Where to begin…
What an absolutely incredible month in so many ways! As I sat on the train out of Sombor reflecting on the month I was overwhelmed. To be in this position in the first place is such a testimony to the sovereignty of God. If you’d asked Abel from a few years ago where he’d be now I can assure you that it would have been thousands of miles from my present reality. But that’s the beauty of His mystery!
From an external perspective we had it made month one! We stayed at our host’s church in the upper room where we just laid out our mats and slept like champions! There was a coffee shop in the basement, which if you know me, is like a dream environment! Church + Coffee House + Incredible Community = Abundant Life!
So about that incredible community. Lets start with my team.
I literally can’t overstate how much I love each and every one of them! I am so thankful that I have the opportunity to do ministry with such amazing people! Each one of us brings something unique and powerful to the table. We’ve created such an honest and open community where growth becomes inevitable, and it’s a beautiful thing to be a part of! With our first month being relational ministry, to have such a foundation at our team base was incredibly influential.
The people of this town were absolutely amazing as well! From our ministry host, Zoli, and his family, to all the people we met in the church and in the community, we got to know some fantastic people! It was something else to watch God do some serious work in and through us during our time there!
I came in expecting to learn what true external dependence on God looked like, but He had something different and mind, and I’m so glad He did! There were some serious internal things that God opened my eyes to early in the month. I’ve mentioned it before, but I’m a bad self-critic. Not only did God make this horrible habit extremely evident but He also opened my eyes to see how prideful it was as well. In the midst of self-criticism where’s my focus? On me, just me.
In a sermon my teammate Matt gave the weekend following mine He mentioned how darkness is merely just the absence of light, and it has no presence in the presence of His presence. This hit home with me. How often I had just let my mind dwell in the darkness, and never flipped the switch? I was so focused on entertaining my personal darkness that I hadn’t made room for the light inside me to actual make an appearance.
Thankfully God is far too loving to just leave me in this conviction with no solution. He’s all about growth, and growth is exactly what He’s been doing big time already on this journey! How about I take my sights off myself and put them on our sovereign, perfect, and loving Father! I’m no scholar but that sounds like a far better option! Lots of freedom and peace when you’re not constantly thinking about yourself, too!
So it’s a process, and I’m in the process, but it’s a beautiful thing to be in the discipled by our good, good, Father!
P.s. The wifi is very scarce and extremely unreliable when I have it, so uploading photos right now is not happening haha! I’ll try to get some more pictures out to you on my next one! Love you all!
