Gettin' married!

I am so relieved that I am able to post this blog!!  I haven’t been able to post until now as there were people that had to be told before I posted this publicly.  But I am SO happy that I am able to do it now.  I am getting married on April 21st!!!!  I am marrying a wonderful, beautiful, godly man named Mussie (Moses) in English and I am so blessed that God chose me to be Mussie’s wife.  

About two years ago I started praying for my future spouse.  Of course, I didn’t know who that person was at the time but I prayed for him a lot.  I prayed that God would mold him into a strong Christian that wanted to do nothing but serve God first.  I prayed that he would have a gentle sweet spirit.  I prayed that he would be funny.  I prayed that he would have common interests as me.  I prayed that other than God this man would love me and cherish me and respect me.  I prayed that he would want a family.  I prayed that he would want to take in orphans.  I prayed that he would have a generous, servant’s heart.  I prayed that we would have a common vision from God.  I prayed that we would want to serve in the same ministry.  I prayed that we would be able to pray together.  I prayed that I would be a good helper for him.  I prayed that I would be able to serve alongside him.

God has answered all of those prayer requests by bringing me Mussie.  I even got answers to things that I didn’t even pray for!  Mussie Teshome Haile is the Assistant Director of Blessing the Children in Ethiopia.  I met Mussie in October 2010 when I first visited Ethiopia.  While we kept in touch occassionally during the year I was back in the USA those interactions were only ministry related.  I didn’t know that God was bringing me back to Ethiopia to not only serve Him but to also become Mussie’s wife.  This is something that God did in our lives that was a huge surprise for both of us.

As I have been telling people, I have somewhat been on the defensive-believing that it is my job to convince people of my truth.  It is not my job to convince you that this is of God.  I don’t want that to sound harsh but it has been my experience in life that no matter what you tell people, they will form their own judgements and opinions.  All I can do is explain my story and pray that God reveals His plans to those affected.

God used many prophecies to reveal His plan to me and Mussie.  He spoke to us separately and He also spoke to us together.  When I received the first prophecy I didn’t want to believe it.  It sounded so crazy to me-that God would want me to marry someone after only knowing him for a short amount of time.  I ignored the prophecy and tried to put it out of my mind.  That worked for a few weeks but as we all know, you can’t hide from God and His plans.  I had to confront this scary prophecy and I had to decide what I was to do about it.  The woman that spoke the prophecy over me reminded me of it again a few weeks later.  

I took some time to fast and pray about all of this.  I really needed God’s help.  God had been consistently leading me to the book of Ruth.  I knew Ruth’s story but I had honestly never really paid much attention to that book in the Bible.  I read the book of Ruth approximately 20 times and I was getting frustrated because I didn’t understand why God kept prodding me to read and study it.  One day, I was so emotionally and spiritually drained that I cried out to God and told Him that I didn’t understand what He wanted from me and I didn’t understand what He was trying to say to me.  The next time I read Ruth it all became so clear.  I won’t go into all of those details but God really opened up my eyes to Ruth and Boaz’s story and it I then understood what God was trying to show me.

I know some of you may not believe in the gifts of the Spirit or maybe you technically believe in them but there are some things that you think are too big or too important to leave to prophecies.  I understand these thoughts and feelings-I have had them before.  I understand that it is scary to some when they hear of me marrying, what they consider to be a stranger, a person from a third world country.  I understand these concerns and I thank you for loving me enough to be concerned.  And when I think about all of this from just the human side of my brain, as I like to call it, it does sound scary and it does sound crazy.  I realize that it does.  But when I look at all of this from God’s point of view; from the eyes that God has given me to see Mussie with and to see our future with-nothing sounds more right.  

I have been informed by some people that this decision may affect my financial support and that I should think twice about it.  I realize that some of my financial supporters may not agree with my decision and choose to no longer support what I do here.  I, of course, don’t want that to happen but I know that God will provide for all of my needs.  I have faith that God has worked out all of the details.  There have been too many times in my life-specifically during this Ethiopian journey-that God has provided in times where at first it looked like He wouldn’t.  

I am very grateful to all of my financial/prayer supporters and of course I pray that these supporters stand behind me even after I get married.  However, if you are a financial supporter and you choose to no longer support me there will be no hard feelings.  I understand that this is a lot to process and I understand that you may believe I had ulterior motives in moving to Ethiopia.  I will pray that God shows His truth to you.

Even though I am getting married and even though I am marrying an employee of BCI I still have monthly financial needs.  The missions do not stop just because I get married.  I still will have living expenses, insurance, and etc that need to be paid each month.  I am still waiting to find out from BCI how much my monthly payment will go down each month.  I am currently living in the BCI guesthouse but when I move out I will no longer have to pay for that-although I am having to rent a house to live in so I still will have rent each month.  As soon as I find out my new financial monthly need I will let you know.

Some people that I have told have been concerned about the cultural differences between myself and Mussie.  While it is true that our cultures are very different I believe God has prepared us to work through such differences.  Mussie’s family has worked with missionaries for approximately 30 years so Mussie has grown up around the Western culture.  Mussie and his family are very Westernized as well.  I think that when people think of an Ethiopian they only understand what they have seen on TV or read in the newspaper.  While those descriptions are true of most rural Ethiopians, it is inaccurate when describing a city Ethiopian.   Mussie and his family have lived outside of the capital of Ethiopia for about 30 years so they are more Westernized than most Ethiopians.  

This is not to say that there are not differences and of course there will be misunderstandings about culture along the way but that can be said of many couples.  A person from New York City that marries someone from small town, Arkansas will have “cultural” differences to deal with.  I know it is not the same but I am trying to say that even if you marry someone from your own culture there will still be lifestyle differences.

I am most concerned about Kingdom culture.  When looking at a spouse we should be looking to see if this person fits into God’s culture and lives by God’s standards and I can say that Mussie does.  The environment that I am in here in Ethiopia is one that fosters closeness and bonding.  It is amazing to me how quickly I bond with people here.  I know some will say that I haven’t known him long enough to know if he will make a good husband.  But because of our working situations here I have been able to see Mussie in a variety of tough situations and I am proud to call him my finance.  God knows if Mussie is right for me and I have God’s approval (and direction) so that is all I need.

Mussie and I have prayed relentlessly that God will be seen in all of this and we have faith that He will.  You may not agree with this now, but I have faith that eventually you will come to see that no matter how crazy it sounds-this is God’s plan.  

This should go without saying but I realize that not everyone that supports me financially or everyone that reads this blog knows me personally so I want to say it:  absolutely none of the money that has been donated for my missions work here in Ethiopia will go to pay for the wedding.  Mussie and I will be using personal money that we both had saved.  The money that is donated goes to my living expenses and to help those in need.  None of that money will be used for the wedding or honeymoon.

I have also been asked “why the rush?”.  There actually is no rush we are just following God’s timing and April is when we feel that God would have us to marry.

I appreciate all of my supporters-whether the form of support is through finances or prayer, I am very much grateful for all of it.  The prayers get me through tough days, keeps me safe and healthy, and show me where God would have me to serve and show me how God wants me to react in certain situations.  The finances make my everyday life here possible.  It also makes feeding orphans, paying rent, paying doctor bills, buying Bibles, buying shoes and clothes possible.  I thank you for all the ways that I am able to serve the Lord here.  It is because of my supporters that I am able to do it all.

If you have any questions you would like to ask me about all of this you can contact me at jonnettbarrick@yahoo.com.

Blessings!