I will be completely honest, open, and vulnerable to all you readers: I am akward.
With that said, let me explain a little more. This month has truely opened my eyes to see what I do, and frankly what I don’t do, on sharing the Word with people. This month we’ve been helping with sunday services, helping with BEAUTIFUL children at a camp in town, and on thursday nights we’ve been teaching english through the cunning use of youtube videos. Fantastic right?
Through all of this though, obviously we have one common theme among all of these: we are constantly surrounded, intertwined, and melded with people. If you don’t know me, I’ll admit, I have the hardest time being around new people. It just makes me twitch, squirm, and gives me shivers everytime I talk with another new person. And this month, we’ve met HUNDREDS of people.
Now of course you may be thinking:
WHY THE IN THE WORLD DID YOU NOT SORT THIS OUT THE FIRST COUPLE OF MONTHS?!?!
Well…..that’s a darn good question. It was always kind of easy for me to fill time in with all sorts of ministry. I love physical labor, doing worship, playing with children, and things that wouldn’t require me to exactly use the good news to its full potential. Even preaching in a sense was easier for me, because I didn’t have to be in front of a person that responded back to me. If I don’t have to talk to a person that would not only exploit me and make me possibly feel inadequate about telling them about God, the better.
To be blunt: that’s really stupid.
What changed this month? Well, first of all, feedback. I have three beautiful, caring, loving sisters on my team. But did I mention they’re stubborn as well? A good attribute when you’re needing a good push. So, with a swift kick in the rear, I got into a couple situations that would help change that.
This month I have met with a few key people. Now, of course, it wasn’t easy, and generally for me, it was quite awkward. I never know what to say, never know really what to do, and I can never keep focus. Great. But that was before God called me out.
Look in their eyes.
So I did. And suddenly, I started looking at things differently. I didn’t just see a person. I saw a need for hope. I saw a need for purpose. I saw a boy that wanted nothing more than to be a man. I saw a girl that was searching for love and acceptance.
I saw a need for Jesus.
The outcome? A miracle. A transformation. I wanted to desperately talk to these people, because I know that deep down, they’re just like me, wanting and needing the same things. So I talked….and kept talking. I got a chance to encourage, speak life, and pour into these people that I met without fear, without worrying, and without having the need to sweat everytime I see a new face. And soon enough, not only was I doing what God wanted me to do, but I picked up a few amazing friends along the way.
