"…But a Faithful Man Who Can Find?" Proverbs 20:6b

We have been a part of three Missions Conferences in the past couple of weeks. One thing that stuck out to me and each church was those who have been Faithful. Over the 23 years we have been in Missions those who have stayed the course through all the bumps and bruises. One lady remembered when we first came to her church, she said, we were such an encouragement to her. I said, seeing you here today 20 years later THAT is an encouragement to me. I remember our kids looking up to some of the Pastor's kids and them taking our kids under their wings for the week. I saw my son do that this past week to the Pastor's sons children. To watch people's families grow and blossom in the church over the years is so rewarding. Most people don't get to visit the many different churches we are in. The relationships we have acquired. Sometimes I don't like traveling, it gets weary, but THEN, encouragement comes. I think back to the time we met those families, the dinners in homes, the friendship acquired and then the traveling doesn't seem so inconvenient. How soon we forget. Like the children of Israel. They forgot all what the Lord has done for them. You just crossed the Red Sea, Hello? We are just like that, we forget the blessing of God in our lives. I wish I had a picture for everyone whose crossed our path over the years. My photo album who be busting at the seams. 

On another note: I am super excited. It took us over 13 weeks, but we finished Discipleship.  We had Christmas/New Year and a day of not feeling so good, but we made it. I have enjoyed going over the book "Continue" by Paul Chapel. I have seen her grow as she learns more about Christ and her faith. Her and her husband were invited to "Friend Day" by someone in our church, maybe two years ago, they came, got saved and baptized. We were in Africa at this time but soon came home on a short furlough and met them, and we became friends. We then went back to Africa and now a year later they are still in church and growing. She asked me if I would do a Bible Study with her and we got together once a week and went through discipleship.

My husband was invited to be the speaker at a Winter Banquet. It was a nice time with one of our supporting churches. Thank You for having us. 

We Were On the Front Lines, Now We Feel We Are On the Sidelines

It's been a little over a year ago that I updated my blog. A lot has happened in the past year. Let me start with we finished the building in Ghana, W. Africa. The church is established and has their national pastor. We felt it was time to come back to the states and seek what the Lord has for us next. We completed our missionary work in Ghana. We worked ourselves out of a job. When we first went to Ghana, we faced a lot of unknowns, but we knew God was leading us. We spent 19 years on the field, 23 total in missions. That's a long time. That's practically my kids lifetime. The Lord has allowed us to come home and we are facing a lot of unknowns, but the Lord is guiding us once again. We are taking one step at a time and He shows us a little more. 

I was excited to come back home. Get settled, set up house, do ministry. We are home, I have set up house and we are doing ministry, but settled? Not yet! It was VERY hard when we first came back home. Very hard. Where do we fit? What are we going to do? Where will we go? We were on the front lines in ministry, now we feel like we are on the sidelines. God continued to guide us. As we went to some of our supporting churches we were encouraged. People were behind us, praying for us. I learned we weren't the only ones who has faced this transition in ministry. Over and over again, I heard Pastor's tell their story. Fellow missionaries tell their story. I was encouraged they have gone through the same things and the Lord guided them. 

September 24, 2022, my dad died. He had heart surgery a year ago and since then suffered mini strokes. Also the beginning of dementia due to the strokes. I talked with him before his heart surgery a year ago. I asked him if he trusted Christ as his Savior. He said, "I did that as a little child, but I didn't believe it much then and I don't believe it much now." He kept putting off his heart surgery and we had to go back to Africa. He finally had his heart surgery a month later, I believe it was November 2021. Fast forward to September 2022. My dad was in kidney failure and I went to see him. I asked him again about his salvation. He again, told me what he told me before. I got to talk to him for a few hours. He drank an Ensure, some coke, ate a few Cheerio's. Then he got tired and was quietly laying there. I said my goodbyes and left. The next day he was unresponsive. The following day he went into eternity. According to his testimony, I believe he died and went to Hell. I hope I am mistaken. I hope I will be pleasantly surprised when I get to heaven.

On October 31, 2022, my mother-in-law also went out into eternity. It was sudden. She was out cutting her grass and we believe her heart stopped. We know for sure she is in heaven. We are saddened she is no longer with us. We know for sure we will see her again. Her testimony continues through her children and many many grandchildren and great grandchildren. Pray for Mack's dad, they were married for 65 years, 2 months shy of 66 years. She was a testimony to me over the years as a mother, wife and in her faith.

Macks mom and dad and our children

It was during her funeral the Lord showed us our next step. God used this circumstance to get people where they needed to be and things were confirmed that week. (I will share more on this later)

Just wanted to give an update. I could give more but I think that is all for now. 

Please continue to keep us in your prayers. 

TRUST

 I am not good at regularly typing my blog. I think there has been a change in seasons since I first started my blog. Maybe there is no interest on either side? I type here for my own record my journal and if you'd like to read along, your welcome too. 

My last blog post was our son Joseph graduating from High School. He worked night and day to get money to pay for his first 2 years of Bible school. He is doing well and is now home working on Christmas break. 

