For the past 7 months, our days have looked like the following:
Entering a country, meeting our hosts, loving them,
setting up our sleeping mats, sleeping bags or tents in their house or a room in the church.
Our host telling us what their ministry is and how we can best partner with them.
Our job was to serve them and what God was doing through them in their community.
We had structure to different extents, depending on our host.
Either way, we knew for the most part what our days would look like.
Now, imagine coming into the 8th month of the race, into a new country.
Not knowing anything beyond general facts about this place/culture.
Not meeting any local host upon our arrival.
Finding your own hostel.
Getting around with minimal English.
Not having your week planned out.
And simply sitting in prayer with your team about what the Lord wants
Your focus to be for the month.
That’s what this month has been. “Ask The Lord”
Every morning, we wake up and Ask The Lord what He wants us to do
Where He wants us to go.
Each person has had different things highlighted for them,
But something He spoke to me was that it would be a month full of relationships.
Okay, Lord.
It’s not always this magical voice from God saying, “Jezie, today you & your team will go to the staircase at sunrise and meet a drunk man and you will worship with him and help him down the long flight of stairs.” (This did happen, just not directly for-warned from the Lord).
No. It’s actually never like that, for me at least.
But what’s cool is that I am tuning into His voice more & am aware of where He is having me move.
I hear little steps from Him and that’s where I start.
And when I get urges to turn a certain way or to go into a certain place, I listen to it and go.
Every time, it has lead me to encounter someone. And it is powerful.
Every time.
One day, after our team meeting, I walked around town by myself to find a coffee shop so I could spend some
time with the Lord and write a blog.
I walked past a Lebanese restaurant that was empty.
I wasn’t that hungry, and it was no ideal place for me to sip some coffee and write.
However, I had that Holy Spirit nudge.
So I turned back around and went in.
A waiter welcomed me in and let me sit wherever I pleased.
He was a kind man.
I had the entire place to myself.
I asked him what the best appetizer was on the menu and got that.
He seemed like a guy that liked to talk, so I asked him a bunch of questions.
We ended up talking the entire time and even watched the dreadful Barcelona vs. Liverpool game together. (We were on opposing teams & sadly Barca lost)
He told me his families history and how they were displaced after the Armenian Genocide (look that up if you didn’t know about it).
His family had to escape to Lebanon and that’s where he was born, but his dream was to always return to his motherland: Armenia.
He has only been here for 3 years and loves it with his whole heart.
Once it finally got busy in there, I knew it was my time to leave.
He sent me off with a free desert and told me to please return before I left Armenia.
We didn’t speak about Jesus or anything, but I can tell he enjoyed my presence.
He lit up talking about his dreams and had a zest for life.
He reminded me a lot of my dad.
And if our conversation made his day a little better, then that’s all that the Lord wanted for that moment.
After I left, I felt like I needed to walk towards the hostel and pray over the city on my way there.
I was walking down the street I walk down everyday and walked past a tea/bakery shop.
I’ve seen it before, but there was the nudge again.
So I stopped my steps, and turned around.
I entered and the cashiers were two kind young ladies.
One of them spoke very good English so I asked her what exactly they sold.
She mentioned cakes and teas.
I had no intention of buying anything, but when she asked me if I wanted anything I saw a cake pop that was less than a dollar (we’re on a budget after all).
So I got that.
She then asked, “for here or to go?”
A cake pop is a small thing. I could eat it in one bite. So to sit down and eat the cake pop sounded absurd to me.
But, what came out of my mouth was, “well, I don’t know what im doing right now..”
She said, “well if you sit here, we can talk to you!”
She actually sounded excited to talk to me, so I said, “OK! Ill sit here and eat it.”
They sat me at the only table inside the shop right in front of the cashier. (the rest of the tables were outside)
I had one little plate, a fork and a knife for my one cake pop.
But there I was, sitting happily in their presence, trying to eat it very slowly.
We spoke for a very long time about my travels, about language, her dreams and finally about faith.
She was a very devout Jehovah Witness.
I don’t know much about the religion, so I asked her all the questions.
We shared our thoughts and beliefs and about the new generations lack of faith and attendance in the church.
She invited me to a gathering that they have every week in English.
I accepted the invitation (because I truly love to learn what the differences are and love to discuss the word of God, rather than assume and debate out of blind faith) but unfortunately I couldn’t make it.
Point is though, we are now friends.
She was a kind young woman (same age as me).
We encouraged each other and challenged each other to dig into the scriptures more.
We may have different interpreations, (possibly leading to different beliefs) but the Lord allowed a connection.
If she is seeking the Lord and His word, then the Lord will meet her there if He hasn’t already.
I will see her again and who knows what we’ll talk about next.
You can pray for that conversation and that it is filled with openness, truth and love.
I walked away from this day filled with peace and joy.
I knew that the Holy Spirit was with me the entire time.
If Christ is your savior, then Holy Spirit is always with us,
But we often don’t take the time to acknowledge Him. We don’t practice awareness.
At church a couple weeks ago, the speaker gave the analogy:
What if you knew that Holy Spirit was standing right behind you.
You felt him there during every interaction. Every minute during work. Every conversation.
Every time you passed by people on the street. How different would your day be?
How much more would you hear the spirit speak to you?
How much more would you be aware of the spirit within you?
That you cary a peace, light and joy within you that people recognize.
I promise you, they will recognize – If you are aware of the power of christ in you and live in it’s power.
They will feel safe.
Invited.
Like they are drawn to you.
They’ll want to speak with you.
They will invite you to watch games with them.
They will invite you to sit a little longer with them.
They will want to hear your story.
(Be sure to ask them about theirs if they’re willing)
They will point out your love for life.
They will want you to return.
They will want more.
More of the light that is inside of us.
If people aren’t noticing the Jesus in you. The thing that makes you SIGNIFICANTLY different and set apart from the rest of the world.
If they do not notice the fruits of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
(Not the opposite of these, which they sadly so often witness.)
Then I challenge you to reflect. To ask the Lord why that is. And how to live more in these. It might take more intention and practice. But don’t you want to look more like Him?
To be filled so much with the spirit that people can’t help but notice.
Notice that your worship God with every part of your being.
What better way to be a witness of Christ than to simply be.
No working.
No preaching.
No judgement.
Just being.
Overflowing
With
Love.
I have many more stories about several amazing new relationships/friendships with people while I’ve been in Armenia and maybe I’ll write more about them later, but I want to simply say this:
If you are a believer and follower of Jesus, know that your entire life has so much power.
Don’t contain it to only one day of the week or when you only feel like ministering to people.
The spirit is alive and active in you.
The Lord wants to speak to you.
He has people all around you, wherever you go who are in need of little touches from Jesus.
Whether it be words, acts of service or by simply being a presence in the room.
Be bold.
Ask the Lord for more. To hear Him more. Our faith is an ever growing thing. Don’t stay stagnant and ignore all the ways the Lord wants to use you.
Be the seed on good soil. Those who stand with noble and good heart, who hear the Word, retain it and preserve it AND produce crop. Imagine your life producing 100 times more. That’s what the spirit in us is capable of.
“While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.” - Luke 8:4-8“This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.” - Luke 8:11-15
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
- John 10:10
Love,
Jezebelle
