WHOA! It is already September. A month has gone by. That’s crazy. As I look back over the first month, time has really flown by. Some days definitely seemed longer than others but the weeks go by so quickly. I remember people at training camp saying that time on the race goes by really fast. I never thought that would actually be true but here I am a month into the race and it still feels like first week. As I look back on the first month, I wanted to share three things that I learned and five things I am striving for the next eight months of my race.
1- Prayer is so so powerful.
Adjusting has been hard for me. A lot of expectations that I had of the race are not how it is at all and that is okay. God obviously has other plans but it took me being very prayerful about a heart change to grow in areas that I was not expecting and maybe didn’t want to. Through being in prayer about it, he has showed me ways that he wants to grow me, teach me and use me and I am so thrilled.
2- You can love and be friends with anyone.
With a squad of 35 people there is bound to be someone who isn’t going to be your best friend. We all have people we wouldn’t choose to hangout with but that’s not what God calls us to do. Each person is created God’s image and is his precious child. He made people different and everyone has their own life story and baggage that they bring. Each person brings different things to the body of Christ. This was definitely something I had to learn very quickly the first two weeks of the race having it be all squad. That means we all lived, ate, did ministry and everything together. There was a lot of opportunity for people to get on your nerves and press your buttons but there was also a lot of opportunities to really hear peoples stories and see their hearts. I will be the first to admit after training camp I was not thrilled about some people on my squad but I will also be the first to admit I love every single person on my squad dearly. After those first two weeks I have a lot of respect and love for every person on my squad and the unique gifts that they have.
3- I am NOT uselsss.
Feeling useless is something I have felt during a lot of my ministry on the race so far. Whether is was having 12 of us trying to teach four kids English or going to Costco with our host or helping at a daycare and just cutting paper and coloring or teaching sex ed to students. A lot of the ministry I have been doing has left me feeling useless, whether there was too many of us or I wasn’t seeing the benefits or I just had a bad attitude. My whole team was feeling this especially last week and we realized it is all in our attitudes. We aren’t on the race to only do the super amazing ministry that gets in the headlines. We are on the race to serve our host and serve the Lord in anyway we can. So if that means driving two hours away to get tarps with our host then that’s our ministry for the day. Some of our ministry days have been light so we have been praying for the Lord to use us and he has definitely provided us with other ministry connections that have been really awesome. There is a church here in Antigua that is being planted by a Texas church and we have gotten to know the pastors and my team helps every Sunday morning set up the church in the bar where we meet. I also made a connection at that church with a Guatemalan that wants to start a girls soccer team but he needs a girl coach for it to be legal. So, now I find myself twice a week coaching a soccer team of 14-16 year old girls. It is amazing what the Lord can accomplish through us when we become an open vessel for him in anyway that he wants to use us.
Something we have talked about a lot is who we want to be at the end of this. When I am sitting on the plane in 8 months coming home from Cambodia, what do I want to be able to look back on my race and say, “Yes. I did that. I worked on that. I am this.” So that has been on my mind a lot. Everyone says you make your race whatever you want it to be. So what do I want? I want to be able to say I ate the crazy street food, I took risks, I laughed a lot, I made crazy memories with my teams, I took embarrassing pictures, I attempted to speak the languages, I got attacked by kids, I encountered big bugs, I swam with sharks, rode elephants, climbed volcanos and that I did it all.
1- I want to say I lived and will continue to live missionally.
The race isn’t a 9 month missions trip. It’s an opportunity to live missionally. Missions isn’t a 9-5 job. I want to say that I took advantage of every situation to be a light for Christ and share his love with whatever I am doing. I want to practice this on the race so that when I come home my lifestyle is missional. Whether I am working at Culvers or getting cheese at the grocery store every situation is an opportunity to be a missionary.
2- I loved deeply.
I want to be able to look back and say that every single person I came in contact with I loved deeply. I didn’t judge or shy away or avoid them or keep them at arms length. Wether it’s a teammate, squad mate, ministry host, stranger, the owner of the coffee shop I visit every week for wifi, the bus driver, etc. I want to be able to look back and know that I poured out so much love because of how much God loves me. I should just be overflowing with it.
3- Didn’t complain.
I want to be able to look back and know that what people heard from my mouth was uplifting and not negative or complaining. Yes, it is going to be hot as ever some places or any number of things that won’t be up to par but I don’t want to complain about it. I don’t want to be known as the complainer. I amy have some witty comments about our situations but whatever I say I want it to be glorifying to God.
4- Created a healthy norm for my life.
I want to create a healthy norm for my life. Getting enough sleep, exercising, eating healthy, watching my technology usage, spending long times with the Lord, etc. This is something I did not have at home and I want to come back with it. At home, if I wanted something to eat I would go out and get something because most of the time I was too lazy to make anything. I would stay up way to late doing nothing and always be tired. I have definitely wasted too much time in front of the TV. I want to put this new healthy norm into practice on the race and then bring it home with me.
5- Live in the moment.
I want to take advantage of every moment on the race. Every adventure, ministry opportunity, time with people, etc. I don’t want to look back and regret something. This is a once in a lifetime and I don’t want any regrets as cliche as that is.
So, there it is. I am a month in and am already blown away with the amount that God has changed me, showed me and blessed me with. I am so excited for the next 8 months and what he has planned. Stay tuned for this crazy ride (:
Here are some quick prayer requests for my team and me:
– Physical health. My teammates and I have been struggling with not feeling well and a number of sickness so pray for healing and strength for our bodies.
– Homesickness. As much as we love being here, my teammates and I have felt recently with being sick that we miss our families and friends a bit. It has also begun to set in that we are really going to be away for 9 months. So, pray for comfort and peace.
Thanks y’all!!! Also, I still need about $1,800 in order to be fully supported. So, if you feel led to give there is a link at the top of my blog (: Thanks so much!!
-B Stump
