Well as they say in Africa, “Karibou!”or
“Welcome!”. We are in our eleventh month and our last month of ministry.
Somewhere in the middle of month 10 our team started to have what I call
birthing pains for the season we are about to enter. We’re not finished with
the race but we need to start thinking about what has to come next in our
lives, we are not home yet either so we need to stay fully engaged in what
God’s doing here, in the moment. We’re different people than we were a year ago
but we’re not with the people we normally associate with and so we wonder if
we’ll still be different when we go home. Our bodies have taken a beating for
the last eleven months, for some of us that includes a few extra inches from
the WAY too many chapatti we’ve eaten or the billion times we’ve been told to
finish our plates aka “clear ALL the evidence”. Some of us have been sick on
this race more times than we can count sometimes hospitalized and all of us are
beyond exhausted from the sleepless nights and early mornings that at least
come with our monthly travel days if not more frequently. I don’t think I’ve
ever been able to relate with Paul when he wrote this, like I can now: “We are
hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed but not in despair;
persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down but not destroyed…Therefore we do
not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being
renewed day by day… For our fight and momentary troubles are achieving for us an
eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is
seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen
is eternal.” 2Cor 4:8-9, 16-18
Are you in a time of transition in your
life? Do feel the “birthing pains” of a new season? Or do you wish God had you
in a different season then the one you’re in now? Well let me remind you that
pain is painful and hard but like Paul says the current battle is FAR
outweighed by the intimacy we gain by sticking close to Him. So be encouraged,
lean into the pain that God has allowed and grip onto Him with all your might.
You may find that the season is a beautiful one.
Also, part of that difficult burden for us
is that we still have over $1,000 left to raise before we come off of the field
or we will be sent a bill to pay for the rest out of our own pocket. And that
is money we don’t have. Until that money has been raised, I have been asked to
completely step out of ministry. Please help be a part of what God is doing in Moldova
by helping me get back on the field. You may donate by clicking the “Support
Us” button on the side of the screen or by clicking this link: http://tinyurl.com/reyesworldrace
