2025 - My year of love, and marriage followed by pregnancy!

Hi Everyone!
How is everyone doing today? As we all say bye-bye 2024, we are all welcoming 2025. My declaration for 2024 came to pass - I surrendered to God.

I am here to declare over my 2025. I am meeting my husband in 2025. I am getting married in 2025. My husband and I are going to conceive our first child(ren) in 2025. As I have declared, so it will be in the name of The Father, The son and The Holy Spirit. Amen.

I leave you with this - "2025 - My year of love, and marriage followed by pregnancy! " - Natalie Cole.

Trusting God

Hi Everyone,
How is everyone doing today?

As the 2024 comes to an end, I am reflecting on how I declared that this was the year I surrender to God. As I type this post its December 19th, and what I surrendered to God on 1/1 has not yet changed, but I did surrender. I think surrender is a daily progress. Sometime in September I feel, I became fully surrendered to God. Phew, it took some time.

As I think about trusting God, what I have learned is that things ONLY happen when God wants them to. Whether I fret or cry, it only happens when God is ready to do it. 

During this season in life, I thought about a prayer I heard many years ago. So I recently went back and read the prayer - The Serenity Prayer in its entirety. Read it yourself.

What stood out to me was the second verse, maybe it's because the world focuses on the first verse. At this moment in my life where is says "Trusting that You will make all things right if I surrender to Your will" spoke to me. That is exactly where I am right now. 

I have learned and realized that when the Bible says "Unless the Lord builds a house, the builders build in vain. Unless the Lord watches over a city, the watchmen watch in vain" is exactly how life goes. I have learned that all I can do is trust God. I have learned that when the Bible says "One man plants, the other man waters, but God gave the growth", that only God can give growth even when you do all you can.

When you have tried things your way, you have taken advice from humans, you have cracked your brain and done all you can. You just have to leave it alone, and trust God to lead you to the answer.

Now, trusting God is not an easy task. Trusting God doesn't mean I just sit and fold my hands and do nothing. Trusting God doesn't mean I do not research and learn. Trusting God doesn't mean I become/choose to be lazy.

Trusting God means He leads, not me. Trusting God means I let go of control and know-how. Trusting God means I learn and research and I ask Him for directions and I take those directions because they are the next right/correct step toward my goal. Trusting God means I ask Him daily to show me my next right step. Trusting God means regardless of how things turn out, I know that God did what He knew was best for me. Trusting God means that even when things go bad, they are part of God's ultimate plan that will turn out for my good. Trusting God means He is in full control. Trusting God means that the blessings, things, people, places, positions, goals etc that He promised/showed me years ago will come to pass. They only come to pass in His time.

I realized this screenshot from below is so apt.

Lord, I trust you. Help me to continue to trust You. I cannot do this without You. I need you every micro unit that time is counted in.

Your daughter,
Natalie.

Life Lately - Oct & Nov 2024

 
Hi Everyone,
How are we all doing today?

I attended a few events in October and November that I want to share with you. First things FIRST, I created a prayer closet, and I have had some daily conversations with God in October and November. Most have been pleasant, but there have been a few days where I cried just pouring out my heart to Him. All I have is God. Just as the Bible puts it - "Who do I have in heaven but You?"

I met up with a friendly-acquaintance of mine and her four-year-old daughter for lunch two weeks ago. She's one of those people who seem to have a great marriage, an amazing husband and a loving family. It was good, I was a little emotional-ish at the start, but I was able to get my head in the right place once we started talking. When I got back home she shared some conversations she used to have with God. They really blessed me.

Back to the fun part.
Here are some pictures of some random events I attended.
French American Chamber of Commerce Gala

Fine Dinning!

Remembrance Day at the British Consulate General. With a lady I met at the Business Council a year ago, and her mom.

Climate Fresk Facilitator Training organized and facilitated by another friendly-acquaintance of mine. She invited me. When I walked into the class I realized I knew several of the attendees.

