Last night was amazing! About 10 of my squad mates sat on google chat for about 3 hours talking. It was so encouraging. I just sat there looking at their faces excited that I get to travel with all of them in 7 months. These people will share life with me in ways that no one else ever will. We will see each other at our lowest. We will see each other in moments of great joy. We will see each other through gross sicknesses. We will see God radiate through each of us! As excited as I was to meet everyone I was also sad that we only get to live as groups of six. I wanted so badly to serve as a large group and live life with all of them. I have to rest in God’s goodness and trust that God will put me on a team with the perfect six. He has lead each one of us to U squad for a reason and I will trust in his provision moving forward.
God is amazing. He brings people from all over the world together to serve in His name. The only thing we may have in common is Jesus, but somehow that is enough to make us feel like family. Jesus allows us to serve together, side by side, when the world says we shouldn’t be friends. I love that. Let me tell you a story:
Last summer, I went to Paris for 3 weeks to serve in a homeless shelter. I was part of a camp of multicultural people who came together in Paris to spread the love of God. We sat in lectures each morning before splitting into teams and entering the city. Our lectures were translated into French and English up front. One night we had visitors and the lecture was translated into Korean and Spanish as well. It is amazing that we sat in a room together, not always able to speak to one another but God was bringing us together in His name.
While there, I served on the homeless team. Our team consisted of 7 of us. The youngest was 19 the oldest was 56. We were from Virginia, Hawaii, France, Switzerland, Canada, and Australia. There was no reason for us to even meet and yet we were assembled by God to serve the homeless. At the shelter, we took turns sharing our story before we served the food each night. One night Niko shared his story (in French). Although I couldn’t understand what he said, my friend Clare translated it for me later. Without going into too much detail, Niko had spent time in a cult, living alone in the forest, on the streets, and many other places. He learned about Jesus in a homeless shelter (just like the one we were now serving in). As I sat by him on the metro ride home, I realized that there was no part of my life that overlapped or even compared to Niko’s. The only common thread between us was Jesus. Yet, it didn’t matter. When people are united through Christ nothing else matters. I just love that!
While at the homeless shelter, I spent some time talking with a man from Africa. He had been working at the homeless shelter for about a year. We chatted about life and he told me a little about himself. He had fled Africa in hopes of a better life but he had gotten stuck in France with not much opportunity. His only hope was in the Lord. He talked about how hard it was to be a Christian in France. He told me he had to be careful whom he told about being a Christian because he could be refused a job or other things if people found out. He started talking about Muslim people and how they outwardly show their religion while he felt trapped and unable to even express his true identity. He asked, “How is it that Muslims have the freedom to kill and hate and yet Christians don’t have the freedom to preach?” He thought that all Muslims were hateful people. He asked, “Why, why is the world like this?” Then he sat quietly waiting for my answer. I paused not knowing what to say. Would you have an answer?
I am a 24 year old American female. I grew up in a Christian home. I have never experienced first hand the hate that he talked about. I didn’t resonate with the statement, “How can you love a man who killed your brother,” like he did. I didn’t have any life experiences to turn to for guidance. I had no idea what to say. And yet, God gave me an answer. I said (which I agreed with as I heard myself saying it), “This world is Satan’s and they are doing Satan’s work. They have less to fight against where as we Christians try to spread truth in Satan’s world. The truth has a lot to battle and fight.” I went on to tell him other things. I look back on that conversation in amazement. I was giving advice to a 34 year old African about things I had never even thought about before. It was not me who was speaking. It was God. It was an amazing conversation. Another example of how God just amazes me. He uses any one to spread His truth and love. I hope to continue to find myself in conversations like this where God must show up to help. Where God speaks through me as I listen to his answer.
I am so thankful for all of the experiences God has given me on the mission field. I joyfully look forward to many more. (Below is a song I've fell in love with over the past few weeks. Enjoy)
