So, we’ve made it to Ecuador safe and sound, started our ministries, and have been working at them for about a month and a half. The weather is amazing, the people are beautiful, and ministry is challenging, yet so full of joy, laughter, and smiles all around. In all of this, I’d love to share where my heart has been.
The past few weeks, I have been reading through all of the Gospels in order and in full, which is something I have never done before! Simply reading through the truth of who Jesus is has been so beautiful and eye opening- I felt led to read through the the Gospels a little bit before leaving South Africa. Part of why I decided that was because we would hand out the Gospel of John in the communities of South Africa while on outreach and I realized that I had never read competely through John and I really wanted to. Right before I started, I felt a nudge to start in Matthew and go all the way through them in order and I later realized that it honestly could not have come at a more perfect time.
Right before leaving South Africa, I entered into what I have been calling a “dry-ish” season. I have explained it to my team as “not quite desert dry, but more of a drought.” If you’ve never experienced a drought, it’s not that it never rains, it simply just does not rain often. When it does, it’s not quite enough to keep that region from drying quickly again and that the people must be sparing with their water usage. While this season of not hearing from the Lord as often has been difficult and will continue to be, I am somewhat grateful for it as it has forced me to rely on truth so much more-and really press into when He speaks to me and not take it for granted. I have always believed in the truth of who God is, but I think I have relied a lot more on the feelings I have had while in the presence of the Lord and not simply on the truth. While feelings are good and healthy, the foundation of the relationship should be based on truth before anything else. Doing outreach and evangelism in South Africa allowed me to lean a lot into the truth of my faith and why I believe what I do, while being able to express that to other people along with the feelings that come with being in the presence of the Lord. I am now pressing into the truth of what I believe and really striving to understand it even more. I truly believe that it is so important to have that and I am genuinely so excited to have the truth to lean into even more that I already did before, especially for times like these when its hard and I need the absolute truth of the Gospel to keep me going. It’s something I’m excited and looking forward to bringing home and exercising for the rest of my life. The truth of the Lord has so much to do with having a relationship with Him and knowing who He is in order to grow more in who He is and who you can be in Him. So, thanks God, for being a little quieter in this season and forcing me to rely on the full truth of who you are and forcing me to pay a bit more attention when we hang out…excited to hear from you when you speak, I’m all ears!
