From @mmm_water ... 2023 Well Season: Daily Devotional

September 1 - October 31 is Marion Medical Mission Well Season for 2023. The season will include daily devotionals - one for each day the U.S. volunteers are overseas, sharing the love of Jesus by providing safe, clean, sustainable sources of drinking water to the extreme poor in sub-Saharan Africa. Marion Medical Mission is one of our mission partners at Grace Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas, and we STRONGLY encourage you to read these devotions to learn more about - and pray for! - their mission.

September 8, 2023

LEARNING JOY IN AFRICA
Karen Dragano
Volunteer, Colorado

"FShout for joy to the LORD all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs.” Psalm 100:1-2

Tom and I have been volunteers with MMM for seven well seasons. On each trip we have learned about JOY. Joy doesn’t depend on the things you have or how easy your life is. Of course the villagers show real joy when the first fresh water bursts out of their well. The singing and dancing are sometimes overwhelming! But the joy is there even when there are problems to overcome. The Field Officers and maintenance men show a quieter joy in their work making people’s lives better. I think the African sense of community is at the heart of the joy we see. The shared work and shared goals create bonds of cooperation between people. The celebrations sweeten those relationships. Philippians 2:2 says “Make my joy complete by being like-minded… being one in spirit and purpose.” Joy is multiplied when it is truly shared.

We have seen Africans who are faced with troubles but they face them with courage and a positive attitude. “While one believer praises God in the midst of terminal illness, another grumbles because of a runny nose. What’s the difference? ATTITUDE” (Mike Mason, Champagne for the Soul). Sometimes an easier life leads to whining instead of joy! So many Africans face hardship but still show joy!

We have met many strong African Christians in MMM and in the villages. We have heard joy in the LORD in their prayers at well celebrations and felt it in their church services. Luke 2:10 calls the birth of Jesus “good news of great joy”! Faith in Jesus is the foundation of deep joy!

We thank God for the “African-style joy” we have witnessed in our brothers and sisters. I can hear the women’s “joy sound” in my heart right now as I remember them! We try each day to apply their example in our regular lives. Praise God!

Application Question: ow have you experienced joy today? What is blocking your joy?

Prayer: Dear Jesus, focus our eyes on You, the source of all real joy. Show us how to be joyful in good times and bad. Give us hearts that look for joy that we can share with our brothers and sisters, and strangers too! Amen

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