It is 3am on our third night here in Bangalore, India (that jetlag struggle is SO REAL), and as sleep evades me, I’ve been able to reflect on our first few days here in this beautiful country. The first week in a new country always seems the most full, and I don’t want to waste a single second of it! Team Awaken has been reunited once again and the girls are pretty excited to have our boys back after their “Manistry Month” in Bolivia. Girl time was so much fun, but we sure are glad to have the team back together again!
This month we are partnering with a rehabilitation center for men and women who struggle with addictions to drugs and alcohol (I have removed the name of this organization to protect our contacts and their family from). You will never here the words ‘patient’ or ‘client’ here – everyone is called a member, as in a member of the family. And it is indeed a family; one that has welcomed a group of strange white people with open arms. I love everything about this ministry and our hosts, Arnold and Lisa (names changes to protect this beautiful family). Their philosophy on leading the members to a place of true health and healing is that there is no difference between me and an addict – we all need the freedom that only Jesus can bring. What a beautiful truth that is.
During our first meeting with Arnold, we asked about his expectations of us for the month. His response was simply this: “The main expectation is that you pray a lot and spend personal time with God. Always do that first, because that is what this ministry is all about. I want you to wait on the Holy Spirit and do what He tells you to do.” What a breath of fresh, Spirit-filled air that was for us! And at the same time, we all began to chew our lips nervously because, well, praying and listening to the Holy Spirit isn’t very measurable. How on earth would we find satisfaction at the end of each day knowing that we had been good little missionaries if we didn’t have a specific task to accomplish? How could serving God involve so much of…Him? All of these questions on Easter – the day that we celebrate the resurrection of a Savior who conquered every enemy so that we could simply rest.
The next day we headed off to ministry entirely unsure of what to expect. We spent most of the day simply coming alongside the members at the men’s home – participating in their morning devotion and worship, having morning tea (coffee for me, of course) and lunch with them, and joining them in helping to prepare some crafts for a local church’s VBS. At the end of the day, we came back to Arnold and Lisa’s house and sat down as a team to talk about our first day. Most of the conversation that night revolved around the following question: What exactly is our ministry this month?
Taking Arnold’s advice to heart, I brought that question to the Lord and this was His response:
What if your greatest ministry this month is admitting that
you need Me as much as they do?
What if instead of just observing their healing, you allow yourself to be healed right alongside of them?
Not at all what I was expecting to hear, but I learned a long time ago that an assignment from the Lord is one worth considering. So here’s to a month of asking the Lord to show my team and I that we need Him as much as the people we serve.
After all, Jesus loves the little missionaries just as much as He much as He loves the children of Ecuador and the addicts of India and the prostitutes of Thailand.
So how is He inviting you to acknowledge your need of Him today? I’ll keep you posted as I ask myself that very question over and over again this month. As always, thank you for your love and support!!
With love and wanderlust,
Cassady
