When I saw the words “Color Your World” on the side of the road on a large billboard our first full day in Uganda, I didn’t think that it would mean so much to me. But then I kept seeing it everywhere we went. I knew God was trying to show me something through the words, because they still haven’t left my mind as the month has progressed. Our second day in the country, the word “shine” stuck out like a sore thumb on the side of a building. The whisper from God became clear to me, but I have been wrestling with it all month.
With “Color your World” everywhere, the word “shine” sticking to my heart like glue, the vision of the Cherry Blossom Tree, and the heart for adventure beating at it’s highest, our team took a trip into a small village outside Jinja. We went out Friday night and clear as day under a pepsi sign outside of a gas station, the words read:
It’s about time you get noticed.
Okay, God, I get it. You notice me and desire for me to shine in the way you see me around the people you have placed inside of my life for this year ahead.
The question I’ve wrestled with is “HOW?”
I think I figured out the answer to that question after we went to the village outside Jinja, Bungee Jumped off a bridge, and Conquered the Nile over White Water Rapids… Everything is so clear in hindsight, isn’t it?
All month, I have played it safe in Kampala, I have kept quiet because that’s how I’ve let my mind believe that other people see me my entire life. I played it safe to the point where I said “NO” to some pretty awesome opportunities this month that I will never get to experience because I let fear overtake me (it makes me sick thinking about it).
In the village outside Jinja, I was able to chase kids around with some teammates. Eventually, me and one other teammate stayed back with the kids, kicking a ball of what I think was ripped up TShirts in the red African dirt.
These kids are filled with so much joy, happiness, and love like I’ve never seen in children before. They wanted to use their hands so much during the game. I mustered up the courage to pass it through the air with them. They started to copy me and my actions when I had the ball in my hands. It became a game of joy and laughter. I had them acting like crazy birds in the air, elephants, making hilarious noises, and worshiping God with their hands up. Wow, the sheer joy I felt in doing this – it’s something you can’t capture as beautifully in words.
Even through all the fighting in me to stay in my chair that afternoon, the fact that God chose me in that specific instance to minister to children through my actions is something that I am so glad to have taken the chance on. This moment is probably going to be one that I remember for years to come, because looking back, I felt completely, wholly, myself and alive in that moment. I was able to lead and share joy with kids in the village, and the look on their faces was so entirely worth the inch of African red dirt on my feet, arms, and chaco’s.
On that day, God taught me that it’s okay to step out and take risks for His sake. While He asks me to make decisions that honor Him, He also asks me to make decisions that are outside my comfort zone and stretch me a little bit – especially for Ministry’s sake (but also for Adventure’s Sake, too). I am learning that I am more the type of person who enjoys sitting in and watching a movie with a group of people rather than going out with a lot of people around. I prefer to talk to people one-on-one or in smaller groups – five is a comfortable crowd for me. I love quiet, background music, worship, and writing rather than loud music that kills my hearing for a night. I desire respect, I love people unconditionally and generously, even if I might not understand them completely.
The words “Shine” and “Color your World” mean so much to me now that I have tasted what it feels like to step outside my comfort zone within the time-frame of less than a week. Looking forward, I hope to continue to shine and never say no to those Ministry opportunities exactly where I am at, to never cease sharing the joy that Jesus has instilled in me, and to not let fear overtake that desire to really let Jesus be known through my actions and words.
In Chapter 2 of Philippians and in verses 12-16, it says “Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life – in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.”
In the first month alone, Childlike Spirit is something positive that has been spoken over me, and God has been making it plain and clear that I need to let Him help me shine (I am comfortable to skirt around in the background and not allow myself that space to shine in the way He really wants me to). It is when I am doing His work, living completely and wholly for Him, and spending time in His word, writing, and processing, that I feel most alive and Colored.
He is the Color of my World. He helps me SHINE, and I can’t wait to continue shining like a bright star with Him right by my side in the next ten months to come.
Next up, we’re off to Rwanda for a few days of debrief with the entire Squad and then we will begin at our next ministry with door to door evangelism and many other things (blogs are sure to come!).
I am a little under $1,000 away from my next financial deadline of $13,000. It is coming up so fast on October 31st. I have no idea what our wifi situation will be like in Rwanda, so there is no guarantee of constant updates. Please consider donating and helping me finish this Race that God has called me to. I know that He has so much in store for me here with Adventures in Mission’s The World Race, and I want you to be part of this journey with me. If He didn’t want me here, I honestly think that I would still be at home in the United States. You are all rock stars for shining brightly exactly where you are – please help me do the same in the nations! Where we are doesn’t matter, there is opportunity to give, help, and minister everywhere we place our feet.
His,
Ashley
