Hi guys!!! So if you read my last blog you know that I made it to Ethiopia safely and have been working in a refugee camp and it has been amazing!!!!
At my arrival and through travel days I got really sick and was homesick as well so I struggled a lot with finding Joy in my circumstances. But a lot has changed this past month from initially getting to this country to now.
So what has The Lord been doing within me? Well I’m glad you asked because I am super excited to tell you all!
So like I said my Joy had basically diminished when arriving, and I soon figured out that it was because all through travel days (about 3 total) and the first couple of days when getting to Ethiopia I had spent no time with The Lord. I was letting my jet lag and feelings towards being in America for a day (and missing it and my family) affect my words, actions, and emotions. At one point I even had a silly fude with my team over our grocery shopping. But thankfully we have this thing called feedback so we were all able to sit down and have a civil conversation and apologize to each other.
But the reason I tell you all of this is because Joy is something that God has been working on me for awhile. If you have been keeping up with my blogging you might remember my J O Y blog from Honduras and I talked a lot about thankfulness journaling and how writing out all my thanks and praises to The Lord helped change my attitude radically.
Well as you may guess, I hadn’t done my thankfulness journal in a while during this time either. So my mood and attitude has changed in a very noticeable way.
After about a week and a half of getting to Ethiopia I noticed this and did not like the person that I had allowed myself to turn into and heavily started focusing on God and what He had planned for this month. My quite time with Him turned into hours and I began to have daily worship and prayer times.
Now, ending the month I can say that I have practiced being still in His Presence more, listened for His voice more, and spent a lot more time studying scripture and worshipping Him.
And I don’t say all of this to come off as prideful or as if I’m bragging, I say it because I want to share how much God has shown me through this. I have grown a lot this months because I have made myself open to Him and allowed Him to transform me in ways that He see’s fit.
I’ll start with my Joy. I no longer find my Joy in mundane everyday temperamental things. I find my Joy in God and things that He has placed in my life. I know the difference between Joy and Happiness now as well. I find happiness in quality time with my friends and coffee. But I find Joy in the little girls giggles at the refugee camp and the color yellow because I know that Sunshine (SOL) is what The Lord has for me.
Next, Love. I used to think that Love was a feeling and something that I gave and received freely. And though that is all true it is more of a choice and something that I have to work at everyday. He revealed to me that I am not as good at loving people as I thought. So He walked me through 1 Corinthians 13 and had me write out all the different ways Love Is and how I fall short in those. Through that I have been able to pinpoint the ways I fall short and be intentional on working on them. One way He asked me to do this was with Him; so allowing Him complete control in my life. So I have been giving things over to Him for my remaining time on the field and praying for those things, knowing that He will take care of me. The other way He asked me to do this was with my team; so practicing each way Love Is with them and making sure I am intentional with being Jesus to them.
Lastly, God has been working on me Being Still In His Presence. This is something He has been asking of me for a long time, and I thought I had been practicing it, but He wrecked me and showed me that this was not the case. So something He has been doing with me is having me sit and listen to His voice. Listening Prayer is something that was foreign to me before the race and my entire journey I have struggled with whether or not I truly hear His voice or not, but He has been reassuring me that I do, and that I need to step more into it. One way I have been able to practice this is that He told me He would be telling me things about His Sweet Melody (this is something The Lord has began to call me). So this month I have been taking time to listen for what He has to say about me or to me, and it has been so cool to hear what He has to say.
Something cool from this week was He told me to practice being still in His Presence, but also take time to find Him in everyday things. He told me to find Him in was little girls giggles. Then the other morning we were having a devotional that was all about being still and sitting in The Lords Presence (I’m telling you, God is so cool with how He ordains everything) and He gave me a couple of visions. One of them was of me and some girls laughing and giggling with the color yellow above us. I was unsure what that meant, but it was something sweet I was able to share with God.
Then get this… Later that day at the refugee camp I saw the vision complete unfold before my eyes. I have been hanging out with this little gal named Somali and this day I was with Somali and her friend. They were both being silly and we were all tickling each other, laughing away having a good ole time. Then Somali’s little friend took off her yellow (theres that color again!) hijab and wrapped it around all of us, inclosing us inside as we all laughed and played.
How cool is my God. A God who perfectly orchestrates things for the good of His people, just to teach them something and show His Love for us and Sovereignty over us.
My time on the race is coming to a close soon, with only 2 months left until I am home, and God has been showing me a lot of soaking up every last detail and moment until I have to say goodbye. And I have to say, it is my favorite lesson He has been teaching me so far.
Thank you all for the many prayers and time spent thinking of me and lifting me up. I appreciate every one of you and I can’t wait to sit down with you all and tell you my many stories. Thank you for reading again, much love!
