What's in a name?

Rebekah Paul Wilfred would be my name if I was a Muslim. You take the name your parents give to you at birth then add your father's name and then his father's name. When I told my Somali friend what my Muslim name would be she said "Oh I love that name, Wilfred, I will name my son that." This made me smile- Dad if you are reading this please tell that to grandpa next time you talk to him! Once again i am reminded how male dominance is present everywhere in our society. Jason was talking to me about the Bible study he has with the interns and they were confused about what Ephesians3:14-15 "For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name," was really meaning. Jason feels very strongly that all our daughter's names are powerful because no matter what life choices they make they can never hide or deny their names. God is our creator and is our Father who has in a sense named us- we belong to Him no matter where we are or what we do. We cannot hide from or ignore our name or calling God has given. In the Greek the word used for family is the same word for fatherhood. It reminds us that we are sons and daughters of the Most High God! What is in a name? Our identity is in our name we are because God is. All that we are is because of all that He is. We can only know and love Him because He first knew and loved us! That's exciting we have such a great inheritance!


Our friend Katie's church sent these beautiful dolls that the women have hand sewn. We were able to distribute them to all the girls in the orphanage in town. I cannot begin to describe the faces of the girls who received their dolls- pure delight. I was taking pictures of each one and most of them could not take a moment to look at me with the camera because they could not get their eyes off of their doll. Every single doll has a name and the name of the woman who took the time to make it.


Oh an update about Charis. She is now a big 8 pounds 8 ounces- 4kgs! We just got her immunizations on Monday and she also got weighed and I praise God that she is gaining weight and growing stronger every day!