The word “adventure” can most definitely sum up this month so far…in so many different aspects.
This month our ministry focus is working with an incredible ministry here in Livingstone, Zambia called J Zone (Jesus Zone). Our missionary hosts, Sanderson and Lweendo do so much! They lead orphan ministry, widow ministry, kids ministry, student ministry, rural village ministry, leadership training and discipleship for pastors and church leaders, clinical/medical ministry, and probably a ton more. They are awesome warriors for the Lord and are doing amazing work through Him and for Him here in Livingstone.
This is all squad month for us and so all 34 of us plus our 3 squad leaders are here together, which has been an absolute blast! It’s been so neat and so encouraging to minister and serve alongside people I haven’t gotten to serve with yet. It’s also been so cool to learn from the ones He’s surrounded me with and to share also what He’s given me to give.
The main ministries that my squad and I have served in this month are:
– Play Park: We have worked really hard on a plot of land to make it into a Kid’s Play Park to host kids day camps in order to share the gospel with the kids in the community through camp ministry. This has looked like tons of slashing (no lawn mowers- we use machete type tools to cut all the grass), tons of raking, digging holes, burying piles, burning piles, making a soccer field, making a volleyball pit, picking up loads of trash and rocks, building a fence, painting, hoeing, making concrete, and more. Lots of manual labor.
– Orphan ministry: We have been serving with two different orphanages this month, Ebenezer Home and S.O.S. These are both orphanages where orphaned children live and go to school. At Ebenezer we’ve gotten to preach and lead worship. Tomorrow we will lead a Good Friday service there. At S.O.S we’ve gotten to go and teach the kids Bible stories, play games with them, and just love on them with the love of Jesus.
– Widow ministry: We have gotten to spend some time with the widows in the community through Bible studies and time in worship and prayer.
– Awana Ministry: We have also served in children’s ministry in the form of Awana’s. We have led games, worship, and Bible stories with these kids so full of energy.
– Youth Club: We have also gotten to preach at a boarding school on Sunday evenings to hundreds of students about the hope of Jesus Christ.
– We’ve preached and led worship in other churches.
– Day camp! Yesterday we had our first day camp in the Play Park we’ve been working so hard on! It was so awesome to see the ground we’ve so diligently been working on and praying over filled with children having fun, experiencing the love of Jesus, hearing His truth, and just having CAMP. We will also host a day camp for youth on Monday! (Please be in prayer for that. :))
Oh see the adventure this month has held! 🙂 It’s been so good and so full! We’ve been busy, but it’s been incredible. This month I have learned even more about myself and I’ve learned even more about my precious Jesus. He has reminded me so many times of the reasons that I am here. He has given me direction and guidance. He has so beautifully spoken and revealed Himself in new and different ways. He has loved me so well through others. He has shown me so much that He knows how to love me very best- more than anyone ever could…and not only does He know how to love me very best, BUT HE DOES IT. It has been a sweet sweet sweet time getting to have all squad worship and all squad teaching time. Man you guys, these people I get to serve with…they are just incredible people. I am so blessed to be doing life with them. It’s all been so good.
But it’s not always easy. In this blog post, I wanted to share with you some of the realities. I have gotten to post some pretty rad pictures this month, I know you’ve probably seen. Like I said before, this month has been FULL of adventures- in all sorts and forms. One of which has been to experience God’s beautiful and amazing creation on adventure days and rest days. It’s been really neat and I’ve definitely spent too much of my own personal money haha! But all is well.
Some quotes from this month:
“Is there water yet? I’m tired of peeing in a toilet with no water.”
“The electricity is out again? It’s not supposed to go out for another hour.”
“Beans and rice again.”
“Sandwiches again.”
“I haven’t gotten to wash my hair since Sunday. (It’s Thursday).”
“We are out of water?! But my water bottle is empty.”
“My clothes are moldy.”
“My poop is finally to a solid state!”
“This is the worst wifi I’ve ever used.”
“It’s our day for wifi; get off!”
Those are only a few of the plethora of description quotes of the month.
Like I mentioned above, it’s not always zebras, giraffes, and elephants. This month has been so good, but that doesn’t mean it’s been easy or comfortable or without challenge. The reality is that while you see the awesome instagram and facebook pictures of the incredible adventures I’ve gotten to experience this month with my personal money…during the week we live on four dollars a day for food and about four dollars a day for lodging and so forth. We only have electricity in our lodge half the time. We also only have running water in our lodge half of the time. Bucket baths and baby wipe baths have become a norm. I live in a normal sized room with four other girls, two of which sleep on the ground on mattresses (also all sharing one bathroom with running water only have the time and upset tummies often…imagine that smell haha). We have worked real hard on the play park in Jesus name- we have many blisters, callouses, scratches and bruises…but full hearts. We have been stretched out of our comfort zones in different ministries and have experienced God in different ways as we’ve gone to some of these African churches. Some of my squadmates are hardcore introverts so living with 36 other people has been a huge challenge. Many of us have had health struggles this month with upset tummies, throwing up, diarrhea, and dizziness. Sometimes it feels like you’re hidden or not important because there are so many people. There are just different little struggles all around. Sometimes you just want your bed, your mommy, to be really clean, and some Chickfila with a large sweet tea. Then sweet Jesus always reminds you why you’re here.
So you see…life on the Race this month is not all zebras, giraffes, and elephants. But it’s also not all peeing in toilets with no water. It’s all a perspective thing. It makes you appreciate what you have, to see how stinkin blessed you are, and to have joy in both the easy and the trying times.
Life is an adventure. It involves bliss and crazy blessings like safaris, riding elephants, and bungee jumping at Victoria Falls. But it also involves having dirty hair for days and not being able to shower every day or pee in a toilet with running water. It involves super cool excursions, but also times of discomfort and diligent work. The key…learning to SEE it as the adventure it is!
“If then you have been raised with Christ, SEEK the things that are ABOVE, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. SET YOUR MINDS on the things that are ABOVE, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, WHO IS YOUR LIFE appears, then YOU WILL ALSO APPEAR WITH HIM IN GLORY.”
Colossians 3:1-4
See also-
“I came that they may have life and have it ABUNDANTLY.”
-Jesus
Jesus is holy and powerful and mighty and good and fun! He is full of adventure and full of mystery. He is the lover of our souls, the pursuer of our hearts, our mighty King and deliverer, and He wants us to live full lives that overflow Him to change the world for His name and glory. When we get that, when we see that, when we walk in it…life just becomes more and more beautiful and more and more full of adventure.
See the adventure He’s given YOU. Don’t miss it! Enjoy it! And enjoy it so fully that it impacts others for the name and sake of Jesus Christ!
Be adventurous my friends and SEE! LOVE YOU ALL!
Megan
