“Welcome to the biggest bait and switch of your life,” are the words that Mike Pascal told us the very first week of the race… I never realized how true it was until this past month. I came into this race with the expectation of the race changing my life. I expected to work with amazing contacts that AIM would provide, through them minister to others,and in doing so God would change me in the process. However this year has completely changed my view of that.
Even though it seems like a year, it was only just over a month ago when we arrived in Africa, having the expectation that we would have our contacts ready to go (like we have had every month before), but nothing was prepared for us.. Nothing. God lead our squad leaders in working everything out, but it was a long process and we were delayed a week. While in the waiting period of trying to figure out ministries, God began to change me and form our Squad. The date that was the re-begging of the race will be etched into my mind forever… June 4,2009. This was the day that I realized I will never be the same person that I was six months ago… Ever. It was that day that God really started speaking to me about freedom, and about the work he wanted to do through me the next month. He gave the squad a word that night that this was the beginning of the race for us,and that he had been preparing us now it is time to step out into who he has called us to be. From that day on God has been shaping me and changing me like never before.
This past month was a month of very little ministry it just seemed like set back after set back hit us, waiting to do ministry seemed to be our ministry. Out of a month I think we had 8 days of actually ministry, compared to the normal17-24 days we have. Despite the lack of ministry God still worked, and to be honest this was the month of the most change in my life. It was a month of God pulling things up in my past to deal with, a month of being silent…just listening to the voice of God, a month of obedience. I find it ironic that God used this month to change my life so dramatically when it looked like it was going to be our worst month yet. In this month, God called be to deal with my crap so that i could get re-baptized. I needed to make that decision for myself knowing what it means, out of obedience I did just that. On June 24, 2009 I made that com
mitment and got baptized by my brother, and it is just the beginning of a life of obedience. God has called me David, David Matthew. Reflecting on all of this God has really shown me that it has never been me changing the world in ministry, but God changing me…. He has called me out of my life for a year just to show me that what I thought life was, isn’t what he has for me. He took me away from all my distractions so I could focus on His voice, and I am so thankful. The race and it’s contacts are not what is changing my life like I thought they would… It is just simple obedience to God. Period.
