“It is beyond the realm of possibilities that one has the ability to out give God. Even if I give the whole of my worth to Him, He will find a way to give back to me much more than I gave.” – Charles Spurgeon
(thank you to my sweet squadmate, Kayla Kincaid, who shared this quote with me:)
This quote by Spurgeon so well articulates the overarching theme of my Race so far…I thought I was giving the Lord everything I had when I signed up for this journey, but He keeps giving me back to me SO MUCH MORE than I ever gave Him to begin with.
I have not felt like I’ve been able to give Myanmar my all so far…within a couple of short days of being here, I seem to have caught some kind of stomach bug, which won’t seem to let go without a fight. I have felt a bit guilty for the short time I’ve spent resting in bed, because we are only in this beautiful country for a short time, but God keeps showing me that it’s not at all about what I give or don’t give – He’s going to show up and take care of me and be His generous, Fatherly self all the same, even if I have nothing to give in return. He keeps showing up and showing off, especially in the times on my Race when I feel at my worst, at my weakest, the least put together and the most a mess. He is unchanging, never failing, faithful and true, always giving all of Himself to bless me beyond reason when I can’t seem to find scraps of myself to merit even a glance. When I am (or even feel) unfaithful, He remains faithful (2 Timothy 2:11-13).
Can I share a sweet story with you that the Lord has used already this month to prove this truth to me?…
…The other evening my teammate Sharonne and I went out for Indian food (I think this was the start of my stomach problems, if I’m being honest).
This man (we’ll call him “B”) sat down at our table to eat, and we struck up a conversation with him. “B” immediately told us he is a Christian pastor and started sharing about Jesus with us (even though we didn’t say anything about our religion or purpose for being here, and it’s a closed country, so he was going out on a limb to share his faith with us). He then told us the Holy Spirit was convicting him to pay for our meal, and then he invited us to come visit his family and see his home across the river. We planned to go the next morning, but then I got sick and decided it was best not to go. Even though his family had already bought and prepared food for us at their home (we didn’t know that until later!), “B” then proceeded to pick me (and my teammate) up from our hostel that morning, take me to the doctor and pay for the visit and the meds, then take us to the store and pay for my crackers and water – what an incredible gift!
In the front of this room is a pharmacy; the doctor’s office is just beyond this curtain…
Me with the Doc – she was really very good 🙂
The street where we went to the doctor’s office…
I felt like I had my dad right there with me, taking care of me every step of the way, providing for my every need, even though my own dad is thousands of miles away. This man told me he cares for me like I’m his own daughter, because of our love for Jesus – I definitely felt it! The family of Christ is amazing!! That day I went back to my hostel and slept the rest of the day.
The next morning, we finally got to go to “B’s” home across the river to meet his beautiful daughters and to visit the church he’s a pastor of and the orphanage he helps to run (as well as meet all the adorable kiddos there)!
This was not our boat haha, but it was the view from our large boat crossing the river.
Sharonne and I in our tuk tuk 🙂
“B” on our way to the orphanage
A sweet girl playing at the orphanage at sunset:)
Some land they are trying to purchase to move the orphanage to since their current contract is ending – please pray for them!
Even though “B” has very little income, he had paid for everything up to that point, including taxis and ferry rides, so he finally let us pay for his dinner at the end – a VERY small token of our gratitude for EVERYTHING he had done for us!
I feel like I just lived out Isaiah 65:24 (NLT) – “I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers!”
I had no idea upon coming to Myanmar that I would get sick and need the tangible love and provision of an earthly father. My tlime with “B” and his family was exactly what my heart has been needing – time and heart connection with locals who share the love of Jesus – but I had not even asked for that from Myanmar yet. My Heavenly Father answered my needs even before I was aware of them, and answered my prayers even before the words were on my lips.
Sadly, I can’t post pictures of this sweet man and his family as a means of protecting them (there is real persecution in closed countries for Christians), but my time with them easily stands out to me as one of the most memorable and heartfelt experiences on my Race so far – and all because my teammate and I decided to be ‘present’ at our table while eating Indian food. God is crazy cool like that 🙂
***If you would please pray for my health, I would be so grateful – I’m still not feeling the best, and this is day 5. Also, if you would please pray for “B” and his family, it would be so greatly appreciated! They are giving everything they have to the Lord and serving Him faithfully. Also, if you feel led to give to him and his ministry financially, please message me and I can help you figure out how to do that.***
You can’t out give God.
