Family and friends,
I feel like I begin most of my blogs by apologizing for not posting sooner about what God has been doing in my life. So I am not going to start that way this time.
I would first like to PRAISE GOD for who He is and how absolutely incredible He is to me as my Lord and Savior but also as my Father.
2 weeks have flown by as we have been doing ministry in Malawi. To summarize it, my new team and one all boys team are living together at ABC- African Bible College in Lilongwe, Malawi. This month has been very different from the rest as far as ministry goes. It is basically a ” make your own” ministry month. When we got here they emailed us a list of needs around the campus, from that list we all just plugged ourselves in where we wanted. 2 days a week we go in to the villages and do outreach but the rest of the time we are working and living on campus. So my weeks are as follows, in the mornings I have been working on a project they needed done in the bookstore of the college, my afternoons, depending on the day fluctuate between coaching basketball, going into the villages and taking ballet lessons. Hot showers, gym, personal chef. Sounds like a pretty easy month right? WRONG! In fact this has been one of the more challenging months of the race so far. I am learning each day new things about the girls on my team which has been so sweet but it is always a challenge for me to step into vulnerability and be open with people I’ve only known for a short time. Also living with boys for the first time on the race… wow! It’s been a time. Each one of the boys here brings a special unique personality to the table and it has been a blast but also a learning curve as well.
Spiritually the Lord has been doing a lot of testing in my relationship with Him. I felt the Lord tell me before arriving in Malawi that He was going to use me this last half of the race to pour back into people. I grew so much in my relationship with the Lord but now it was time to invest and step into giving back what I have received from the Lord. He really has brought so many people in my life that I am able to pour into *especially my new team* and it has been incredible. Also, it has been very discouraging. Unlike most people, the way I grew up was very unique and not “normal” by any means, so often my perspective on things like the Lord and working at ministry looks very different to me than it does to others. I often find myself feeling very discouraged when other people on my team, don’t have the perspective or vision that I do. I have been challenged by leadership and also the Lord to grow in boldness of sharing my heart with others and encouraging them to step out of their comfort into total surrender. I am still learning what that looks like for me as a teammate and friend but I am praying as the weeks progress I will continue to step into boldness with confidence in the Lord.
I thank you all for your continued support for me as I continue this incredible journey with the Lord. I ask for prayer as I enter the next 5 weeks in Malawi. I am hoping I am able to build deep, strong relationships with the students on campus and also with my team. I have also been struggling with some health issues. The water here is not the best and many days I feel very sick and tired. I ask you pray that the Lord would grow me in strength physically so I am able to continue what He has in store for me. I love you with all my heart and can’t wait to see everyone when I get back in 4 months!
Also if anyone has any prayer request they would like to share comment below, I would love to know. I pray for so many of you back home but I don’t know many specifics so if you have any request please let me know. God bless you all!
