us in our journey as we prepare to go in April 2012.
Sanyati Baptist Hospital has nearly a sixty year history of
not only health care, but also of education, evangelism and discipleship. However, the economic crisis of Zimbabwe over
the last decade has left the hospital in a place of hardship. On average the hospital sees about 35,000
outpatients, cares for 1,800 inpatients, assists in 1,800 child births, and
performs 1,000 minor surgical procedures and 240 C-sections annually. This is a very important and vital bush
hospital for the people of Zimbabwe in need of critical repair and support from
fellow believers.
The Sanyati Makeover is a five year focus to renovate the
hospital. The project is coordinate by
Peter Sierson, the Missions Pastor at Pleasant Heights Baptist Church in
Nashville, TX. The makeover project had
its first construction team arrive in May 2011.
Last year, the Lord called me to join a team from Conyers, Georgia to
experience what He is doing first hand at Sanyati.
It was an awesome experience for me and I am humbled that my Savior
chose to share it with me.
While I was there, I felt the call to come back and serve as
the onsite coordinator and to help disciple the local men. I kept that to myself because I needed
confirmation. I thought that I might
just be getting excited and running ahead of the Lord’s plan. After I returned, the call to go was
confirmed when my wife, Rashel, shared with me that she also felt we were
called to go as a family. From then on
we have been on the journey of preparation.
Sometimes it has been fun and exciting while other times it has been
overwhelming. Welcome to the journey
with us!
The entire Sifford clan, Ryan, Rashel, Paige, Katelyn, and Chloe,
will be in Zimbabwe from mid April through the end of September. We will go as independent missionaries supported
through our local church, First Baptist Church in The Colony, Texas. We have to raise our own funding. If you feel called to support our mission,
you can do so by sending a tax deductible donation with a memo “Missions –
Sifford Zimbabwe” to First Baptist Church, 4800 South Blvd., The Colony, TX
75056. Tax receipts will be mailed out
at the end of the year in January 2013.
I will close today’s post by asking you to pray for us and providing some links for more
information about the hospital and the makeover project.
- Ryan
The Sanyati Makeover Project website:
The doctor and his family African Stories:
Baptist Global Response (BGR) information about the project:
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