I have reached the end of my book and I am about to begin the final chapter. After ten months of going country to country always having one next, we have reached a month where next translates to home.
Each month we have been asked to grow; to grow closer to the Lord, to grow in our community and relationships, to grow in our obedience, to grow in risk-taking, to grow in confidence and leadership. Not one of which is easy but based on my experience they are all worth it. I can look back on each of the past 10 months and tell you where I have grown, the lessons God was walking me through and the character changes I have gone through. I can look forward and identify the areas I am still pushing to be closer to God wanting to fully embody my creator to the best of my abilities.
Month 11, Indonesia. Life, ministry, and travel will look a little different this month. Since month one our leadership team has been slowly preparing us to return to life at home as difference makers in the Kingdom. They have been giving the squad more power to make our own decisions and challenging us to listen to the Holy Spirit for guidance. With that being said month 11 consists of a drop off location of Jakarta, Indonesia and a pickup location in Bali, Indonesia.
That’s it!
It is up to each of our teams to listen to the Holy Spirit for guidance, to use our old and newfound passions to create ministry this month. One team is going to Australia for ten days to minister to the people of Darwin. Another team is heading straight to Bali and settling in a town to pour their hearts out to the people there. Team three is going to a city on Java to partner with a local church connection. My team, on the other hand, is waiting.
We want to provide space for the Holy Spirit, and we feel the best way to do that is have no plans. Now we’re not going in blind we know places we shouldn’t visit for safety reasons but we want to fully depend on the Lord this month. Last week we did listening prayer for Indonesia. This is a time where we focus on Indonesia and listen to what the Lord has to say, where he is guiding us and showing visions. We all had connections of staying near the beach and creating intentional relationships with the people around us.
Personally, the Lord told me ministry this month would be with my camera. I want to walk the beach asking to take photos for and of people. My teammate Hannah had the great idea of collecting their email address’ in order for me to send the photos back to the people. Asking to take photos of people creates a great way to share why I am on that specific beach offering to take photos. I also would love to hang out at a coffee shop for days to get to know the workers and pour into their lives.
Indonesia will be a month of listening and trusting, making arrangements of places to stay as we go. Asking the Lord each day, what is enough for today? It is not my job to end world hunger or peace throughout the nations in one day. But if I can listen to the Lord’s direction make a difference in even one person’s life today then I’ll know I was obedient to the Lord.
Month 11 scares me, I like having a plan, knowing where I will be sleeping that night and I like consistency. None of which I will have this month, but it is also the most authentic to what month 12 and beyond will look like. As a team, we may fail miserably or we may be wildly successful listening to the Lord. I just hope that we can grow closer to the successes together this month.
Keep reading to hear our stories as we backpack through Indonesia!
Team: Straight ‘Outta Heaven 2.0!
Indonesian Church in a Jakarta mall!
