One of the favorite parts of this trip has been living with my squad. Webster defines community as a group of people with common interests living together. That is what we are doing! We are “doing life” together with the same purpose – to make God known to the ends of the earth.
Imagine this: as a team we are learning from each other about God; we are challenging each other to step out in faith and do what God is asking us individually to do; we are studying, praying and worshipping God together; we lend a listening ear and offer advice at times; we are a group ready to love, ready to go on a new adventure each day while supporting each other. It is awesome!
This month the focus of our ministry was Hostel ministry. Simply stated it is living with people from all over the world and just talking to them. In 1 Peter 3:15, the Message bible says “be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you are living the way you are living and always with the utmost courtesy.” God has allowed me to live out this verse throughout the month. For example, there are times when I sit down to have a quiet time and people will come up to me and ask “Are you reading the Bible?” Or “I am so lost right now and I don’t know what to do.” I have had really cool conversations with people about who God is and how He is here to help.
I really began thinking about what it looks like to live in a community. To live your life with fellow believers and just have people come up to you because they see something different about you. We started each morning with a bible study in the café. The people around us noticed something different about us and it turned into some great conversations about God. It was easy to invite them to hang out with us or to run into them while on a walk and talk about God! In fact this point stood out to me while we were in India. There are so many people who are ready to hear about God. They would just come up to us asking good questions that made it easy to have a conversation about God. It was a constant reminder of Matthew 9:37 “the harvest is indeed plentiful…” Another translation says “what a huge harvest!”
There are so many people ready to hear about God. I began to think how I can take this home with me and how I can let my relationship with God be seen by others. I realized it is inviting them to be a part of my community. It is inviting them to dinner, or over to the house for the holidays, or to the movies or anything else I enjoy doing. Then, love them and let the light of God shine forth. It is really that simple. Here, it was just reading our bible in the café or taking a hike and someone wanted to walk with us – which always ended with a great conversation about God!
I really loved this month and the amazing people we met. I will not forget the hunger that I saw in the people we met and how God is really preparing the way for us!
