A few weeks ago I asked my lovely mom to write a blog about the time she got to spend with me in Rwanda. She kindly obliged and without further ado, here it is!
**Disclaimer!! I cried while reading this so get your tissues ready!!**
Hi! My name is Rebecca Duryea and God has blessed me with an amazing husband and four awe-inspiring daughters. One of those daughters is Amaris. Many of you have gotten to know her through her blogs. They blow me away every time. I am not a blogger. In fact, I was asked to write a blog for my work last year and I think they are still waiting for it… ??
When Amaris asked me to write about being on the PVT (Parent Vision Trip) and what it’s like to be the mother of a World Racer I gladly accepted and then promptly started procrastinating. (Wonder where my girls get that from). My thoughts have wandered to many things as I ponder what to share with anyone that may read this. A little about myself; my father was a pastor in the states. When he first began as a pastor he was classified as a missionary at large which means he was a church planter; starting churches where there was no church. I always thought it would be so awesome to be a missionary. About 5 years ago Amaris and I went on a mission trip to Haiti. I have been back many times and continue to work with an organization that cares for orphans there.
The thing I didn’t realize before I went on my first mission trip was that I wasn’t there so much for the other people, but that God had me there to change me. What an amazing realization to have, that God has us right where we are for His purposes in OUR lives. The people you work with, hang out with, are all hand chosen by our amazing Creator.
The time Amaris has been away on the World Race has been life changing not only for her and for the people she is with but also for all the people she “left behind”. God loves you just the way you are and loves you so much that He doesn’t want to leave you that way. He has learning and growing for all of us. I have learned that through Amaris being on this journey. The World Race stretches families and ultimately brings you to a place of surrendering to the fact that God is in control and you are not God.
I love the image of a tapestry and how God is the Weaver. We go through times in our lives that are uncomfortable. Things we struggle with that make us ask God, “Why?” The death of a friend, loved one, sickness, loss of a job,….. Whatever you’re struggling with right now God has not lost your address. We may not know the answer to why or know what the future holds but we know who holds our future. There is no tomorrow, no place where we are going that God hasn’t already been. Let that sink in. He knows all our tomorrows. God doesn’t promise that believers will not have trouble in fact he states the opposite, “In this world you WILL have trouble. But take heart, I have overcome the world.” The world we live in is broken. Ask the Racers. They have seen it everywhere and yet the people they have met that know Jesus have so much more than people who live in American that have so much but don’t have Jesus.
A friend just asked me what my “take away” was from the PVT (Parent Vision Trip). I told her two things. First, the people who live in Rwanda were amazing. Some of them probably wish they could come to America. I can honestly say that if any of them had said that to me I would have told them they are better off in Rwanda. God has them right where they are supposed to be. I also talked with another parent in Rwanda about being about God’s work right here in America where God has planted us. Witnessing in America is in many aspects much harder than in a third world country. It seems like you have to risk more but honestly not witnessing to our friends and family we are risking spending eternity without them.
The organization I work with in Haiti, Mission Experience, just started a Bible study with some of the local people who have been helping us build the new facility for our workers and orphans. They are HUNGRY. They want to know more about this God who loves them. Oh that we in America would hunger for the truth like they are.
The second “take aways” are the faith “nuggets” that the young people (Racers) shared during their faith stories from the last seven months. I want to share some of them with you.
-
Our stories are His stories and as we share our stories He will use them to touch people in His way. Be bold. Listen to Him.
-
As we prayed for healing for one of the Racers father, his son prayed as Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego did as they were about to thrown into the furnace. “The God we serve is able to deliver us but even if he does not we will still serve Him.”
-
As the disciples asked Jesus why they weren’t able to heal the boy with the unclean spirit, He told them ‘this kind can only come out by prayer’. We pray, and it is Jesus who does the acting – and shows His power. What a privilege to be a part of Jesus healing actions.
To all of you who are feeling God drawing you to missions in whatever fashion that looks like, i.e. volunteering at your local mission, adding a mission to your prayer list, making a donation to a mission, or going on a mission trip right here in America or in another country, take that leap. Over the years as I have followed God’s leading I have experienced over and over that He provides when you are following Him. Follow His lead and He will provide both financially, spiritually and physically.
To Him who is able do immeasurably more than we could ever imagine, be ALL the glory!
Rebecca Duryea
