“Hi there. I am glad you found me. I’m not as easy to find as I used to be. I know the Guinean Forests aren’t an easy place to get around. Trust me, I know. Living in trees when the trees disappear because of deforestation is hard. Luckily, my family and I are in a protected area now but I worry too much damage has been done. Did you know at one time we were considered extinct? Then someone found a few of us that remained and here we are.”
“What’s that? You like my fur. Thank you, but unfortunately so did many humans. That is another reason why we are almost extinct. People hunt us for our unique red belly and white front legs. I am hoping we can make a come back and be removed off the endangered species list.”
“Oh my dear, don’t cry. I feel more sorry for the female humans than I do for us. We are animals, but you are humans. I have seen some bad things from up in my tree. Things I would never want done to any of my species. I have also seen hope and grace.”
“I have seen young girls sell themselves to make money. I have seen women kidnapped and forced to marry men they don’t know. I have seen children born into the most terrible situations. I have seen many women crying and at the edge of desperation. They don’t know what I know but I am going to tell you. It’s something that has been told for thousands of years but not all are allowed to hear it.”
“How did I hear of this great news? One day I was foraging for fruit and this woman saw me. She said hello and I said hello back. She said her name was Missy and she was from this place called The United States. I told her my name is Adewemimo, which means the crown washed me clean. Missy said that was a beautiful name and started to tell me about this man named Jesus.”
“I wasn’t for sure I wanted to know since it was about a man and the only thing I knew about man was no good. They nearly killed all my kind and I have seen how they treat human women as possessions but I listened anyway.”
“This man wasn’t like any man I had known. Missy told me how compassionate and loving this man was. How much he loved me and everyone, especially you. She told me how gentle he was and how he died for us. His death covered our sins, washed them white as snow. ”
“Hey, I told her that’s like my name. The crown washed me clean. I really liked that.”
“I asked her why she was here in Nigeria. She told me about this place her and her husband, John, started called Grace Gardens.”
“At Grace Gardens the women are taught about God’s love and how valued they are. They are taught that they are not worthless and that they are loved so much by God. They are taught how God sent his son Jesus to die for us. That he forgives us for all our mistakes and sins and that they are not their past. They are treasured and are the daughter of the King.”
(image credit David Bowman)
“I was mesmerized. I wanted to know more about this man. He was not like any other man I had known. Missy would visit me often and tell me more. When she wasn’t with me I would go to Grace Gardens and check it out myself. I was amazed at the difference in these women’s lives. The women I saw not too long ago in despair were now smiling and laughing. They were learning how to read and write and were being taught vocational skills. They were given advice and prayed for.”
“Unfortunately, not all women stay. Some leave because they do not think they can overcome the way they live. They can’t comprehend how much Jesus loves them.”
“Their situation, like mine and many other animals like us that are endangered , can be changed. Mine can be changed if people stop hunting us and see the value we have to the environment. If they give us a chance to live, we can rebound our population.”
“The women’s lives can be changed If they can learn about Jesus and believe in Jesus and his love for them and that they are a daughter of the King. If they give Jesus a chance and welcome him into their hearts they can see how valuable they are.”
“They can not do that if there are not people like Missy and John and their children that share the love of Jesus with these women. Missionaries are needed around the world. They need your help.”
“Will you help me spread the word about these women who are in need of God’s love? There are women like this all over the world, not just here in Nigeria. Will you help donate to Grace Gardens so they can purchase a bigger safe house for women to stay. The need is great and they want to accept everyone that comes to them.”
“Thank you for visiting me. Thank you for helping and remember God loves you.”
If any of you are in the transportation industry like I am, you will know the last three weeks have been nuts. I am an operations manager and there is not one person I know in my chosen field of work that likes the holidays. Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas and what it means and all that but it is heck at work.
First off, many, or should I say most drivers, want home. Many, or should I say ALL, customers have more product they need you to move to their destinations. You can’t force drivers to work or they quit so you tell the customers no, you just don’t have the drivers to help so they yell at you. You have calls and emails from people you have not heard from all year asking if you can help. Those are easy to handle, no we don’t, thanks for calling.
Secondly, you have weather. Snowstorms that delay trucks which means they don’t get unloaded and can’t pick up their next load. More unhappy customers. Add the bitter cold we have had for last two weeks which are heck on the trucks. One day last week we had 10% of our trucks in shops because they wouldn’t start, or all the alarms were going off telling drivers to stop immediately.
Thirdly, you have drivers that tell you yes, I will be back to work on Tuesday after Christmas so you tell customers you have trucks for them then the drivers disappear. More unhappy customers. Some of the drivers will show up Wednesday, others won’t answer the phone until January. Of course with the national driver shortage and the government forcing electronic logs, which forces drivers to drive when they are tired, which is another story, there is not much we can do to reprimand the drivers. They will just quit and go work for someone else.
Of course, those same drivers will be the ones complaining this week that they don’t have a paycheck or they are going to quit unless we get their miles up. Seriously, you just disappeared for a week and want me to jump through hoops for you? But, it’s what we have to do in this industry to make everyone as happy as we can.
And by nature, I am not a people pleasing person. I am a get the job done person while trying to meet the needs of customers and drivers. Not everyone is happy, but I do my best.
So basically I disappeared from the social media world and just took time to decompress. Come home and veg.
Friday was the first day I felt normal. Well, as normal as I think of normal because I am not normal.
With all that being said, I think life is back to being life and maybe now I can start to read posts and write again.
It was a day for rejoicing and it was a day for sadness. It was a day the angels knew was coming but it was also a day they did not want to come. It was Christmas Day and it was Jesus’s first day on earth which means it was also the angels first day without Jesus in Heaven.
How did it come to this? The humans were given chance after chance to change their ways. There were warnings. The angels visited many humans to tell them what was going to happen. Deep down, the angels knew it was wishful thinking. They knew God’s plan to save the world was in action but still…. In the end they all knew they had to accept God’s will.
The angels had many questions. How long will Jesus be gone? Will the humans listen to him? Will the humans see all the miracles he would perform and still not believe? Will the humans change their evil ways? What would the angels do without him?
Many of the same questions the humans would have many years later when Jesus would leave earth to return to Heaven.
The angels still had a job to do. They went and they spread the good news of Jesus’s birth. They told the shepherds and they told the kings. They told the carpenters and they told the goldsmith. They spread the good news from the lowest valley to the highest mountain.
But yet, on that first day without Jesus in Heaven, they wept. Jesus was missed but they knew he would return. Yes, Jesus would return and they would anxiously await.
I was trying to get another post ready bu today for Christmas but been busy and could not finish it. Maybe I can finish it tonight and do a very rare Saturday/weekend post, but if not, this will be the last one before Christmas. Merry Christmas and I pray you have safe travels if you are out and about.
I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God and my lord and savior. I believe that Mary was a virgin who gave birth to the savior of the world. I believe that Jesus was born in a little town called Bethlehem. I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sins. I believe that He rose on the third day. I believe that Jesus will come back again.
I believe that Jesus is the light in this dark world. I believe in God the Father. I believe in the Holy Spirit. I believe You are three in one. I believe that You are love.
I believe in You. I believe in You. I believe in You.
“LET HER GO, GIVE HER TO ME”
“You are never alone,” the voice said
My God, My Music, My Life 