So half of our ministry this month is hitting the streets of Ocean View and ministering there….I wrote about that in my last blog.
The other half is hanging out with 15-20 of the local kids, 8-14 years old, that our host has developed relationships with. The kids are definitely a handful, and ornery as heck, but they’re full of energy and joy. Most afternoons we play soccer with them for a couple hours, and then bring them back to our house and do a bible study with them. They all have a pretty solid foundation of the bible, and what it says about Jesus and the Gospel message. But it’s helping them see how to apply it practically, and walking them through that each day….that’s the trick. But then again, that’s how it is with all of us, eh?
The other day Nate was leading the devo and sharing a story, and he ended by asking the kids 2 questions. 1: Who are you? 2: Why are you here? Those questions really made the kids think, and they also made me think. The kids gave several answers, some pretty basic, others prety deep. Who am I? I’m Jonathan Sander, servant to the King of Kings, homeschooler turned engineer, big brother, nerd and innovator. I am the way I am because that’s who the Lord made me. What am I doing here? I’m here on earth to glorify God. Duh. (Jesus Juke!) But I’m here on the World Race to serve Him in ministry for the year, to partner with believers already doing kingdom work, to encourage them, and to serve in whatever ways the Lord leads. But what am I doing here in South Africa, in Ocean View, on a team of all guys, hanging out in a really rough neighborhood? That’s a great question.
This month the Lord has really convicted me of alot of self-righteousness I’ve been holding on to. He’s constantly been asking me to drop my thoughts on how others are living their life, doing ministry, etc, and focus more on who I am in Christ, and why I am where I’m at. Why am I here? I can’t really answer that question until I drop all the crap of why I’d like to be here, what I selfishly want to be doing here, or what I think everyone else should be doing here.
I can decide for myself what I want to be doing here, and then I can tell you why I’m here. Or I can let the Lord remove all of those selfish thoughts and motivations, and then look at what’s left and see why I’m really here. Why HE has me here.
This obviously isn’t something I’ve mastered….I’m still learning what it looks like. But I’m excited to see where the Lord takes me through it.
