A Friend at My Back

This weekend (Dec 3-5, 2010) I had the privilege of going to a Deeper Still Women's Conference in Birmingham, Alabama.  There were 14,000 other women there, only a handful I knew, and yet the unity of spirit was sweet.  The teaching of Kay Arthur, Priscilla Shiver, Beth Moore was each powerful.  The panel discussion made their powerful teaching come together, letting us connect the power of God's Word in real lives.  These women were vulnerable with us.  They let us see their hearts, their struggles to apply what God has gifted them to be able to teach.  This panel discussion gave me a renewed appreciation for Kay Arthur.  No one has taught me more throughout my life about how to get jewels out of God's Word.  What I saw this time was the wisdom, the anchoring her life displayed even when among other incredibly gifted and mature women.  At 77 years of age, she's still letting God rearrange her thinking, her priorities, and giving us the benefit of her ongoing lessons of life.
So WHAT possible connection could the preceding words have with "Growing Through Africa"?  Here goes with the explanation!
This weekend, God identified to me a friend who is standing at my back as I prepare for this time in Liberia.  My sweet sister was the first to tell me that she wants to be the friend at my back, and she began yesterday morning by praying for me as I walk into preparing the syllabi for these courses that I will teach.  With all the experience of 15 years of work in Africa and with African men and women, I suddenly feel very small as I think of this latest assignment.  I've never been to West Africa.  I don't know the names or faces of the 33 students that will be in my public speaking class. (plus there's another class to prepare for as well.) And I only have 6 weeks with them.  While on one hand that feels like a long time to be away from the familiar (and comfortable), it's not very long to be a teacher to these precious people.  I could go on and on with the fears and misgivings that creep into my soul, but I think you get the point.  I am tempted to see  the daunting task before me and quiver and  tempted to not  rely on  on God and my need to depend on Him to empower and enable me.