Don’t worry, this blog isn’t about how I think I’m going to move to South Africa or how I think God has called me to live in a remote village in the bush or anything like that. It’s all about how God has put certain passions and desires in our heart for a reason, and we need to trust that He has His hand in everything.
Something that I’ve really struggled with the entire time I’ve been on the Race, and even before I finished school, is the idea of what I’m going to do with my life. I studied political science and business, but it’s been really hard for me to figure out how that can be used for the Lord. When people find out that I want to work in politics, they tend to question my motives and how I can do any good in that field, or they just ignore it because it’s too controversial. Right before leaving Ukraine and getting on the plane to come to South Africa, I had made a decision in my mind that I was going to give up my plans of doing politics because there was no possible way I could ever do any good or make any kind of impact for the Lord because all politicians end up making things worse or turning crooked. I had gotten the idea that there was no place for God in the political world, that there was no way anyone could bring His glory through this route. However, God has a different way of looking at things.
The first day that we spent with our contacts, Louis and Erika, Louis gave us a sermon about using your strengths and passions for God and that He has not given you a passion for something without a purpose. He told us a little part of his story about how he became a pastor because he thought that was the only thing he could do to serve God, but he quickly grew very bored of the lifestyle and wanted something different. Louis had a passion for building and making things, but he thought that there was no possible way he could use that in a way to please the Lord until he was reading through Exodus one day and came to chapter 31 where God anointed builders and artisans to rebuild the temple for the Ark of the Covenant. This was when Louis realized that God had called him to build and make things; that following his skills and passions was an act of worship.
A few days later we had a worship night with Louis and Erika and both of them got words from the Lord for me, which was crazy because that night was supposed to be about praying for our ministry site, Beam Africa, not for me. Louis told me that I will bring glory to God through my actions and with my words, that my words are important and that I will bring the presence of God into places it’s not supposed to be. Right after Louis was done praying for me, Erika came over to me and said that she saw the word NATIONS written above my head where I was standing in big, bold, colorful letters.
All of these things, paired with the fact that almost all of the conversations that have to do with the issues happening at Beam Africa are about politics and how corrupt the government is, have really spoken to me. God has really has given me a passion for politics and government and to not use that to the best of my abilities is like a slap in the face to Him. He has blessed me with skills and visions and ideas for change and growth and to not even try to pursue them is me acting out of fear. Everything that Louis and Erika spoke over me just helps to reinforce that even though the passions that I have may not be the most conventional way of working for God does not make them any less important. I am loving our month in South Africa so far, and I am excited to see what the rest of the month brings!
On a side note, I am still in need of $5800 to be fully funded for the Race. Please consider donating to me so that I can finish the next 5 months with my squad! Just click the “Support Me” button on the left of this page.