We had another wedding in September 2021. This time it was our daughter. I can't believe these kids are all growing up and starting their lives. Matthew and Sarah got married September 2020 and celebrated their 1 year anniversary. 

A lot has happened in the last two years. Which brings me to the main reason I am writing. I am continuing my Bible reading and have added Scripture writing. I read my Bible mostly every day last year, but I did not read through the whole Bible. Anyways I am currently reading through the book of Job and the Scripture writing theme is TRUST. Well, today as I was reading I found that word "trust" throughout the different passages. Let me back track a little. Since Covid began there was a lot of unknowns. Guess what? I had to "trust" the Lord for all those unknowns. When we went home for Joseph's graduation and we stayed a little longer to get him settled, more restrictions and mandates kept coming. They were talking about mandating the vaccine to get back into Ghana. It made me mad. I don't want the vaccine and I certainly don't want my son to have to take it. You can make yourself sick thinking and worrying about all of it. The Lord gave me a passage in 2 Samuel 22:2-4; 2 Sam 22:31; Isa 41:10 I was just reading my Bible (this was back in September 2021) 

Today as I was reading Job, I wasn't even looking for the word "trust" but there it was. Job 13:15. Then in Psalms 34:8,22; 57:1. Since returning to the field in October, they have Mandated the vaccine for anyone coming into the country. I had to quit worrying and "trust' the Lord for whatever will be. Once I surrendered to His will, my burden left. The Lord can and will take care of me vaccine or no vaccine. He knows my hearts desire, my likes and dislikes. I am done worrying about it. It still makes me mad. Satan wants us to live in fear and not to go forward serving the Lord.

I was going to add some more photo's but having internet issues. :)

Another Graduation 2021

Our third born, Joseph, graduated from Homeschool/Abeka in Florida in May 2021. Three down one left to go. He is working around the clock, with two full time jobs. He comes home ready to collapse. If he has any free time, he sleeps. His plan is to attend Bill Rice Ranch Bible Institute for the 2 year program. Please pray for him and us, as we leave another child and go back to Ghana. It doesn't get any easier. 

It has been nice to spend some time with our children and family. This is a quick trip home. Those are the hardest. You can't get settled and you know your time is limited. 

Joseph's graduation party

Mack's parents

Mack's sister 

Mack's Dad and brother

Dr. and Mrs. Keen

Matthew and Sarah are doing great. It is nice to see newlyweds and to see them getting established as a family. 

Prince, Koasi and Benjamin (Prince's brother) are taking care of things in Ghana. They held a VBS in the new building and Benjamin is staying at our house and helping Koasi with the Anaji Bible Study. 

From A Distance

Our son Matthew got engaged in December 2019. They were going to wait until April 2021 to have the wedding, so we could be home for it. In July, I think it was. He dropped the bomb of possibly moving the wedding to this September. Which we were all for except one major problem. The borders in Ghana were closed. We couldn't get home if we wanted to. It was a pretty emotional time. How could he get married and we cannot be there? We had a hard week. The next week, he confirmed, yes, I think we are going to move it to September. Now, the initial shock of the news was over, and as the smoke began to clear, it was still very hard to talk about without crying. Once he made his decision, God began to work. Another week passed. We got a phone call. A couple and their Sunday school class was going to help pay for the plane tickets home. We were excited!! However, the borders in Ghana are still closed, no one comes in to Ghana, no one goes out. We can't get home. Now, we are in the month of August. We hear some flights are flying into Ghana and then to Dubai. Then we would have to make connection to get to the US. These tickets were very costly. We thought, what if one or two of us flew home for the wedding? I was not wanting to go this route. Also, what about quarantine? What if we get separated for some time because of the restriction due to the virus? We just kept praying and trusting God. 

The President of Ghana would address the nation about every two weeks. Lifting restrictions or making an announcement of any news we should adhere to. Then we heard the news. Ghana will be opening their borders September 1st, if the airport passes all requirements for travel. Woo hoo, only God, can open doors that have been shut for 6 months. We began making plans to travel. Do we need to quarantine there?What about when we come back into the country? Questions, questions, questions. No one had answers. It was so frustrating. We had to pack up our house, get men to fill in for our Bible study in Anaji. It was a whirlwind of activity. We left for the capital a few days early. We got a Covid test (which we didn't need). Got to the airport for our long journey. Finally, sitting on the plane getting ready for take off. We made it. Sitting there looking out the window, reflecting on all that God did to get us here. I have no words. I am just in awe at His goodness. 

Back home, seeing our family and our church family has been refreshing to me. I missed them. I am trying real hard not to mother Matthew. How do you do that? I am trying to find my new place and not over step the boundary. As I enter this new season, I can't help but relate more and more with my mother-in-law. When I left Naomi and Matthew in the States and got on the plane to go back to Ghana, I looked at my mother-in-law and said, now, I understand how hard it is to leave your kids (or in her case watch them leave). She's been doing this for years and years. She has 4 sons and 4 daughter-in-laws. I know how I felt about my mother-in-law and I am trying hard to let go and watch from a distance. My mother-in-law must be very patient to deal with all us in-laws. I am thankful for her faithfulness over the years. Her love and understanding. It must be/it is, hard to watch from a distance.  

