BIG NEWS.
I have switched routes.
I am no longer in I Squad (Route 1), but in L Squad- September 2012 Route 4. A few days ago, we all received an e-mail asking us to prayerfully consider switching to Route 4 to even out numbers, as some of the large numbers in Routes 1 and 3 right now would not be most conducive to effective ministry and travel. I looked at the list of the countries for Route 4:
Guatemala
El Salvador
Honduras
Philippines
Australia
Malaysia
Thailand
Cambodia
Kenya
Uganda
Rwanda
…and I realized that I’d actually love to go to all those countries. Of course, I’d also still love to go on Route 1, but the more I thought about it and did some research, the more I realized that the Lord might be leading me to make this change. There was an urgent need for people to switch, and there wasn’t really much holding me back. In fact, I am now even more excited about this route because I was admittedly a bit sad that Route 1 didn’t include Thailand or Cambodia, which are especially rife with child (sex) trafficking. Last summer I read a book called The Road of Lost Innocence, which broke my heart. It was a memoir of Somaly Mam, a Cambodian woman who was sold into sex slavery as a child. And recently I’ve been having more conversations with friends about trafficking and social justice. So it made me especially happy to see those countries. I am no longer going to Eastern Europe (Ukraine and Moldova), but I’ve always wanted to go to Australia! And God clearly knows that I love Honduras, because it’s on both routes. No need to make a decision there. 😀 So Praise Him for the sudden but amazing route change!
I’m really excited to meet new people in these countries and to learn about these cultures that I don’t know anything about. It’s not every day that I encounter someone from Cambodia or Malaysia. The fact that they’re so unreached, that so many of these people haven’t even heard of the gospel, made it even more appealing to me. I think it will be awesome to reach the unreached and to further equip those who are.
On a related note, God has been challenging me recently with the concept of lament. Through various talks, sermons, verses, and conversations in the past month, this theme has come up so many times. We as Americans, we as the Church, we as humans all feel this need to put up a happy façade, to not burden others with our troubles, or to be ashamed of our struggles.
But guess what?
Jesus wept. (John 11:35). I heard one speaker refer to this as the gospel summed up in two crucial words. God heard His people’s cries for mercy, and He answered. He sent His son to live a vulnerable, human life from birth to death. And Jesus wept– for us and because of us. He lived, he loved, he wept, he died, he rose again… and he rejoices with us when we are reconciled to God through him. But too many times we skip the lament and move on to rejoicing. As one of the speakers I heard mentioned, we skip Good Friday and only focus on Easter. But we are missing a huge part of God’s heart when we do that. We actually miss a huge part of the celebration and joy that follows as well. Because the more we realize there was and is to lament for, the more we can praise Him for reconciliation and redemption. Though I can’t say I’ve put this to practice very well, I’m striving to do so.
Being the selfish creature I am, I know it’s easier to lament for myself than for others. But God calls us to listen to His heart for His people. I no longer want to be deaf and blind to those cries for mercy, but I truly want my calloused heart to be softened by breaking for what breaks His.
I love Joel 2:12-13.
“Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.
To rend (to tear) our hearts is obviously painful. But the amazing thing is that as with any other muscle, the heart grows after it is torn. I don’t know about you, but I want—no, I need—my heart to grow! We can say “rend our hearts” because we know that Love never fails.
So this is my prayer for us all, as I prepare to leave for a week of training camp (that starts TOMORROW, 7/14!!). Fellow Racers, friends, and supporters, I want us all to remember the importance of lamenting, to hear the cries of God’s children, and to act upon them through love and prayer. I can’t wait to meet the September 2012 Racers for a ridiculous week that will only be the start of the craziness that lies ahead!!! L SQUAD all the way! “L” for “Love never fails”
