WARNING: This is a compilation blog of nearly a year. It is long. No apologies, though. It’s difficult summing up a year in less than 1000 words 🙂
NOTE: Before reading this blog, go watch Big Fish.
Okay, finished? Awesome.
So what’s the point of Big Fish?
It’s the fact that we become our stories. As we tell them, over and over and over again, we are our stories and our stories are us. You see, stories are powerful. Why do you think we read stories to our children? Why do we sit and swap memories with old friends? Why do we have to blog for the WR?
It’s because stories show who we are.
Just like in Big Fish, I want to share with you just a few of my stories. But this time, my stories are all actually true. And this time, it’s not to define myself, it’s not to express who I am and who I’ve become through my stories. It’s to show you who my God is. It’s to be the voice of His power and love and passion. Let me introduce you to Him.
- There were over forty people, worn out and hungry, and we had just arrived at our ministry site. We didn’t have much more than a few pots and pans and less than $5 per person. It was go-time. I furiously scribbled and wrote, running quick calculations in my head and estimating quantities and prices on the fly. We developed a system of establishing a main base in the center aisle of the local Dispensa grocery store and sending out troops to locate, gather, and return with the needed goods. We purchased it all, staying under budget as usual, and loaded the cart full. We then borrowed the carts, pushed them over the cobblestone roads the mile and a half back to the compound and dutifully returned the carts later. You see, God helps you carry your load, even if you think it’s heavy enough to share with 40 people.
- We had been preparing a summer camp for an entire month and we were nearing the end. “Can you shovel this chicken poop out of here?,” our contact asked. “Can you mix 700 cubic feet of concrete by hand?,” our contact asked. “Can you dig a trench through this pig crap?,” our contact asked. “Can you work at this for 7+ hours?,” our contact asked. And so we did it. We busted our tails, smelly and sweaty and so filthy. And we did it. We did it. And then we finally got to shower. You see, God pulls you from the mess and cleans you up.
- We spent our 12 hour layover exploring, adventuring, and enjoying ourselves. We had left our bags at a storage unit in the middle of the airport. We had to pick them up, repack anything we didn’t want, meet up with the group, and catch our next flight. It seemed pretty easy at the time. And then we saw them, our world’s worst nightmare: a group of 50+ wheeling all of their luggage toward the baggage storage area. Our minds panicked and we started sprinting to get ahead of them. We were NOT waiting in line behind all of them. We didn’t have time for that. Then they started sprinting as well. We were racing each other to the window and we were determined to win…until the group started sprinting out the door and looking at us in fear. Apparently we terrified them. But they got where they needed to go and we got our packs. You see, we might not all be headed in the same direction but God calls us to spur each other on.
- “It’s Friday. You know what that means!” Unfortunately, I did. I was in charge of helping the older girls that afternoon and on Friday afternoons at the home where we were staying, the girls kill chickens. And so, I became a part of the massacre. Milk jugs holding the chickens on the wall, a knife slitting their throats, blood running down the wall. Getting tossed in the boiler, spun in the spinner, and hand-plucked by yours truly. There was blood on the walls, sinks, floors, and my feet, arms, hands and legs. You see, sometimes God asks us to get our hands dirty for His Kingdom.
- We’ve been traveling for a few days and were ready to get to our ministry site. We’d left the others back at the hostel and had begun our 6+ hour bus ride. We quickly found out that several of us would be standing the entire time. Good news, though…the bus broke down, allowing all 15 of us to get the great opportunity to sit….inside a 15 passenger van along with 15 full packs, 15 day packs, and travel day groceries. And then the mini-bus ran out of gas. After waiting on the sketchy side of the highway in the dark for our driver to return, we finally made it to the church where we spent the next month. You see, God promises us that he will get us there, not that the drive will look like we expect.
- It was team time and we were set on doing something exciting. “Let’s go do karaoke,” a teammate said. And so we were off. We went straight to the mall to where we were told the best karaoke place was located. We quickly found out it no longer existed. We were saddened at our loss of a fun night and loaded back into the taxi to return home. We just wanted a little karaoke. Along the way, we created our own karaoke, laughing and singing to the 90’s tunes we all grew up on. You see, God gives you the desires of your heart.
- I don’t even know how to explain it all in a tiny and concise paragraph so go read this story. You see, God shows up if you let him.
- We were in charge of Bible school every Saturday in a small village school. The first week nearly 120 kids showed up. We were amazed. We excitedly began planning our lessons for the weeks to come. We started planning for more and more kids. “I think if we should plan for 150 kids. I think it’d be awesome if we could get that many to show up.” The next we went. There were nearly 175 kids waiting to hear more about Jesus!! You see, God wants to blow your biggest dreams out of the water.
- My friend and I had another cookie craving and were walking down to the corner store to get our fix. It had been a little bit slower of a month and we were attempting to build friendships with those in the local area. The cookie store seemed like a mighty good place! As we walked, we were flagged down by a woman who was bouncing up and down with excitement. “I’ve been trying to meet up with you guys!,” she said. “I was friends with the past team and I really want to be friends with you too! Can we please hang out?” We were astonished. You see, sometimes God slams a ministry opportunity right in your face.
- It had already been a busy day with a trip to the local orphanage and a meeting with a pastor and it wasn’t even lunch time. My team and I had just started making our tuna sandwiches. Our pastor suddenly knocked on the door and told us there was a career day at the local high school and they were in need of some spiritual counselors to give advice to any students who had questions. Could we do it? We, of course, jumped to our feet, stuffing our sandwiches in our mouths and grabbing our backpacks and Bibles. I don’t think we realized how unqualified we were until we got in the car. When we sat down in the classrooms, students poured in, asking us millions of questions. We searched through the Bible and shared what we knew with each students. You see, God will give you the right words to say when you need them.
- We went camping with some of our youth group. We built the fire, cooked dinner, and were starting to make our way to our tents. Some of the boys were wired and insisted on staying up all night around the campfire. I gave them instructions to just let the coals die as the night wore on. Being ornery boys, they decided to pile sand over the fire instead. Come 4am, they were freezing and woke me up to rebuild the fire for them. I was tired and cold and all too unenthused about building another fire in the pitch black, not to mention my distaste for loud noises in the mornings. I built their fire and was getting slightly frustrated at God for not letting me watch the sunrise in peace. All of a sudden, I looked up and the boys were off in the distance hunting for firewood, no one else was awake, and the sun was beginning to rise. You see, God can bring peace out of a storm in an instant.
These are just a small compilation of my many stories from this year. They’re stories that I never want to stop telling. These stories tell of exactly the kind of incredible God that I serve.
And this is my prayer: that you will never quit telling your stories, that you would tell them and tell them and tell them until your friends and family can recite them too. I pray that you would scream them from the mountaintops and shout them from the valleys and whisper them to sleeping babies and sing them from the rooftops. I pray that everyone you encounter knows the stories you have to share and in turn, that they come to know the God you serve.
