I Am A Full Cup Of Water
Okay so before y’all get confused and stuff let me explain.
While being on the race I have had the opportunity and the blessing to be able to pour into people every single day.
I have worked at orphanages, been a teacher, held a Beauty for Ashes woman’s event, led a Scavenger hunt, preached probably 100 times, done door-to-door ministry, prayed over people at hospitals, and so much more and as the race keeps going I will probably do so much more.
Even when I am not on ministry hours I am having dance parties with the people I am living with, ministering to the people on the street, pouring into my hosts, playing games with the people I am living with, ministering to and pouring into my teammates, and living every moment of my life in missionary mode. Because of the life I have chosen and the life I am living currently I have to have a missional mindset everywhere I go.
It’s fun. It’s exciting. I feel like a celebrity even when I go to the grocery store because I’m that weird white teenage missionary girl, and it’s extremely exhausting. I didn’t expect the amount of drainage I would experience on this journey.
It’s hard to pour into other people 24/7 and not be poured into yourself. It’s hard when you have devotions as a team and you have to prepare a message instead of soaking in the content, it’s hard going to church and having to be the church instead of soaking in the content, it’s hard having to wake up at the crack of dawn to read my bible or else I wouldn’t have the energy to do ministry that day. It’s hard being a missionary. Yes I have my team that pours into me and I probably would go crazy if I didn’t have them pouring into me… but it’s still not the same.
This weekend I was feeling extra drained and extra tired… and God blessed me. God knew that all me and my team needed was a spiritual rest and that’s exactly what he gave us.
My main Ministry host invited us over for dinner and a sleepover. We packed our bags and headed over to her house not knowing what to expect because she is in her 50s. When we got there she put on TV, started making dinner for us, and gave us all fruit.
I almost cried.
I hadn’t had the opportunity of watching TV in almost 3 months and this was the first meal we hadn’t had to prepare for ourselves in almost a month. I was pumped.
My team and I sat there for a good hour laughing at TV shows and waiting for our dinner. When the dinner finally came out we DEVOURED the traditional African dinner she had made for us, talked about life, then went to bed in ACTUAL BEDS IN AN ACTUAL HOUSE for the first time since I have been home in America. The next morning we woke up to the smell of PANCAKES!! We ate those delicious pancakes, got ready for the day, and headed out the door to go to her church.
WOOOOOOOOOOW CHURCH WAS GOOD.
When we arrived at the church we walked in and saw white people leading the worship and we flipped out. We didn’t know how to act. They were singing songs we knew and they were praising in a way that was familiar to us. We sat in the front row and were in awe for the entirety of the worship. I literally almost started crying.
When the pastor began to preach he asked all of the congregation to lay hands on my team and pray for us and our travels. I have no idea how he knew who we were but it was the biggest blessing I could have received. People prayed that we would get filled up during church so that we had enough energy to give to others in our continual ministry.
The remainder of the service was uplifting, inspiring, passionate, and full of love. I left feeling so so so refreshed and filled up.
When we left we went straight to a girls boarding school to speak for a short while and I felt so full. The fullest I had felt on the Race so far.
God showed me through that experience that it is so so so important to find a way to get filled up so that you can fill others up. If I don’t have my glass completely full I won’t have anything to give to everyone around me and the people I am trying to reach. Because I am such an outgoing and people person I am constantly trying to please everyone around me and trying to do absolutely everything in every situation no matter the circumstances.
I am constantly giving my all when I have nothing left to give.
God taught me that even if it’s downloading a sermon every week, listening to a Christian podcast, saying no every once and a while, learning to enjoy naps, or just simply resting and praying instead of going to “Chicken Inn” (shoutout to the amazing chicken at Chicken Inn), I need to find a way to fill my self up completely every once in awhile.
THANKS FOR READING MY BLOG! If you haven’t yet, read my monkey blog I posted earlier today.
LOVE YALL TALK TO YA SOON.
