The End of Junior Year

As the end of another school year dawns on me…there are many mixed emotions that I feel. I am filled with excitement and joy at the thought of leaving for Zimbabwe in a few days…the excitement and joy there is in seeing my amazing man and spending three whole months together over joys my heart. I can’t wait to be there serving the Lord with him, laughing with him, talking with him, loving him and simply soaking up each and every sweet moment with him.

Although there is a huge amount of sweetness ahead, there is also this bitterness that lies in this up coming season, not a resentment type of bitterness but rather a bitter-sweetness. As this year comes to an end, I only have one more year until I have my Social Work degree and until I return home, those two things fill my heart with great excitement. However, there are some goodbyes that lie ahead. I have spent three(soon to be four) growing, challenging and beautiful years at APU with some amazing people that will forever be a part of my life. However, some will not and I will be saying goodbye and even the ones that will, it doesn’t make saying goodbye any easier. I remember the very first time I left Zimbabwe and someone said to me the goodbyes will get easier each time, oh how they were so wrong. The goodbyes on both sides of the world get harder and harder each time. My life seems filled with goodbyes, well I guess more like see you laters, but boy oh boy are they extremely hard see you laters. Having three countries in the world that have some very special people, is a hard place to be, Zimbabwe, England and America. Zimbabwe and the people that are there, my Rob, is my home, it is the place my heart yearns for. England has my very precious family, my mum and my brothers. America has the place I have developed my skills, passions, and where I have made the most wonderful girlfriends that I get to do life with each and everyday. We have walked through heartaches, deaths, family separations, betrayals, as well as great achievements, jobs, celebrations, awards, leadership opportunities, and huge God moments in each of our lives. These girls have become more than my friends they have become my sisters, my family. Then there are the woman that have poured into my life in ways that I could never have imagined or dreamed of, that have gone to doctors appointments with me, sat by me in the hospital, had lunches and coffee dates with me, have walked through trying times and rejoicing times, these woman have been salt and light in my life, they have sat quietly with me and they have spoken words of truth over me. They are woman that have been used by God to continually shape and mold me.

I know I still have a year ahead of me filled with great moments but this past weekend I went to watch some of my beautiful friends graduate and got to partake in the bitter-sweetness of that moment with them and my heart for the first time truly felt the weight of the season that lies ahead for me. It’s not a negative weight or a negative season, it truly is a bitter-sweet one, which is beautiful. You see there wouldn’t be any problem if this was hard because it was negative, the difficulty lies in that this is beautiful that the relationships I have in many parts of the world are deep and real and genuine and that that is why saying goodbyes is hard, because we have some special. I am so very blessed to know and be known by all these beautiful people. I am blessed to have something to grieve over saying goodbye to. I am blessed that walking out of one season and into another is both beautiful and extremely hard. I am blessed because my life is deeply enriched through all of these moments I have shared and will continue to share with people over the next year and then the years that are still to come too. I am blessed.

Thank you God for beautiful people, for beautiful moments, and for beautiful seasons. Thank you that the bitter-sweetness of life is a beautiful and hard thing and thank you that I have an enriched life through the people that you have brought my way. Thank you that as we embark on another part of this journey and another season, that you are there with us, in the bitter moments and in the sweet ones. Thank you that you are ever-present. Thank you for life, friends and family. AMEN.

Some of the things I love...

I love…my family. I have been blessed with the most amazing mum! She is a woman that goes above and beyond in everything in life. Her courage, strength and determination inspire me. She is fun loving and I don’t know anyone that finds it hard to get along with her. I am thankful for the values she raised me with and for the heart to love all people no matter what. I deeply hope that one day I will be a beautiful mother just like her. My two younger brothers are wonderful. They are growing into great young men and I am so proud of both of them and love them deeply.

                                                                 Brad, Me, Boyd, Mum

I love…my soon to be family. They are wonderful people with big hearts and a lot of love. They have embraced me with a genuine love and care, even before I was going to be part of the family.

The Chifokoyo Men

Rob (my fiance), TJ, Julius (future father-in-law), Mudiwa, Karl

Olivia (future mother-in-law) 

Tj and Melissa

Caelis and Kieran (niece and nephew)

I love…my girl friends…I am so thankful for each and every one of them…for the joy they bring to my life. There is a depth like no other to these relationships…they are more than friends…they are my family. We have bonded over coffee dates, movies, living together, traveling together, crying together, laughing together and doing life together no matter how wonderful or how challenging. They add beauty and sincerity to my life. They are an amazing example of being the body. They are my life-long treasure, friends and sisters whom I love deeply.

