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| Courtesy H. Nett |
If
you ever wondered about the power of prayer, most any question you
have would surely be answered if you met my friend, Hannah. I am who
she used to be even tho' I am older than her mother. How can that be,
you ask? Because I am the fraidy cat she was before her
metamorphosis. My feet remain solidly tethered to this earth. Her's
have been set free to roam...no dance...upon the earth. When I asked
how she managed to escape the chains that bound her in fear, she
paused a moment before definitively answering with one simple word,
“Prayer.”
Despite
her fear of both the large and small requirements of daily life, she
allowed herself to envision a different kind of world than the one
she knew growing up. It was a world without fear. Her foundation of
faith in a Creator God enabled her to trust him with her fear. She
decided to forge ahead despite her fears and asked God to give her a
heart to go where no fraidy cat in her right mind would think of
going: Hawaii. Ok, we might THINK of going there, but we certainly
would not do it ALONE at the tender age of 19!
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| Courtesy H. Nett |
Hannah's
God was faithful. He did, in fact, give her a heart to further her
study of photography and enabled her to pull together the funding to
do so. Her fears dissolved. She set off to embrace a brave, new world
in which fear would become a thing of her past.
Our
conversation darted here and there at a pace suggestive of the flight
of dragonflies and hummingbirds as I tried to get my mind around her
journey. The transition to Hawaii went smoothly. Her days were filled
with classes and new friends. It was easy enough to network with
family and friends back home. The 3 months there allowed her time to
adjust to life without the comforts and supports of home before she
set off on the bigger journey.
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| Courtesy H. Nett |
As
the group prepared to fan out across the globe for an international practicum, she was offered 3 locations from which to choose: China,
South Africa, and Cambodia. How does one decide?
My
young friend decided to write the names of the 3 countries on 9 slips
of paper, so that each country was represented 3 times. She put the
slips in a bowl and drew a slip out: China. She decided to return the
slip to the bowl and draw from all 9 again. Again, she drew China.
She repeated the process 4 more times. Each time, she drew China.
She
chuckled at the telling of it all these months after the doing of it.
“I decided God was trying to tell me something. I had always wanted
to go to Africa, but I signed on for the China trip. It was as if he
said, 'Follow me to China, and you will one day go to Africa.' So, I
did.”
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| Courtesy H. Nett |
Wonder
of wonders, this young lady, who had been so afraid of meeting new
people and speaking before groups, found herself doing both while in
China. She had the opportunity to interact with young Chinese
students working on their English speaking skills. As part of that
interaction, she began to teach beginning photography skills to 2
different groups of students. One class met in a local coffee house.
The other group met at a local university after a professor heard
about her class and invited her to teach at his school.
Her
class members ranged in age from 12 to 40 years old. The class
included students, professors, young professionals, and even a young
medical student. There she was – a fraidy cat in the midst of an
amazing metamorphosis. This fraidy cat was becoming a teacher
standing in front of a group of 30 strangers, for whom English was a
2nd language, doing what she feared most: public speaking.
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| Courtesy H. Nett |
Eventually,
she became aware of a the opportunity to join a tour group to North
Korea. She joined folks from Uganda, Canada, Australia and other far
flung countries who traveled in North Korea for 9 days. One lasting
impression of the experience is the memory of how green and lush her
surroundings were as they traveled. She was amazed at a performance
given by children at a local orphanage. She sampled fish eyeballs
and found that her favorite food is fried squid and stingray.
Her
memories came at me in rapid fire bursts. It was obvious that she is
still processing all she was able to experience in those few short
days. I asked Hannah if she would like to visit China or North Korea
again. “In a heartbeat,” she replied, “But next on my agenda is
Africa.”
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| Courtesy H. Nett |
Despite
difficult days of transition when she first arrived in China, despite
missing her bed and her family, despite feeling culturally isolated
until she found her rhythm in China, she is ready to go again. Not
long after returning home, she discovered that her church was
sponsoring a trip to Africa. Remember that South Africa was one of
the 2 countries she turned down to go to China? Guess what!
This
former fraidy cat now plans to accompany her home church to a small
town in South Africa where they will work with orphans affected by
the Aids crisis as well as with trouble teens. She hopes to put her
photography skills to use helping document the trip. That fraidy cat
thing? I believe she has laid that dragon to rest.
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| Courtesy H. Nett |
I
asked, “What do you know about yourself that you did not know before you
went on this journey?”
She
replied, “I am stronger than I ever had any idea that I was. And, I
am free. I have realized that no matter where I go, the Lord will be
with me and give me a heart to be there. Fear does not control me
anymore.”
And
I say, “Fly fraidy cat, fly. And, Godspeed on your way.”
Isaiah
41: 13 (NIV)
For
I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says
to you, Do not fear; I will help you.
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| Courtesy H. Nett |
NOTE:
Hannah hopes to travel to South Africa in early February if she is
able to raise the funds to do so. In addition to holding down a job, she is offering portrait packages for local clients in an effort to raise
the $2,300.00 needed for the trip. If you are moved by her story and
would like to help fund her trip, her church is accepting
contributions on her behalf.
To
donate funds please click on this link:
So
that your donation will be accurately posted, be sure and note:
Hannah
Nett – South Africa
Stay tuned for updates as Hannah continues to blossom in a world free of the old chains of fear!
