This month has been one of my favorite months on the Race so far! I wish I could share every detail with you. It’s been a month full of increased freedom, awe of the Lord, joy and laughter, creativity, and big dreams! My team and I are in Gaborone, Botswana serving alongside a Canadian couple who have been in Gaborone for five years serving the local community by hosting Bible studies in the local churches, doing prison ministry, and building a park in a troubled community in Gaborone. We’ve been busy putting the final touches on the park that is set to open next week. The park has been an oasis of peace for each one of my teammates and has taught me to see God in new ways.
On our first day in the park, our ministry host, Nathan, was explaining how he’s used recycled materials from the community to build an almost completely self-sustainable park. He’s used trash and brokenness to make something so incredibly beautiful (hard to image, I know)! He explained that his goal is to revitalize what was once broken and care for creation as God intended. What a beautiful outlook on life! From dead tree branches, recycled bottles and cans, old tires and swing set equipment, damaged oil barrels, and people’s trash, he and his wife have created a beautiful oasis for children and families. The park has a playground, café and tutoring area, soccer and basketball court, recycling center, aquaponics system, garden, solar panel system, and much more. It’s truly incredible to see! (I will attach the link to their website below, if you’d like to check it out).
Through our work at the park the Lord has taught me two of the most beautiful things I’ve learned on the Race so far:
redemption & the creativity and perfection of Jesus:
REDEMPTION:
Through Nathan’s words, the Lord hit me… just as we are revitalizing the park by turning brokenness into something beautiful, God is doing this each day with each of us!
He takes our silver and exchanges it with gold!
“I will exchange your bronze for gold, your iron for silver, your wood for bronze, and your stones for iron. I will make peace your leader and righteousness your ruler.” Isaiah 60:17.
He takes our ashes and turns us into beauty!
“…and to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes.” Isaiah 61:3
He takes our brokenness and makes us new!
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 2 Corinthians 5:17
For so long I thought the end result of life was perfection, but I’m learning that it’s grace.
EACH and EVERY DAY the Lord is redeeming and restoring us!! How beautiful is it that the Lord sees our brokenness and still delight in us! Through our brokenness, He still loves us enough put breath in our lungs and continue redeeming our broken, tainted hearts and minds!
CREATIVITY:
My team and I have been painting a ton at the park! We’ve painted trash cans, playground equipment, donor signs, and doors. Eventually, we all decided that finger painting would be more fun than painting with paint brushes. How sweet it is that such simple things can bring us such joy!
Finger painting exemplifies so much of the Lord’s creativity! As my sweet friend, Zoë, says, “This month, we have a taste of how much fun the Lord must have had creating the Heavens and Earth!” I imagine Jesus sitting with the Father in Heaven finding such joy in painting not only the beauty of the Heavens and Earth, but also each of our hearts with His finger tips.
He made us all so intricately, intentionally, beautifully, and full of great purpose!
He made us as a reflection of HIM!
He made us with the purpose of glorifying HIM!
We are HIS (the Perfect Artist’s!!) MASTERPIECE!
“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” Ephesians 2:10
He is the Painter of the Heavens and Earth!
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” Psalm 19:1
My paintings are full of flaw and mistakes, but His paintings are full of complete perfection and beauty.
As I said, this month has been full of AWE at how incredibly powerful and beautiful the Lord is! I pray we never grow numb to the beauty of Jesus!
I hope this gives you a glimpse into my month in Botswana! Here is a link to Nathan and Taryn’s website: http://www.pulasports.com/what-we-do/
Love you all,
Claire