The application won't let me post more pictures....smh
Either way I had a great time and I am still figuring my life as I move along.

I leave you with the quote which explains where I am in life right now - " Live each day to the fullest, even when you're still figuring things out; the journey is just as important as the destination."

Missions Trip - Kenya 2024

Hi Everyone,
How are we all doing today?

In 2010 or 2011, it was on my heart heavily that I wanted to go on a Christian Mission's trip. I had no idea of how it was going to happen. I decided to forget about the idea and I went on to live my life. In 2018/2019 it briefly popped up in my head after I had a conversation with an acquaintance who was thinking about going on a mission's trip.

Fast forward to 2022, somehow through my employer, the opportunity was starting to look like a reality. So, in 2024, I decided to make it a reality. 

As someone who was born on and grew up on the African Continent, the trip I was embarking on was new, foreign territory, I was naive, didn't know what to expect etc.
I joined a group of 8 to go to the village of Eburru in Kenya for a mission's trip. We partnered up with an NGO called David's Hope that does the work on the ground. 

This mission of the trip was to:
1. Teach at the Christian School that I won't name
2. Teach about servant leadership
3. Facilitate table discussions during a teacher training session
4. Facilitate table discussions during a Pastor training session
5. Meeting with the members of the community, present them a gift and listen to their story
6. Pray with the community members
7. Participate in home dedications
8. Activities with/be there for with kids in the lower and high school
7. Pray with the team and have a devotion
8. ...And much more

At the end of the missions trip, we headed to Masai Mara Safari. We stayed at the Masai Mara Sopa Lodge. We enjoyed 2days of the safari experience.

This trip impacted my life in a way that no other trip has, because I have always traveled for fun or visiting family. This trip had a meaning behind it, and to me it was to glorify God. To be the hands and feet of Jesus. It's amazing to see something I wanted to do many years ago, when I had totally forgotten, God decided to say here you go - this is for you.

The best part of the trip was with the kids.
The worse part of the trip was meeting with community members, and hearing what they go through on a day-to-day basis, and the injustice some people have faced.
The safari was breathtaking.

We saw too many animals to count. We saw 4 of the Big Five animals in Kenya are the lion, leopard, African buffalo, elephant. The 5th is the rhinoceros - we couldn't see the rhino. We saw Zebra's, cheetahs, African Gazelle's and so many more. Here are a few.

I leave you with this abstract I wrote of how I felt just before we left Eburru:

The past week in Kenya (Nairobi, Eburru, and Narok) has been an experience I could have never imagined.
The hardworking children with their whole lives ahead of them and need opportunities, the vulnerable adults, the people who have had unimaginable evil done to them, the stories of tribulation, yet they were still so loving and joyful. The non-profits who have changed the lives of so many in Eburru through technology, education, scholarships, loans, healthcare, building homes, the gospel, continuous improvement, and so much more that I cannot put into words. Humans have two needs 1. Love 2.Knowing we are not alone.
To put it in the fewest of words - it changed my life. As I move along this journey of Servant Leadership, may I always remember that the first word is the most important. 

Prayer, God's will, faith.

 Hi Everyone,
This will hopefully be a short article, as I do not want to rant.

The longer I live, I understand better what Jesus meant when He said "Thy will be done", "Not my will but Your will be done". I have learned that in all things God's will is what is going to be done, regardless of how we feel about the situation. I have to make peace with every decision God makes for my life. I have learned that as humans we have very little control over anything.

This past week, August 29th to be precise - God did something for me that I will praise Him for, for the rest of my life. The devil started messing with me a week before or so, I had sleepless nights, I was worrying, I had to sing hymns or gospel songs to myself in the middle of the night just to encourage myself and so much more. Then I remembered that I had to surrender, I woke up every morning and reminded God that it was all in His hands, and that things are only going to go the way He wants things to go.
In the end, things worked out well, and I am at peace, and I went back and wrote my praise reports at the organizations/churches that prayed for me. God's will has been done, and the case is now closed. May God's name be praised!
At some point I will blog about the marvelous did of God that I mentioned above.

