Hey guys, I haven’t written in FOREVER, so I thought I’d write a brief update describing what the next two weeks are going to be like for me, and to tell you a little bit of what the Lord has been teaching me recently.
First thing’s first, update. I’m doing well, checking all the little things off my list. I’ve got my international insurance, all my shots taken care of, and I just ordered my last bit of gear, so really all that’s left is packing. This week, I’ll continue working and focus on packing up my stuff. Then on Sunday my family are heading to South Haven, MI for a family vacation. We’ll hang out on the beach, ride bikes, go to a movie, and RELAX! It’s going to be sweet. Then I’ll come back home on Saturday night the 8th. I leave for the airport at like 4am (which I’m really excited about… ) and I’ll fly from Indy to NYC. I get to JFK at about 9am or so and my flight for Dublin doesn’t leave until 7:30pm, so hopefully I’ll be able to meet up with some members of my squad that are already in New York and get some lunch and hang out. Then in the evening, it’s off to Dublin where I’ll be spending my first week of the Race doing more training. After that, we head West to Galway for ministry. I’ll let you know more as I find out.
Even in this time of “waiting”, the Lord has been faithful in teaching me more about Him. I’ve been learning recently that I need to focus completely on Him and not on those around me. Hold on, a second, let me explain. I definitely need to continue thinking of others more highly than myself, in fact I need to improve in this area. What I mean is this. I am in a couple of different spiritual leadership positions this summer and I have found myself at times wanting to “pull” people along in their faith. I want them to grow now and grow in an obvious manner so I can be encouraged by it. What the Lord has been showing me recently is that I am simply supposed to obey Him. I am supposed to sing, or teach, or do whatever He has for me, and not necessarily expect to see the room change before my eyes. It all goes back to expecting to see the fruit. For several weeks now, I have been trying to prepare myself for the idea that I will probably not see much fruit from the ministry I do over the next year because I won’t be in any one place for very long. AND THAT’S OK! Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt and into the desert and never saw the promised land, but he obeyed. I need to continue to check myself to make sure that I am not doing this just so I can say that I changed the world, or even that God changed the world through me. I am going on this trip because He told me to. That’s it, I’m just obeying. If the purpose of this entire year is to save the soul of ONE person, it’s worth it. And I don’t even have to know. All I have to do is obey. I’m learning this already, and I haven’t even left yet. Anyways, that’s all for now, thanks for reading guys, I’ll probably post again when I get to Ireland.
God bless you!
