About 3 years ago Scott and I spent the summer hearing a very intentional message from the Lord...do life with people...invest in them...in their lives...we didn't mean to hear that message all summer...however, everywhere we went...every song...message...devotion...that was the direction God took us...we both believe...as most people would...God was speaking...will we obey or not...
...we will spend the rest of our lives learning to flesh this truth out...to do life with the people and the students around us...with our family...with our friends...
...I have been scared all summer long about going to the DR...had I really prayed about it like I should or did I just want to go...was I ready...was I prepared???? Could I do this...I truly am a bit on the shy side...and especially when I'm outside my element...I felt a bit better when Scott decided to join us...but I truly did spend the summer so afraid...we took our students to Kansas City for a mission trip 2 weeks before we left for the D.R...during one of those nights...we where asked to try to imagine what Heaven sounds like...the preacher took us to a door on stage...knocked on it...listened and they played Chris Tomlin's...world version of How Great is Our God...if you haven't heard it you need too...all languages singing this amazing song...all of the sudden I could see faces in my minds eye...faces of other nations that need to hear and deserve to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ...and my fears left...
...our trip was life changing for me...I've heard all my life...in the church anyway...that even the poorest people in America are richer than most of the world...I witnessed it during our time in the D.R...and yet...they were happy people...humble...loving and kind...I fell in love with them...
...before I share this...I felt a bond with each on of my children when they were born...however, when you become a mom for that first time...you experience all those feelings for the very first time...feelings you cannot even begin to imagine...until...it happens...I remember...after Cassie was born...and everyone had gone home to rest...it was just me and her...I opened the blanket up...counted everything...remember thinking this little bold beauty was the most amazing thing! I was absolutely amazed that God would allow me to have this gift...that He would trust me with her...(and I failed...but HE redeemed that too!)...that "first" time amazement happened again in the D.R...I was lying in bed during our time there and became so overwhelmed with those emotions...that God would allow me to be apart of this...to trust me with such opportunity...it was an emotion...that just like I've had with each of my children...and even my grand children...and just like my sweet family...may I NEVER get over it...
I had the honor of sharing my testimony twice during my time there...once was for something that was hard and once for my salvation...after I shared the hard thing in my life...which was about sharing the Gospel with my dad...the pastor in the D.R...prayed for my dad...I was so overwhelmed...I pray my Dad will understand how BIG God is...that He would have someone in another country who speaks no English praying for him...
We had the honor of teaching VBS and I taught the teens with my awesome interpreter...Edrei...I was scared again that first day...but I fixed my eyes on the Lord...stopped using myself as my excuse and my worst enemy and taught...loved every single minute of it...we had a great time...we then went to 3 different, 3 different days to make reading glasses for people../so rewarding to do this for those people...there were services each night...we witnessed 18 people accept Christ during our week there...we participated in a service in the dark because there was no electricity...we survived without air conditioning...and I would do it all again in a heartbeat!
...the country was beautiful...the people were/are beautiful...and the need is great...I know look forward to our people group in India that we've adopted...I cannot wait to see their sweet faces beyond a picture...or to go to Nepal to see the faces of the ladies who make the jewelry I have the honor of purchasing...or to return to the D.R...or the faces of my 4 amazing exchange students I've had the honor of hosting in the past years....or...wherever God would lead us...
...to be a follower of Christ is to stop looking for what a church can do for me...but what can I do for HIM...it's not about me...as much as I wanted it to be...it never has been...He saved me...because He loves me...but more than that He saved me because I was such a mess...that it brings Him Great glory to redeem someone who had NO hope without HIM...it was possible ONLY through Him...isn't that the truth for us all????
...we will spend the rest of our lives learning to flesh this truth out...to do life with the people and the students around us...with our family...with our friends...
...I have been scared all summer long about going to the DR...had I really prayed about it like I should or did I just want to go...was I ready...was I prepared???? Could I do this...I truly am a bit on the shy side...and especially when I'm outside my element...I felt a bit better when Scott decided to join us...but I truly did spend the summer so afraid...we took our students to Kansas City for a mission trip 2 weeks before we left for the D.R...during one of those nights...we where asked to try to imagine what Heaven sounds like...the preacher took us to a door on stage...knocked on it...listened and they played Chris Tomlin's...world version of How Great is Our God...if you haven't heard it you need too...all languages singing this amazing song...all of the sudden I could see faces in my minds eye...faces of other nations that need to hear and deserve to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ...and my fears left...
...our trip was life changing for me...I've heard all my life...in the church anyway...that even the poorest people in America are richer than most of the world...I witnessed it during our time in the D.R...and yet...they were happy people...humble...loving and kind...I fell in love with them...
...before I share this...I felt a bond with each on of my children when they were born...however, when you become a mom for that first time...you experience all those feelings for the very first time...feelings you cannot even begin to imagine...until...it happens...I remember...after Cassie was born...and everyone had gone home to rest...it was just me and her...I opened the blanket up...counted everything...remember thinking this little bold beauty was the most amazing thing! I was absolutely amazed that God would allow me to have this gift...that He would trust me with her...(and I failed...but HE redeemed that too!)...that "first" time amazement happened again in the D.R...I was lying in bed during our time there and became so overwhelmed with those emotions...that God would allow me to be apart of this...to trust me with such opportunity...it was an emotion...that just like I've had with each of my children...and even my grand children...and just like my sweet family...may I NEVER get over it...
I had the honor of sharing my testimony twice during my time there...once was for something that was hard and once for my salvation...after I shared the hard thing in my life...which was about sharing the Gospel with my dad...the pastor in the D.R...prayed for my dad...I was so overwhelmed...I pray my Dad will understand how BIG God is...that He would have someone in another country who speaks no English praying for him...
We had the honor of teaching VBS and I taught the teens with my awesome interpreter...Edrei...I was scared again that first day...but I fixed my eyes on the Lord...stopped using myself as my excuse and my worst enemy and taught...loved every single minute of it...we had a great time...we then went to 3 different, 3 different days to make reading glasses for people../so rewarding to do this for those people...there were services each night...we witnessed 18 people accept Christ during our week there...we participated in a service in the dark because there was no electricity...we survived without air conditioning...and I would do it all again in a heartbeat!
...the country was beautiful...the people were/are beautiful...and the need is great...I know look forward to our people group in India that we've adopted...I cannot wait to see their sweet faces beyond a picture...or to go to Nepal to see the faces of the ladies who make the jewelry I have the honor of purchasing...or to return to the D.R...or the faces of my 4 amazing exchange students I've had the honor of hosting in the past years....or...wherever God would lead us...
...to be a follower of Christ is to stop looking for what a church can do for me...but what can I do for HIM...it's not about me...as much as I wanted it to be...it never has been...He saved me...because He loves me...but more than that He saved me because I was such a mess...that it brings Him Great glory to redeem someone who had NO hope without HIM...it was possible ONLY through Him...isn't that the truth for us all????
No comments:
Post a Comment