“I pray that I overflow with your love. I pray that You use me for Your will and allow the Spirit to move through me. I pray I have nothing but a servant’s heart and I pray I recognize the opportunities You’re giving to me.”
That is the prayer that I decided to pray every single day. After feeling like I was half assing ministry, I wanted more from me, expected more from me. I was afraid that I wasn’t giving ministry my all and I was missing opportunities that God was intentionally giving me. However, after reflecting on the last couple weeks of ministry, I realized that I’m actually just not realizing when the Spirit is moving through me.
October 28th and 29th: The kids at the Children’s Home had a whole week of school off for their Fall Break. After hearing how all of the kids were not looking forward to their break because they’d just be bored, my teammate, Maggie, and I took it upon ourselves to make it special. We brought them Field Day! After several long afternoons of planning games, searching for supplies, making up teams and point systems we finally had four teams (Blue Team, Red Team, Black Team, and Green Team) who participated in two days of awesome field day games. Two days of jump rope games, water balloon fights, crafts, a Bible station (this IS a mission trip) that intermixed with huge group games of Ships and Sailors or musical chairs (and much more!) that ended in an award ceremony with medals and a certificate for each kid. The kids will still come up to me and shout, “GO RED TEAM!” almost two weeks later.
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Lyndsay strategizing with the Blue Team The Green Team trying to solve a puzzle
November 4th and 5th: Four kids from the Children’s Home had a two day swim meet that myself and two teammates had the privilege of going to in order to support them. While it seemed like I was only sitting there for nine hours, it actually meant so much to those sweet kids to have us there. We were able to sit with them when all their friends were sitting with their parents and calm their nerves. When they were next up, they were able to look up into the stands and see us enthusiastically waving at them. We brought signs, took pictures, bought them lunch, and got to play “mom” for two days. And when J and Z won FIRST in their relay, you know we screamed the loudest.
J and Z with their gold medals (Picture credit to Maggie Hobbs)
Especially in early October, the feelings of uselessness and purposelessness filled my thoughts. But now that I reflect on what we’ve actually been able to do for the Children’s Home kids (and the kids and the community), I realize how much the Spirit is actually doing through the simple, fun things that we do for them.
Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Our plans are already set. God already knows and has arranged what we’re supposed to do, it’s just a matter of us choosing into Him and what’s He’s trying to do through us. And by praying everyday that God will use me for His plans, He did without me even knowing.