 Beansie my bestie

Nicole, me, Augusta

Beans, Schmeller, Schmouse

 My beautiful Butterfly (Asher)

Me, Regina (Gigi) and Bre

 Me and Nicole (AKA Schmeller...roomies for all 4years of college)

 Me and Megan (my beautiful angel of a friend)

 Nicole, Megan, me, Beans

(A day that I will NEVER forget)

I love…the children in Zimbabwe that have forever changed my heart. I am thankful for each of their lives and the blessing of being a part of their lives. I love them deeply. The joy that beams out of each of them is deeply moving and profound. Their smiles are filled with a deep sense of gratitude for life each and every day, it is humbling. I have learned life lessons and values from spending time with them; they change my life every moment. I have learned grace, humility, thankfulness, patience, perseverance, determination, faith and HOPE from each of them. So they are one of the areas of my life that I love the most.

 Anna and Tino

 Me and Tino

 Blessing (AKA BB)

 Gamu

 Tadiwa

 Tino

Rob teaching/talking to some of the kids

I love…when people have a heart to change the world, when they desire justice and equality for all, when they appreciate that Christ sacrificed everything for ALL people, when people will go beyond their comfort zones to not only meet the needs of others…but to empower them to meet their own needs, to equip them and educate them. I love when people love others.

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I love…the ocean…there is something serene and humble and peaceful about being by the ocean. God’s creation is breath taking and the ocean is just one of the examples of that. I love the feeling of the sand between my toes and the water washing up on my feet, as I gaze into the vast mass of water that lies ahead of me. There is something very special about water for me, it represents life and renewal, and it washes away dirty stains and cleanses wounds. It is representative of the Living Water, Christ.

I love…arts and crafts. Making things with my hands is deeply rewarding and satisfying. I enjoy seeing something unique and beautiful made out of something that appears to be nothing.

http://eisymorgan.blogspot.com

http://somedaycrafts.blogspot.com

http://handmaderecess.blogspot.com

http://pinklemonade-blog.com

I absolutely love quotes…they can be inspiring, challenging, refreshing, emotional, simple, unique, quirky, light-hearted, sincere…they can be anything really and for the most part I will love them. They are small gems found in the places you least expect them sometimes.

“Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat.” - Mother Teresa

“Words which do not give the light of Christ increase the darkness.” - Mother Teresa

“An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.” -Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” -Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Prayer without action grows into powerless pietism, and action without prayer degenerates into questionable manipulation." - Henri Nouwen

“You are more than dust and bones. You are spirit and power and image of God. And you have been given Today." - Shauna Niequist

"Love is always bestowed as a gift-freely, willingly, and without expectation. We don't love to be loved; we love to love." - Leo Buscaglia

‎"True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it is not haphazard and superficial. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

I love…African sunsets! They are breathtaking!

A little bit of who I am...

Hi there…

My name is Lisa Dawn Rouse, however my last name will be changing in just over a year. I am SO excited.

 Redeeming Love is the name of my blog, because it is the story of my life and who I am. I have been redeemed by the love of Christ and His ultimate sacrifice for me and for you. That in itself is reason enough to write.

I live in Zimbabwe, Africa. However, I am currently studying Social Work at Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, California. I love my home country; it is a beautiful place and has the potential to be the breadbasket of Africa. It has had a challenging past filled with hatred, war and a great deal of bloodshed. However, I believe that anything is possible with God and that it is on the journey of healing and becoming all that it was intended to be. My heart for Zimbabwe and its people is huge. I desire to see change and restoration take place and I believe that part of my purpose is to be a tool in bringing that about. Pursuing my BSW is a huge part of God’s plan in equipping me for the work I hope to do back home. It has been a challenging and beautiful journey, living in another country for what will be four years and being far away from the ones I love and the country I love. But it will all be worth it! J I am so thankful for this amazing opportunity and privilege of furthering my education and being able to use it to further the lives of many.

So as I mentioned earlier, my name will be changing in just over a year. YES, I am getting married. I am engaged to the most amazing man I know, Robert Itayi Chifokoyo. He is gentle, kind, loving, funny, supportive, encouraging, strong, and bold, oh how I could go on. The thing I love the most about him is the way he loves the Lord and his heart to serve the Lord with all that he has. He has a heart for the forgotten people and to see them come to know the saving grace of Jesus Christ. He longs for people to know the freedom, grace, and redemption that he has found in Christ. His heart is HUGE! I am so very blessed to be loved by him, romanced by him, and to be getting ready to spend the rest of my life with him. Our journey has been a long beautiful one. It has certainly had it’s dark moments, but the Lord has been gracious and merciful to us each step of the way. We have grown and learned so much through our almost ten years of being friends and I am so grateful that next year our journey together will continue in a new way, a beautiful way, as husband and wife. There is nothing that sounds better than spending the rest of my life with my very bestest friend. I love you Robert Itayi!

Thanks for stopping by and reading a little about who I am!

Love and blessings!