If all goes well, we should be back in the country in October and be back to work on the building in Ghana. If you honor God, he will honor you. 

It was a beautiful wedding and they had a beautiful September day. Mack got to marry Matthew and Sarah, with his older brother, who is also our Pastor, did the Welcoming and Admonishment in the begining of the wedding. Mack and I were married in the same spot with his older brother marring us, 24 years ago. It was a wonderful day and glad we could be here for this special day. 

Decorating 

Rehearsal

Rehearsal  Dinner

Grandpa checking out the pies.

Waiting for his bride.

My favorite picture.

Mr & Mrs. Matthew Siekbert Jr.

Pondered Thoughts

 I have thought and pondered what is happening around the globe. I’ve watched and observed as America is dealing with this Corona Virus. Then it came to Ghana, we heard March 12th  that we had our first two case of the virus. Then I was fearful of the unknown. Then our President said, “All Americans should come home or be prepared to stay indefinitely.” More fear of the unknown. Then, I had to stop. I had to quit listening to the news and people. I had to stop and listen to what God was saying. As of right now Ghana has a low percentage of people with the virus. However it can spread quickly in our small country. 

I’ve thought, why? Why is this happening? We as Christians need to be out there telling people how to miss an eternal hell. Then I thought we are not out there anyway. We are not out in our communities we don’t know our neighbors. We as Christians have already been in isolation, we already have been social distancing. 

Then I thought if anyone wants to hear the message of Christ surely they could hear it on Facebook. Suddenly everyone is online. Then I thought if Christians won’t do their job, God would use whatever means to get His message out. If we are hiding behind our church walls and never going out to invite and witness Christ to people then what does He need us for anyway. He will get His job done with or without us. Ezk 28:22 “...and I will be glorified in the midst of thee: and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall have executed judgments in her, and shall be sanctified in her.”

The President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo has done a good job. Because Ghana is a few weeks behind the U.S. he has been on top of things at the start of any virus. We had our first two cases on March 12, 2020. Schools and churches closed, as of March 17^th.  We in Takoradi are not in lock-down yet. Some parts of the country are. The schools and church are our main ministries. I was looking forward to a break from the schools; in Ghana the schools break for the month of April. I was gearing up towards my Easter lessons, asking the kids why we celebrate Easter, getting them prepared for my lesson to come. They call it Resurrection Sunday. Then school did go on break, before I was ready. I was disappointed, I wasn’t going to be able to do my lesson on Christ’s Ressurrection. We also planned a VBS for Easter Monday-Friday. That has also been postponed. We as a family still have church services on our front porch. Pastor Prince has been recording his message on Sunday and sharing them on WhatsApp. School for my kids has not closed. Actually they only have 12 days of this school year left. Joseph is eager to begin his senior year of high school. We will probably begin t in May for the next school year. We are stuck at home anyway. April is the beginning of rainy season here in Ghana. Our well is pretty low, we pump up enough water to take a quick shower and flush the toilets. Some things have been put on hold (our dogs need a bath) due to no water. I am looking up, for Christ, but also the rains.  

Check out our siekbertnewsletter.blogspot.com Making progress on the church property. Check out the pictures. 

Encouragement Along the Way

I received a message from a friend saying, I am praying for you as you are without Naomi, and Matthew for the Holidays. We love you and miss you. It was exactly what I needed to hear. I was feeling sorry for myself and missing my children. My kids have been away for some time but it has hit me hard because they are growing and I am not there to have a part in that growing. "It’s not fair", I cry to the Lord. Yesterday was just not a good day. This morning I woke, read my Bible and prayed. I listened to a sermon as I was hanging up the clothes. In his sermon he said, he would obey God, whatever that meant. Then I went into the kitchen and started preparations for our Christmas Eve Pizza tonight and breakfast preparations ready for Christmas morning.  I was listening to Tricia Crabtree and her song, “Bury My Heart On The Mission Field”. She sang the part of “I’ll do whatever you want me to do, whatever the cost. I just cried. It’s easy to sing the song, but to live it, it’s not so easy. God has a plan not just for me but for my children. I will trust you. 

Prior to the above message, three individuals sent me notes of encouragement. When Mack brought in the mail, I thought, oh, some Christmas and Birthday cards. No, they were notes saying they are praying for us and wanted to send a note of encouragement.  That meant a lot to me. Especially feeling sorry for myself being here when I want to be there. They had lifted us up in prayer before I realized I was going to need it. God already knew, obviously, but those people didn't know how much I needed it. 

We had a nice Christmas and Birthday's on either side. We had a break from home school and got to take the boys swimming for Nehemiah's birthday. Nehemiah's birthday was on Thanksgiving Day, so we had cake and went swimming on Friday. We had missionary friends join in our celebrations. It was a good distraction and also to focus on our boys for their birthdays. Joseph's birthday brings in the new year on January 3rd. 

I am excited about the New Year, 2020. I am feeling encouraged and want to thank those of you who pray for us. We all need lifted up in prayer. I pray for many of you and our church families each week.