7.27.12
So…What’s Next?
Alright so it’s been 1 month after the World Race & here I am back in the United States…and everything is just back to the way it was before I left….UGhhhh nope not so much! Some days I still feel like I am on the World Race, like I have to just pack up & go each month like I did before, or that I can’t just live in comfortable complacency anymore. Sometimes I think about the community I had & lived with & how much it challenged & allowed us all to grow in our faith with Christ & I truly am forever impacted. God won’t let me forget it. He just won’t. So here it is…”Interview Style”…the infamous question, that must have gotten asked of me more than anything else since I have returned to the states, “So now that you are back, What’s next?”
When I hear it my heart starts beating faster. What is next? I ask myself. Then I ask God, “What is next Father?”….the good thing for me is that the Lord revealed to me a lot of what is next while I was on the World Race, starting in month one in Kenya. Now how am I going to continue to impact the world? To be the change that the world needs, and is waiting for through Christ?
What is something you have realized is a passion of your heart?
(Right:Sharon & I; Kigali Rwanda)
For me it was many things. It started in Kenya, Uganda, and then in Rwanda when each month the Lord showed me a special friendship that developed with each one of the girls I met who were 16 (Faith the Pastor’s Daughter in Kenya), 15 (Uganda), and 16(Owera “Hope” aka Sharon in Rwanda. He spoke to me that I love & have a huge heart for youth girls. They are drawn to me & I am drawn to them. I have a heart to want to mentor them because of my past & see them come closer to Jesus. Then in Cambodia God cultivated something very special & I grew to fall in love with the youth girls there …& felt led to start a bible study with them while with them. Youth girls is a HUGE passion of mine now. It was there all along I just needed to discover it. It's funny because before the world race I was intimidated by teenagers/youth age, but now I love them. Before leaving for the race I was able to lead at a Youth Apologetics Conference, and I got to share my story with a youth group which was also a part of this door opening for me see the love God has placed in my heart for them…there is is just so many ways God has shown me this & it has become so clear.
What broke your heart during ministry around the world?
One thing that really broke my heart was a morning we woke up at 5 am to go do a street feeding in Busia, Uganda with Pastor Rosemary. We brought the street boys, who literally sleep on the street, tea & bread, while they were sober so we could minister to them & share Jesus with them. Many of them received Christ with tears welling up in their eyes and tears in mine & a few of my teammates as well. We started a bible study for the boys who were interested & saw some breakthrough’s with addictions. I realized I had a passion for seeing addicts come to know Christ. These poor young boys (some age 15 maybe younger were runaway's); they sniffed glue bottles to get high & alcohol swabs. They also drank alcohol to numb the pain of having to sleep on the street & feel so alone. It broke me. God started to work on restoring their hope while we worked with them & it was amazing to see some of the transformations that took place. Please continue to pray for these street boys that God would show them another way. That they would be adopted, placed in homes, and be able to go to school.
Where do you feel called to next?
The Lord laid “Detroit, Michigan” on my heart starting in month 1 on my World Race in Kenya, Africa. One morning I woke up for breakfast and heard him say “Detroit”…at that time I had no idea why or what it really meant but through much prayer & seeking the Father I know he is calling me to ministry there. It's funny because the Lord had to take me all around the world to show me I have a passion for Urban American Youth; to share Jesus with them; so many of them are so lost for the cause of Christ now. I can now see why the Lord had me teaching an at-risk city population in Charlotte for 3 years before leaving for the world race.
What is the Lord calling you to?
Well, for starters I know in the long term God is calling me to something big. However the Lord wants me to gaurd my heart & reveal the details when he says. I can say this much right now he is calling me to get planted, grounded, and receive more mentorship & discipleship to strengthen me as a woman of God. I know He is calling me to work with broken youth (girls specifically for now) & see them restored & come to know Christ through healing, the holy spirit & the arts(dance, painting, writing, photography, worship).
When are you going?
