Hello friends! I’ve missed you lots the last three months. Sorry I’ve been slacking on the blogging game! Thank you for bearing with me in that and having grace for me… Anyways, I just wanted to give you some sort of update as I leave Africa.
In Malawi, we worked with several different ministries- we spoke at schools to encourage students in their goals and having a relationship with the Lord. This was our most prominent ministry and we also found ourselves praying and speaking at hospitals- where many seemed to be saved. We also did an outreach to a small village, where we showed the Jesus Film as it poured down rain. We occasionally also did soccer ministry and invited people to our local church- shout-out to Flood (love that church family so much!).
I am so overwhelmed with love for the people at Flood Church in Blantyre and all of the sweet friends we made in Blantyre and in Zomba. I have been so blessed by the friendships made here. That, I will truly miss.
I will also miss seeing the beautiful mountains of Zomba and the adorable babies wrapped onto their mommas’ backs with chitenges. I will miss the markets with fresh fruits and veggies and Chichewa (the language of Malawi).
I am blessed by all that Malawi was- even the hard things.
Just a few days ago, we arrived in Guatemala and I’m already in love. There’s a familiarity to it all, yet a refreshing newness. The vibrant colors, beautiful arches and architecture, and volcanoes surrounding us make my heart soar. I’m soooo excited to be picking up Spanish again, too. Read a sauce packet last night that had directions in Spanish- for the most part I understood it. I’d say I’m already making progress.
This week, many of my squad-mates head to a nearby ministry site to see their parents and enjoy some time catching up with them at an event hosted by our organization. I won’t be going, but I get to spend some time with 7 other wonderful ladies here at Casa de Fuego in Antigua as we will possibly be ministering in landfills. Next week, my team (the same team as the one I had in Africa) will meet up again and head to our ministry site in San Raymundo. I’m so excited to see what this ministry will be like and to live life with these sweet people just a little longer.
On another note… What I’m walking with the Lord in, in this season:
God is asking me to drop the perceptions and the pride I’ve been holding onto. As I have been saying, “Trust me, I’m good” to God and the community around me, God has been telling me “Trust Me, I’m good”. You get what I’m saying?
I’ve been walking through hard things this past season- some of the more physical stuff that has taught me to live with more dependence on others have been my phone breaking, losing my debit card, a good amount of time where my laptop wasn’t even working, and my pack being lost on our last travel day. Murphy’s Law is literally my life. All that stuff wasn’t a super big deal (besides having to ask my teammates for help sometimes). That was just the surface of a lot of stuff that I was dealing with in Malawi. I had a lot of hurt that kept building up, which caused bitterness. I was at one of the lowest emotional states I can ever remember being in. At the root of it all, I was dealing with with a lot of fear.
And yesterday morning, here in Guatemala, as I was processing and talking to the Lord, He gave me the words “freedom, fire, and living filled up”.
He is showing me more and more of His goodness and I can live out of the love and goodness He has for me instead of continuing to look for it. And He is reminding me CONSTANTLY to keep turning back to Him and my community- trusting that He is enough and that all I have is enough. I just listened to a song not too long ago that had the lyrics “slow down, child, you don’t have to work for love anymore”. I finally believe it. And I probably will have to continue to choose to believe it, but what matters is that I believe it today. I trust God with the rest of it. Because He is good. And He will always be good.
