1.Carbs for breakfast, carbs for lunch, carbs for dinner
2. Starting to become more aware of how essential the Holy Spirit is to living out the Christian life. Discovering what that tangibly looks like. (Praying for self-control when all I want to do is eat my 5th slice of sweet bread or a 3rd helping of mashed potatoes).
3. Moishang (one of the older girls at Jireh) doing Mahindi on my hand & arm
4. Seeing Morong’s inner child come alive unexpectedly & often. The first glimpse we had of this was when we were playing a clapping game one night. You lose if you get off beat when your number is called. Normally, the loser has to sing. Well when Morong lost, he was silent for a while & then out of no where jumps up & screams really loud. We all jumped & died laughing.
Another example is Morong’s obsession with taking pictures & videos of LITERALLY everything (eating, walking, talking, sharing, praying, sleeping, crying). At a garden show he took, no joke, 35 different poses of our group as we visited various areas of the park. However, he also had to be in every photo, so double that.
Sunday, he planned water “games” for our team & the kids to play. It was more like Morong grabbing a bucket & dumping water on us than an actual competition.
5. The kids!!! Learning to play chess with random pieces of plastic from Michael. Getting my mind blown by Abner’s word & number puzzles. Experiencing their ruthless joy in dumping water on us numerous times. Hearing them calling us Auntie & always being excited to see us. Seeing their drawings of what God brought to mind during silent draw time as we listened to several worship songs.
6. Singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in an Indian Accent very off tune (taught to us by Morong & his brother Khumba)
7. “Ok, no problem” (imagine it being said in an Indian accent with a head bobble)- this came from Morong a lot when he was communicating to us his expectations (for example: He calls us one night at 11 pm & says “you lead 3 hour leadership class tomorrow at 9:00 am, ok no problem.”)
8. Chai tea every morning after breakfast & Lemon tea every evening for refreshments with the kids
9. I have released more bodily gas over the last 3 weeks than I think I have in all my lifetime combined (I am sorry to all those I judged in the past for struggling with this, not gonna mention any names cause you know who you are! Hahaha) I have accepted the fact that I will probably be struggling with this for the next 10 months….and yes it is embarrassing. Haha Especially when you are standing in front of a church singing songs & your teammates make faces & move away from you because it smells so awful.
10. Learning to be a doer of the word & not just a hearer (James 1:22-25). Learning it requires a lot of more surrendering than I ever thought. At times I questions whether it’s really worth it. I have been seeing community & ministry from a human point of view rather than from God’s point of view. I want to be extremely selective with whom I am fully known & fully loved by (community). But I don’t think that is exactly Biblical. I know God calls us to love others, but can I still love others without living in community with them at such an intimate level? Why am I so selective with whom I share? Is it pride? This revelation is only about a week old so I’m still processing through it.
I’m starting to realize that ministry is not so much about the details but more about being the church & making disciples. The level of uncomfortability does not determine the level of effectiveness of ministry or of commitment to Jesus. It’s about denying myself & following Jesus wherever He leads me (Matt. 16:24).
For this month, God gave me the blessing of having warm bucket showers, getting to eat with silverware, no super spicy food, carrots & cucumbers at almost every meal, consistent ministry everyday so we got to actually build relationships with the kids, a real toilet, getting to wear shorts & tank tops, & hosts that were extremely flexible & fun. We may not have had to take cold bucket showers, eat with our hands, wear more traditional dress, live in the middle of nowhere, use a squatty potty, or get the chance to see anyone be physically healed but that doesn’t mean that we weren’t doing ministry.
Comparing & competing…that is what the enemy tells us we need to do. Satan is WRONG. Sharing the JOY, HOPE, LOVE & PEACE found in a RELATIONSHIP with Jesus is what ministry is all about. And rather than refuse these blessings out of guilt or feeling I’m not getting the full experience, I must accept & thank.
11.The children put on a goodbye program for us before we left last night. It was one of the sweetest things ever! They each made us personalized cards and came up one by one to give a “see you later” speech. Most children didn’t make it through without tears. I will never forget the laughter & servant hearts of these children. They didn’t just call us Auntie, they treated us as family & looked out for our every need. As I look back on pictures of them I will see each of their personalities. Though I didn’t shed any tears as we left, my heart was breaking too. I want to get to see what God has in store for these children! I pray that they saw Jesus in us & that is why the goodbye was so hard. I do want their affirmation & affection but I am going to die. Jesus will live forever.
This is a picture of Billie & I will some of the kids! If you want to keep up with Billie the Bison’s adventures far far from his humble abode in Wyoming, then follow him on the INSTA at billiedatravelingbison.
Thank you so much for all the prayers & encouragement I have received! I love reading everyone’s comments on my blog posts! I may not always respond, but PLEASE know that they are ALWAYS a bright spot in my day! 🙂
Please meet J.J. our old faithful friend during this last month. Another name you could call him is S.C., not after the state or the tv station, but rather after the little delectable & aromic fish you find squashed into a can. Despite the looks of misery 7 packs, 7 daypacks, & 8 people later we arrived at the bus station safe & sound.