Well initially 1 month ago, on June 26th I came home from the race, and I felt like a tornado hit me. I needed rest, time to process, and figure that out. I also really wanted to see my family so I spent time here in Erie, Pennsylvania where I was raised. One morning I was praying because I had been feeling this pull in my heart that there was something else God had for me…and that Erie wasn’t it. I was trying to make Erie fit because I love & miss my family. It would be so easy for me to stay here with family in my comfort zone, but that is not what God has revealed to me. There was a morning I was really intently praying…God do you want me in Erie, or Detroit? God told me to get out my sketchbook. In my head I saw a shape and then I sketched it on paper. I then proceeded to realize well..this doesn’t look like Erie! I should google a map of Michigan…welp it doesn’t look like Michigan. So then I google mapped a map of Detroit! The match was exact with the shape the Lord gave me in my mind. I am not a pro of geography so I knew it was from God & not something I had made up. This was about 2 weeks ago. Since then doors have been opening up there with jobs, and a place to stay with World Race alumni so I will be leaving on Monday the 30th for Detroit! I have job interviews…& I am also hoping to work with Teen Challenge/Life Challenge which is a non-profit rehab ministry for youth.
How Can You Help?
Well for now you can pray for me. That God would continue to lead & direct my paths as he already is. For peace in this transition. I feel like I am taking another big leap like I did before the world race. During this next season in my life the Lord is calling me to become more financially stable & pay off some college debts so that I can be more available for him to use me in ministry in the future. Pray God opens the right doors to the right people & the right jobs. Psalm 71 is going to be something very significant in what the Lord wants me to use as life verses so you can read it & pray it over me.
“In you, Lord, I have taken refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
In your righteousness, rescue me and deliver me;
turn your ear to me and save me.
Be my rock of refuge,
to which I can always go;
give the command to save me,
for you are my rock and my fortress.
Deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked,
from the grasp of those who are evil and cruel.
For you have been my hope, Sovereign Lord,
my confidence since my youth.
From birth I have relied on you;
you brought me forth from my mother’s womb.
I will ever praise you.
I have become a sign to many;
you are my strong refuge.
My mouth is filled with your praise,
declaring your splendor all day long.
Do not cast me away when I am old;
do not forsake me when my strength is gone.
For my enemies speak against me;
those who wait to kill me conspire together.
They say, “God has forsaken him;
pursue him and seize him,
for no one will rescue him.”
Do not be far from me, my God;
come quickly, God, to help me.
May my accusers perish in shame;
may those who want to harm me
be covered with scorn and disgrace.
As for me, I will always have hope;
I will praise you more and more.
My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds,
of your saving acts all day long—
though I know not how to relate them all.
I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, Sovereign Lord;
I will proclaim your righteous deeds, yours alone.
Since my youth, God, you have taught me,
and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.
Even when I am old and gray,
do not forsake me, my God,
till I declare your power to the next generation,
your mighty acts to all who are to come.
Your righteousness, God, reaches to the heavens,
you who have done great things.
Who is like you, God? …”
More to Come ….
In the nearby future I will be starting a blog about Detroit & ministry life there. I want to continue to write & blog about what God is doing in my life & through his mighty hand in the Kingdom. I will also continue to keep my World Race blog updated but will be starting a new one so keep an eye out for it very soon! I am very excited about what the Lord has in store for this next season along with some butterflies of the unknown. I know that he has good things in store, challenging things, and more than I could ever ask or imagine. I will miss my family but they are only 4 1/2 hours away so that is amazing! I used to live in Charlotte, NC which was over 10 hours away…now it is half the time…so praise God for that! I know that the Lord has great things in store as I embark on this next journey of Faith. Thank you to all my supports for all your continued prayers& support…you have planted a seed in the Kingdom that is spreading more seeds now & to come. Please keep in touch so you can hear more about what the Lord has placed in my heart in the near future! Another thing I have planned coming up is continuing to pursue a newly found passion & gift of making art. This art is going to be very vital in what God wants to do. Please pray for me as I listen to God in obedience & act!
Love in Christ,
Megan Nicole Czerwinski
[email protected]
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