This brings me to my next topic. This can be touchy for many people. So, I have to tread carefully. I have struggled with the desire to get married for many years, and I am still single which is all part of God's will. I know it will happen in God's time and it's all in His hands. Anyway, I have had many friends and family who have introduced me to Intercessors, so that they will pray with me until I get my breakthrough. Now, as much as I believe in prayer, and intercessory prayers, I have learned from my experience (my experience alone), that the intercessors I was introduced to by several different people only used me for one reason - money. They get a few hundred dollars from you, and they disappear and stop picking up my phone calls. Beware!

Again, I have learned that - in everything God's perfect Will will be done. Not mine, not yours, not an Intercessor's, not anyone's will, but His will.  So, Abba Father - my marriage, husband, and children are in Your hands. I know in Your time, You will perfect them and the devil will be defeated. Amen.

As I close, I want to leave you with this scripture - "...Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." - Matthew 6:10

Diving slowly into public speaking

 Hi Everyone,
I know it's been a while since you heard from me. The summer has been a busy one. Busy as in catering to others.
So, I have been thinking for years about working on my public speaking capabilities. Interestingly when I was a child growing up in Sierra Leone, I was on the school play every year. I was such a good public speaker. I had no fear. Somehow, as an adult that changed.

So, after I became a manager, I realized how much I needed to grow in this area. So, I took a few one-hour classes here and there just to get me to start thinking the way I should.

In August, I spoke at Modern Web, Atlanta about the importance of QA at every stage. Many people loved it, and I was asked to share my slides as several other people wanted to use the information I had provided.
Here are a few pictures from that talk.

I also have another talk in October at another IT event. Wish me luck. 

In July, I was on a Podcast. The name of the podcast is 'Why didn't you test that'. It's a UK based podcast by a company called Curiosity Software. I talked about Software Quality, How to build a Software Quality Team, The challenges, Best Practices and many more. 

Please watch the episode by clicking on the link below.
How to Build a Successful QA Team with Natalie Cole

If I can say so myself - I think it was an interesting talk.

As I end this article, I will leave you with this quote “Speech is power: speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel.” Ralph Waldo Emerson.

My experience at STAREAST 2024

 Hello my loves!
In my intro, I mentioned that I was an IT professional. Yes, I am. I have a Bachelors and a Masters, in Computer Information Systems. I still wonder if I am a nerd. I think I am, but I am a girly girl nerd.

I attended an IT conference for work last week, and to say I was inspired is a total understatement.
The conference is called STAREAST. It is the world's leading conference for software quality and testing professionals. I think anyone on an agile scrum team can benefit from it. It is organized by a company called Techwell. Techwell organizes IT conferences. It took place in Orlando, FL. 

There were over 65 speakers at the conference, and over 100 sessions which were keynotes, breakout sessions, speaker 1on1 sessions, tutorials, networking breakouts, an expo floor, a test lab, a leadership summit and so much more. 
I attended eight breakout sessions, three keynotes, lightning keynote sessions. explored the expo floor, and used the opportunity to solve some tough puzzles, riddles etc in the test lab.
I gained some good knowledge and was inspired to grow my public speaking capabilities. I must say I would like to attend again.

I had so many session choices to choose from so I decided to make my choices based on two criterium.
1. What will the team I manage benefit the most from?
2. What am I interested in?

Here are a few collages and pictures from my time at the conference:

                                                               Speaker 1on1 sessions

                                                              This was the Expo floor

I went with a group of staff from my organization. Twelve of us went. We explored a few restaurants as well, but unfortunately, I cannot post them, because they might be really private people and do not want to be on a personal blog. I would have to ask them first.

Lastly, I made some good connections. I was able to network with different levels, QAs, QEs, Managers, Directors, Heads of Engineering etc. Let's see where those connections take me to. It's all in God's hands though.

I leave you with this quote - “Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow.” — Anthony J. D’Angelo