This week marks the halfway point for the race. In the last five and a half months I’ve seen modern towns and ancient ruins, volcanoes and oceans, remote villages and famous cities, but the greatest blessing has been to see the Church working around the world to further the Kingdom.
My deadline is only two weeks away, and I still have $1,414 to be fully funded. That number reminds me of a verse that God has taught me a lot with lately.
II Samuel 14:14 “All of us must die eventually. Our lives are like water spilled out on the ground which cannot be gathered up again. But God does not just sweep life away; instead he devises ways to bring us back when we have been separated from him.”
Every day on the race we have “team time,” where someone on the team leads a game or activity for the team. Last night I set up a scavenger hunt for my team. Each person had their own set of clues. The clues were individual, but at points in the hunt, teams were created so that my hunt could go around the neighborhood.
The activity was inspired by the separation which exists between God and humans, at least in the tangible sense. If we saw His face, or His full presence, we would die. He loves us, though, and desperately wants to “bring us back to him.” He sent his son, our Lord Jesus Christ, to earth as a way we could tangibly see God as a human. Today Jesus Christ is with His Father, and we are within the restraints of the physical world. Yes, Christ is with us always, even to the end of time, and the Holy Spirit indwells us. But we cannot perceive God’s full presence in our present state. We have dreams, visions, even audible voices at times, but all of these are merely shadows of the Kingdom. As it says in I Corinthians 13, we are looking through a poor reflection here on earth of what’s to come, when we can see God’s face at last.
He is waiting for that day, devising ways to guide us to Him while we are here on earth. It reminds me of the movie P.S. I Love You. In the movie, the man knows he will soon die of cancer, so he creates this elaborate scavenger hunt for his wife, so that she will go through the mourning process. God has set up a “scavenger hunt” more elaborate than our mental capacities could ever grasp. We don’t have obvious “clues” to follow, but the Lord teaches us to listen to His voice, and the Holy Spirit guides us as we go.
God has been patiently and faithfully teaching me to follow Him up to this point. Here is a quick recap of these past several months on the race:
- In Guatemala, my team worked in a elderly daycare center where we played soccer and other activities with the residents, found projects to help with such as cleaning and painting the building and just spent time with the residents and employees of the center. That month we learned that God’s love can be communicated despite language barriers and in even a short time.
- In Nicaragua, we were able to meet Christians throughout the country as we searched for new ministries for World Race to partner with. That month three teammates and I got dengue fever. Through the challenge, we all learned different things from God.
- In Costa Rica, we partnered with a Christian school and led morning devotionals and taught English classes. We met many missionaries who mentored us and we learned a lot about the Word.
- In Thailand, my team and I learned the power of prayer as we had the opportunity to teach at a Buddhist school. That month I learned the value of an outward focus on ministry rather than on personal growth and learning.
- In Cambodia, new teams were put together. My new team worked in a remote village about an hour outside of Siem Reap. The missionaries we worked with that month built a community center in the village where they taught English to the children of the village, hosted community fun nights, a feeding program, and a health and hygiene day.
- This month in Malaysia, we are teaching classes at a kindergarten. We get to see the light of Christ shine in Malaysia, even though we are not able to share the gospel for the protection of our host ministry.
In the past 5.5 months I have grown more, learned more and become closer to God than any other period of my life. I’ve experienced living in a community of believers who encourage each other to become more like Christ. God has delivered me from many insecurities and fears. I’ve seen God provide for me time and time again. God has taught me to care about the things He cares about.
Words cannot express how thankful I am for those who have supported me with prayers, finances and encouragement. I am now only two weeks away from my final financial deadline and I would like to make one last request for your financial support. It is evident to me that it is not by chance that I decided to come on the race, but that God has led me here. I trust that He will provide for me once again to meet this last deadline. I am only $1,414 away from the deadline which is two weeks away. If you feel led to help me reach this final deadline, please click on the “Support Me” button on the left-hand panel.
*BONUS*
So today we had the opportunity to go caving here in Malaysia. I’ve had a bit of a cold and wasn’t up for the excursion. A few of us stayed behind and we decided to have our own cave adventure around the house. Enjoy!
