One thing have I asked of the
LORD,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of
the LORD
all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the
LORD
and to inquire
in his temple.
How much joy are you willing to endure?
“looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.“
Hebrews 12:2
-Guatemala has been one of the most spiritually challenging and simultaneously sweet times in my life. I asked The Lord to break my faith and push me to the furthest extent my faith goes-in which He was faithful to answer and allow it. There were so many moments of asking why and begging God to pull me out of it all when the correct response was “how do I walk out this time with you-fully submitted and daily abiding in Your will.” In Gods presence there is fullness of joy- walking in true joy is not dependent on circumstances, in fact pure joy can so often be found in void of happiness, situations of despair, but always in His Presence.
It was my Lords joy to endure the cross for me, even before sweating blood in agony, it was His joy to submit to His father even if it was not a “happiness.”
Therefore it is my joy to endure missing my brothers life,baptism, and every heartbroken moment of missing him. Friends births,engagements,and weddings. Paul says he would sacrifice his salvation and life just for his friends to know Gods love.
John says: “Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” -once I chose the direction my life was going and what I wanted it to be, but now fully submitted to Christ He will clothe me and direct me where He wants-so it is my joy to follow.
Here in Guatemala hearts were changed but once again mostly my heart. I have fallen in love with the children here and I truly wait for the day I can return and see where my Father has brought them.
It has been so kindly revealed to me that God is asking me to go to a specific country in the Middle East (in His timing.) So, super exciting but also once again counting the cost and now slowly preparing for being there while currently being here on the field. -prayer for the Middle East and everything regarding that situation 🙏
As we leave tomorrow for South Africa we are going from Guatemala, to Florida, then to Qatar, to South Africa and then around nine hours from the airport, please be in prayer for smooth travel- traveling with 35 people can be quite interesting some times.
Ministry:
Ministry has looked like sharing the Gospel,ATL, teaching English,VBS, football, manual labor, house visits and prayer house
Each one has impacted my life in such a unique way:
Teaching English reminds me to stay teachable and not take everything so seriously.
Football teaches me I don’t have to be the best on the field, there’s grace for mistakes- it’s only failure if you don’t learn from it.
Ask The Lord-has removed fear of man and teaching me to ask God about every detail of His will
House visits teach me to love like Jesus does- to sit, be a listening ear, and meet people where they are in their lives.
Manual labor teaches me that every act should be done with a correct mindset and heart posture that could make a lasting difference.
Prayer house teaches me to seek my father’s heart in ways I did as a child, that the church should be a house of prayer first and foremost and to dwell and meditate on scripture in worship.
I could talk and share for hours on ministry and stories of what God is doing- I love the diversity, but as my team here for the moment comes to an end I truly love it here and am sad to leave.
Until next time 🤙
