Nepal was a month full of emotions to say the least. I witnessed some crazy things as well as walked through a lot of emotions that resulted in going through an inner healing. On the race, we can get so focused on our tasks at hand as well as giving back to a different community every single month. With every month comes a nice opportunity to jump in with both feet, and that could mean learning a new language, getting updated on cultural norms, getting to know our host and invest in them as well as their vision, walk alongside the people we pray for, as well as encourage and sharpen our teammates. All that is great, and you should do all those things, only when you aren’t doing them out of over flow, you can run empty and eventually “burn out.” “Burn Out” is a common term in the mission field. It’s the main reason missionaries will stop and leave the mission field. I can’t stress enough the importance of reading your bible as well as being poured into by the community around you. While I was in Malaysia, we attended a church service one morning, and I remember the pastor speaking about the importance of being rooted in the “Word of God.” To get through the week, you can’t just be satisfied with relying on Sunday morning service to carry you. He compared it to breathing- he said it was like taking a deep breath and then trying to walk through the week without taking another breath. It simply can’t be done; you’re not going to make it very far. He also used the phrase “daily bread.” The word of God is compared to “daily bread.” It’s called that because just like food, the bible is something we need to consume every day. Jesus replied with a powerful statement, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” In Matthew 4:4, Jesus was being tempted in the desert, and the devil asked Him to turn a rock into bread. The Word of God is described as a double-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12). It’s essential to be thriving as well as be in a place of over flow to be able to give back. The pastor asked us a question, “If we only go to church on Sunday and receive the word of God and do nothing else, why don’t we call the bible the ‘Weekly Loaf’?” He made an excellent point- without being rooted in the Word, Nepal would have been a difficult month. Each month has the potential to be an amazing month or a rough one. Most things we can’t control but two important things we can:
1)Choose God every day! – God gives us free will to choose him or your flesh every day. By the grace of God, He loves us and wants us to choose him, but He’s not going to make you. Not only does He want us to choose and pursue him every day, but He also wants us to be persistent. Today I was at church, and to be honest, I sat there I didn’t understand a lick of what was said because it was all in Spanish. But later, one of my teammates brought up what the pastor was talking about in service, which was (Matthew 15:21-28). It’s the story of “The Canaanite Woman.” If you haven’t read it, it’s a great read I highly recommend it. It talks about a woman whose daughter was demon possessed. She needed Jesus’s help, but when she cried out He did not reply. The disciples asked Jesus to send her away but Jesus only replied to her in parables. He said he was only sent for the lost sheep of Israel, but she asked again for His help. With that He told another parable, “It’s not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” Yet she replied, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” It was then that He finally replied to her and called her “a woman of great faith,” and her daughter was healed instantly. It took the woman being persistent and asking a few times. God wants to see you pursuing him. God wants you to search for Him with your whole heart. (Matthew 7:7) He promises that if you knock, the door will be opened, and if you seek, you will find. So, if you are praying be persistent. He will answer.
2)Your attitude- You have no control over the events that happen in life, but you do have the ability to control the way you receive it. How do you react to the situation at hand? 1 Thessalonians 5:17-19 comes to mind which states the following,” Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in every circumstance; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the spirit.” There is always a reason to give thanks and rejoice because God is good, even when you’re walking in the valley of the shadow of death (Psalm 23:4). Another verse that comes to mind is Colossians 3:2, which states, “Set your mind on things that are above, not on the things that are on earth.” Something one of our coaches from my squad said that really stuck with me was, “Someone can be annoying without YOU being annoyed. Living in community with a team of people where you are never alone and living on top of each other, there are moments where we all have to take a breath and choose to not react poorly but extend grace. I can’t control what that person or teammate says or does to me but I can control the way I react, and God tells us to act out of love.” A great example of that is “The Prodigal Son.” Another great story you should read, but I’ll just sum it up. There are two sons, and one son asks his dad for his inheritance before his dad was ill. His dad gives him the money and land, and the son leaves and goes to a faraway land. Sound familiar to any of you after high school? Some people try to go as far away from home as possible for college. But instead of school, he blew all his money on prostitutes and whatever else. Then when his money was gone and he was starving, he decided to come home. Now here is where you see the love of Christ. The son makes it home and as he’s walking up the drive way his dad sees him. Now his dad doesn’t know if he had come home to ask for more money. Heck, his son didn’t even want to wait till his dad died to get the inheritance. But when the dad sees his son, he has compassion on him and he runs to embarrass him and kiss him. He dresses him the best clothing and throws him a party. The dad could have acted poorly and rejected him but insist he acts out of love and compassion.
We have the choice every day that goes to everyone. It’s not just the missionaries but everyone reading. If you’re feeling overwhelmed or you just feel like you’re lacking, I would encourage you to open the bible. It will make a world of a difference. He wants to tell you something. It’s just waiting for you and it’s different every day. God can speak through His Word and He with give you what you need in that moment.
I only have a short time before the race is over and I have loved the time I’ve had to grow, learn more about the God we serve, and pour back into communities. I have been asked by AIM to come back in January as an alumni team leader. I would launch on January 11 and be on the field for two months disciplininga team as well as looking for leadership within my team to raise up when I leave the field. But before I can start support raising for this new journey, I need to be fully funded for this current one. I believe God has been preparing me for this new season of leadership, and I can’t wait to get started. The countries I will be going to are Haiti and the Dominican Republic. I have to raise $2,500 plus the cost of insurance. Like I said before, I can’t start support raising until I’m fully funded for this journey. I still have to raise $1,479 to be fully funded. Thank you for all the continual prayers throughout this journey.
So just a disclaimer: I hope this helped someone out there because I was going to write about something completely different, but it went a different direction. In part 2 of this blog, I’m going to share about the stories and things that happened in Nepal and how I was able to walk alongside a woman who was completely changed by God; I got to witness the transformation. 
