This past month I have been teaching English at a center, working with indigenous people, meeting friends in the town, and resting…a whole lot of resting and waiting.
For most people rest is not in their vocabulary. Im a go getter and I like to always be going. So this month has been hard for me. You see I let the Lord define what rest is and that it isn’t lazy, its simply delighting in him. Delighting in the Lord and resting in his promises is not exactly my strong point. Actually its a huge weakness. The beauty in it all is my God is faithful and he is very patient.
I like to love on people…its kinda my passion. When living in a culture that isn’t so welcoming of that passion its a bit heartbreaking. At times, its discouraging and your hope of seeing big things happen crumbles. However, God is way more powerful than we think. Im learning to take him outside of this box I’ve put him in and let him take control. Scary, scary, scary.
Although teaching English was our main ministry for the month I learned a lot more and saw God in many different places. I am writing to tell you a story about my wonderfully challenging encounters with Christ.
In a village far, far away….wait no its just 45 minutes up the road. There is a small little village in the middle of what seems like a jungle. We are greeted and welcomed by a baby monkey. We were asked to teach the children about Jesus. We were blessed with two opportunities to share with these children. With language barriers and all we began to shine our light. These people are christians but don’t have a ton of support of learning the truths of God. I felt called to talk to these older girls and when I say talk, I mean stare at each other and use hand gestures and smiles.
However the Lord took hold of me and worked through me. I was able to share life with these girls and I am sure I gained so much more than they did. I found a book of bible stories written in their language and we began to read a story together. They helped read to the whole group and honestly it didn’t go as I wished. Many of the kids got up and walked around and talked and didn’t pay much attention. I was a bit disappointed but saw a spark in the girls eyes. After more playing time and being silly we left for the day. Exhausted and tired but totally blessed. The joys of saying Christ name freely was refreshing and I came away very humbled.
A week goes by and we are asked to come back. My heart was full of joy and I was so ready to really share the love the Father has for them. Again, nothing goes as planned and my hopes were crumbling. Thankfully we end up showing them affection and attention. Which I personally believe speaks more volumes than any words I could say. As I walk around the room I begin to smile and play with the kids. I couldn’t stop praying and he keep telling me to share life with these people. A few minutes later a group of older girls walk in. My heart abounding in love runs to them and we begin to talk. The lack of my ability to speak Malay didn’t stop the conversation. We worked together to have a conversation and I learned the girls were from 12 years old to 17. We talked about their interests and their hobbies. We talked about school and we talked about music. Finally we were getting somewhere. I had a few songs on my phone so we listened to them together, I started with Justin Bieber and move to Hillsong. Surprisingly enough I broke through to them. They had heard the songs before. In church they played Hillsong sometimes and even changed the words to their language. It was beautiful and a joy. However God was not finished yet. One girl got her phone out and began to play music from her phone. It was just a little glimpse of what heaven will be like. After our little worship jam a girl asked me where that book was. I think I ran faster than I did when I was a gymnast to get to that bible. I brought it over to the girls and we began to read more stories. Thankfully it has pictures and we were able to ready Noah’s ark, Adam and Eve, and Jesus feeding the people. It was fun explaining what I could to them and reading together. As time came to a close I was overwhelmed with joy.
I know I need those girls more than they needed me.
I don’t know the affect the day had on them but I know they will forever be in my heart and prayers. I know that I have a better understanding of Christ and his love for people. I have a better glimpse of what heaven will be like. I have a learned to simply live, rest, and delight in my heavenly Father. I have been blessed yet again.
I share this story in hopes that you see the power in the name of the Lord. I write it not to boast of myself but of my heavenly Father. I finally removed myself from being a stumbling block so that the Lord could effectively speak through me. I am blessed.
