“Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure,
children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation,
in which you shine like stars in the universe
as you hold forth the word of life.”
– Philippians 2:14-15
The past month has been jam-packed with goodness. So much to talk about!
To start, at the end of October we just completed our first debrief with the squad. Staff from the U.S. flew in and all the teams met up and stepped away from their ministry locations for a week to look back on the past couple months and talk about what God has been doing. It also provided a great opportunity for our leadership team to come together and give them some more encouragement for the journey!
Many of our conversations over the past couple months have centered around what everyone’s expectations for the World Race looked like and how to handle unforeseen challenges – living life with fellow racers, cultural differences, strange illnesses, constant changes of plans, weird food, and many other factors that are typically thrown at you on the World Race. Essentially, how to deal with the unexpected. Just like life in general actually! So I had the opportunity to speak one night and decided to talk about a hard lesson I myself have had to learn over the years. As I’ve gotten older I’ve realized more or more aspects of life that I have no control over. The weather, work colleagues, people who attend my church, decisions of family members, sickness at the worst time, the economy, etc. The list could go on and on. And I’m sure you’re learning this as well. Yet I’ve learned there is one aspect of my life that is indeed entirely in my hands – my attitude. So much of what I experience is entirely out of my control, and I’ve spent so much of my time trying to figure out how to get a handle on these areas of my life. Yet in reality, if we look at Scripture, nearly every word of Jesus is focused on adjusting our attitude and changing our heart posture, not on changing our circumstances. I’m learning how to have a Christ-like attitude and how to respond in a loving way when life doesn’t seem to go the way I planned. And I think this squad is learning that too!
One of the challenges I mentioned above was “strange illnesses.” So I’d also like to ask for your prayers on this one! A couple of those strange illnesses are Dengue Fever and Chicungunya. If you haven’t heard of them, don’t worry, most of us hadn’t either until last month! I myself just got over Dengue a couple weeks ago. These two diseases, among the usual stomach viruses and parasites that come with travel in a foreign country, have been a burden on many of us and so I ask that you would pray for God’s healing hand and for patience and strength for those still recovering. I know everyone would appreciate it.
Immediately after debrief I had the opportunity to travel home for two weddings, and what a great time it was to be back with friends and family! Even though it was only for a week, I was privileged to see many of you and it was just the boost of energy I needed. Thanks to all those who made my time at home so special. You have no idea how much joy it brought me!
And I appreciate all your prayers and continued support. I got quite a bit closer to my support goal this past month, praise God! Yet I’m still about $2,000 short of my total goal for January. Please pray that God would continue to provide!
Thanks again!
For His Renown,
Dan Lidwin
