This past month our ministry has been to find new contacts for Adventures in Missions (AIM), the missions organization that created the World Race, here in Bali, Indonesia. AIM calls this specific ministry Unsung Heroes. We have had the privilege of meeting some amazing individuals who have such a strong heartbeat to spread the love of Christ. Meeting fellow believers here on the opposite side of the world from where I call home has been such an eye-opening experience. There is no culture that the Gospel is not compatible with. I’ve gotten to chat with a few missionaries who live and serve here in Indonesia, and have gotten to hear how they do life, and how they build relationships and trust, and most importantly how they share this Treasure that we’ve found in Jesus. (Matthew 13:44) Each has their own creative ways, synonymous with their personality, in sharing Jesus, but the common denominator in each person is that Jesus is shared in ways that are deeply meaningful in the culture that they are in. How refreshing it has been!
It wouldn’t be a proper blog post if I don’t express how the Lord has been growing me during the past couple of weeks. Some struggles that I’ve been facing have been being easily irritated by small things that others do, and getting easily frustrated in various situations. I’ve spent some time thinking and praying about why this is, and have realized that it all stems from selfishness. Not getting my way. And a good portion simply stems from the large amount of immaturity that is in me. So there has been a strong theme of abandonment continuing in me, to abandon all that is of my flesh, and embracing all that is of the Spirit dwelling in me. There have been times when I’ve found myself really frustrated with various team members, and after thinking about why I feel that way, I discover that there’s no real reason for being frustrated with them. It’s funny how that can happen when I let my guard down. The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy. (John 10:10) It has become more and more obvious that the enemy’s tactics are almost always to bring division, and to cause controversy, usually out of nothing. Loving those you are doing life with is so essential. God has placed certain individuals in our life for at least the current season for reasons that often go un-comprehended, and so it is crucial that we love them especially when their differences from us are most evident and irritating. That is what God is teaching me with my current team. Please join me in prayer, that I can earnestly and genuinely love my team exactly for who they are, at all times.
Some other areas of growth are growing in my intentionality in spending time tuning-in to the Lord each day. You would think that being on this big, adventuresome missions trip that it would be easy to wake up each day and easily give the first-fruits of my day to syncing up with the Lord’s heart. The struggle is still real people. This crucial time spending with the Lord has got to be fought for. Distractions WILL come up, and temptations to stray from this time will formulate. Fight viciously for this time with the Lord each day. As a branch cannot bear fruit apart from the vine, so we cannot bear fruit apart from Christ. (John 15:4-5) I have struggled with this over the past month. Please pray that I would fight for that time with the Lord each day, and pray that I would bear much fruit for The Kingdom, and that it would be fruit that lasts.
Another thing that I have gleaned from these past 30 or so days has been intentionality with those key people that God has placed in my life. In this case, those key people are my teammates, whose names are Darek, Sang, Salvador, and Landy. It’s so crazy how I can spend so much stinkin’ time with people and at the end of the day not really know who the heck they are. I look back over the past couple of years of my college-days (it’s still weird saying that, having just graduated back in December) and I see a lot of great friends, of whom I didn’t truly know. This wasn’t the case with all of them, but the majority of them I didn’t really know. It was a surface-level relationship. We pretended to really know each other, but that depth was sorely lacking in reality. That same theme has been sneaking up here. Thankfully, by the Spirit’s guidance, I’ve recognized this fairly early in the month and have gotten to have some intentional, deep conversations with my teammates. So, to all who are reading this, and have read up to this point, I’m laying down a challenge for you: in the current season you find yourself in, spend quality one-on-one time with those you are closest to to ask deep questions and find out more of who they are beneath the surface. Get to the nitty gritty details of their life. If you’re a male, only do this with fellow males; if you’re a female, do this with fellow females; only exception is your spouse or close family members. Up to you if you choose to pick up this challenge, but it’s been laid down. See what God does with it. Would love to hear any neat stories that come out of this, so please private message me if you would like.
My team and I are in the process of transitioning to Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, to then fly to Latvia and begin month five of our world race. This will be a unique transition because we are not just changing countries this time, we are changing continents. There will be some significant cultural changes, among many others. Looking back on my time spent here in Southeast Asia, it’s been a really sweet time. I have a huge amount of respect for the work-ethic here. Despite what job people have, they all seem to do it to the best of their ability, and with the best attitude.
That’s all I have at the moment. Other prayer requests are for safe travels for my whole squad as we transition to Latvia, and that all goes smoothly. Pray against any issues with passports, and pray for wholesome health for everyone – I’ve developed a sore throat and a nasty cough, with some sinus and chest congestion. Please also pray for the exposure participant we’ve had this month, Landy, as he transitions back into normal life here in Indonesia. There are some key decisions that await him, so please pray for discernment and clarity in what he should do.
Lastly, please prayerfully consider helping me reach being full funded for this whole trip. I am currently somewhere around $600 short of this end goal. Thank you thank you.
