As our train started taking us further and further away from the city we spent close to 40 days living in, I spotted a rainbow in the sky. It was a bittersweet moment. I was sad to leave behind what had become our home and the people we met, but I was happy to be reminded of God’s promise. He will continue to move in that city long after we leave. I felt like He just wanted to remind me that I could trust Him. The seeds have been planted; the harvest is coming!
For those who don’t know, this month became my team’s first ATL (Ask the Lord) month after our original host was no longer able to partner with us. The best way for me to sum up ATL is that it’s essentially the closest thing to what everyday ministry could look like back home. Our primary focus was relationship building with the people we met and sharing the gospel as we felt called to. This looked different for all of us. We spent a lot of time in prayer at the beginning of the month to see where He was leading each of us.
For me, I felt like the Lord was telling me my team was my ministry. So each day I would pray about who I should spend the day with and then essentially just follow that person around. Sometimes I would pour into them, other times they would pour into me, and sometimes I was just supposed to be where they were that day. It was difficult at first for me to see my ministry as important. I definitely struggled with comparison. Other people on my team were making super strong connections with locals and we’re coming back with amazing testimonies. How could I not?
It took me a hot minute to believe the truth that what I was doing was making a difference. I got to encourage/challenge my team and see growth take place before my eyes. My team learned how to say “heck no” to fear and step out in faith. My team learned how to be patient and not give up on what they’ve been called to. My team learned how to speak truth over themselves and situations. My team learned to express their feelings rather than burying them inside. My team learned how to make decisions! We all for sure learned what trust meant on a deeper level (especially me).
This month wasn’t an easy one, but it was a good one. Some of my favorite memories are praying out loud as we walked the streets of the city, meeting several teenage girls at the local McDonald’s, experiencing true hospitality when we got to spend the weekend in a new friend’s hometown, having a team dinner at a local restaurant where we got to know one of the waiters, seeing my teammate heal a lady’s knee in the park, exploring the old town with a new friend, and all the prayer, worship, and Harry Potter marathons that took place in our apartment.
My team truly fought for each other this month, even though it would have been easy to give up when things got hard. And believe me when I say things definitely got hard. But we chose to love each other well anyway. That’s something I want to bring from Groot to my new team (M.C. EARL). As I’m on my way to Ethiopia, I have no idea how I’m going to be stretched and grown this month. But I trust it’s going to happen.
Thank you all for supporting me through this journey (especially with the lack of communication due to security)! I wish I could share more right now. There were so many beautiful things that took place this past month. But we will be without wifi this month in Ethiopia. Please keep my squad in your prayers as we head into another all-squad month with new teams in a new country. Also, if you feel led to donate, you can click the link at the top of the page!
-Catherine Choquette
