Here are some of the things God has been teaching:
Community/Unity:
“May the God who
gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves
as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accept one another, then just as
Christ accepted you in order to bring praise to God.” Romans 15: 5-7
As a team we all have come from different backgrounds and
all have different stories to tell. The stories of our childhood, the story of
how we came to know Christ, the stories that changed and moved our hearts and the
stories that challenged us. All these stories make our life, shape parts of who
we are, how we deal with life and how we operate day to day.
I am learning community
is hard but so worth it! We have talked about unity as a team and what that
looks like. I remember the lessons I learned in Lifeteams: school of Urban
youth outreach, which I will share with the group often. In that year I lived
with five other students, having some of the same difficulties. How do you get along
with someone when they are so different from you? How to you put yourself in someone’s
shoes? How do you relate when it seems you have nothing in common? How does
unity come upon a group like this? But I found out in that year, community is hard
especially when
you do not choose it but that is ok. God stretched us beyond
what we thought to teach us lessons. Sounds harsh but sometimes I wanted to
flee from all the conversations and disagreements but at the end of the year, I
LOVED (and still do) my family of five more then I can even express. My roommate that year, is now one of my
closest friends who I love dearly. Trust me we always say it is by the grace of
God that we have become friends but because of all our conversation during the
year, we learned to LOVE! Love the flaws, encourage and speak life into each other’s
lives.
I have seen over the past four months, our group stretch and
come to love to each other more and more each day. I have hope that the love I
have for my community back home will
grow and that love will also show up in this community as well. We have
been through some tough discussion as a group where we just needed to be
constantly lifting each other up in prayer and encouragement. I look up to this community (more then they
know sometimes) they are my family for the year, my friends, the people I look to
for encouragement, the ones I can cry with or just laugh with. They are the
family God put in my life for the year (and beyond) even if I did not chose it,
I am learning, growing and seeing my love for them. We need to “Accept one another,
just as Christ accepted us in order to bring praise to God” (Romans 15:7). I
LOVE THIS TEAM and am delighted to serve with them each day and have them as my
family.
As you know we have a new member in our team, Jordan Drake.
With the great delight of having him as a part of our team, it has brought us
to create a new name, as it is a new season. We are not longer team GLO (Gods
Love Overflowing) but NOW PRESENTING: S.W.A.T team – Soldiers with the army of
TRUTH!
Confidence/Boldness:
Something else God has been stretching me is boldness and
confidence. I have had a few opportunities now to speak at churches and youth
groups, which is not always my favourite thing. But each time I speak I pray
for Gods confidence and direction. I love it because I feel like I have a new
boldness in speaking and there is clearness to it all. I am confident in who I am, who God is and
have great Joy about sharing that with everyone. We had recent opportunity to
speak to some youth. We were invited in and sat on the couch with youth all
around us. Monica, Jordan and I spoke to them about missions, our stories and
left them with encouragement and challenges. I walked out that morning praising God, for
his goodness and asking him to keep using me and popping the boxes of fear in
my life, so I can continue to serve him.
-Malays point with their thumbs (make a fist and point with thumb)
-Pedestrians DO NOT have the right away (trust me, you run and pray you make
it)
