“If You are the Sun, then I want to be the Moon, to reflect the light that shines from You” – In all that I do, this has been my heart cry recently. To reflect the love and light of Jesus in my life.
Fascinated by the poetry of David and other psalmists, I’ve been meditating on this one piece of scripture:
“When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers- the moon and the stars you set in place- what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them?”
– Psalm 8:3-4
God is so good to us and doesn’t have to do anything on our behalf. He didn’t have to make food taste amazing; He doesn’t have to give us beautiful sunsets or the smell of Christmas; He didn’t have to make it so certain sounds can create a beautiful noise called music; He didn’t have to create our eyes in a way that can perceive beautiful colors. He didn’t have to give us life to enjoy these incredible things. He is so big, and we are so small. Even though He doesn’t need us, He still chooses us even when we don’t choose Him. He doesn’t have to give us anything at all, yet He still does… The crazy part is we are also free to make decisions. We don’t have to do anything, but we get to; we get to worship him; we get to love and serve people!
For my team, ministry has looked vastly different each day this past week. We are only guaranteed Prison Ministry every Tuesday, otherwise we refer to the other days as “Mystery Ministry”. It is unlikely it will continue to be a mystery, but it has definitely brought excitement not knowing what we are going to do. This is what our first week of ministry here in Swaziland looked like:
Monday: Sabbath, Tuesday:Prison Ministry,Wednesday:Manual Labor, Thursday:Evangelism, Friday:Children’s Ministry
Monday (Sabbath): We took this time to rest in the Lord and draw closer to Him. I’ve learned quickly I can only give out of an abundance the Lord provides. From an overflow I am able to effectively carry out the tasks the Lord gives, otherwise I’m only trying to work out of my own efforts. I’m still learning what it looks like to rest in Him, and it is such a good gift and blessing!
Tuesday (Prison Ministry): This was a very nerve-racking experience! My team consists of 7 Men and only half are allowed to enter the prison each week while the rest stay back and intercede. It was Cauy, Champ, Samuel, and Myself that went into the prison. I brought only my bible and guitar. As we walked through the prison gates and around the corner, you could hear worship from within a room. We entered into that room and behold; 50+ inmates worshiping in their own language! It was such a beautiful sound. We then were able to worship alongside them with some songs we knew. Without prior warning, we were asked to speak and give our testimonies about how the Lord has moved in our lives. Afterwards, we met individually with a few inmates to talk and pray over them.
Wednesday (Manual Labor): This day we were given the task to clear the weeds and grass from a fairly large basketball court (a dirt lot with a basketball hoop). It is meant to be a community court for the youth to enjoy and practice shooting. We very much underestimated how difficult it was going to be and how much water we should have been intaking… It was a great opportunity to serve and bond with my brothers in Christ.
Thursday (Evangelism):The ministry I was definitely most excited for came upon us! My team and one other took a kombi (It’s like a taxi but looks like a van…) to a nearby city; Matata (Hakuna?). There we split into smaller groups of 3 and set out to speak with the locals to share the gospel and building genuine relationships. It surprised me how much Christianity has already influenced this culture. Many we spoke to professed to be followers of Christ or were engaged in a church, but just as many were hungry for the gospel. We met some incredible people and will definitely be meeting with them again.
Friday (Children’s Ministry): For our last day of ministry, we walked an hour to a different care point. There we spent the entire day playing with kids and loving on them. These kids simply want to be held, loved, played with, and that is what we did. Despite being utterly exhausted by the end of the day, it was all worth it because it is what these kids need and I look forward to returning to see all their smiling faces!
