10 days. In ten days, I’m boarding the flight that carries me off of the World Race. I say goodbye to the team I led and lived with for 3 months. I say goodbye to this life, for good. I say goodbye to the sweet friends I’ve spent the last month living this life with…and I’m not ready for that. Oh, how I’ve loved this life. I’m nervous for what lies ahead, to be honest. I’m even more fuzzy on my future than I’ve ever been before. I used to be so clear on what I wanted to do, how I wanted to do it, and even when. But, now, when I ask God for direction, I get a resounding, “Love my people.” It’s what I heard right before I left for this round of the Race in August (2019) and it’s still what I’m hearing today. So, that’s where I’m at. With ten days left to process these past 15 months…and I’ve been pretty overwhelmed with it all.
When our new alumni team got together, we sat at a coffee shop to check in with each other and see where we were all at. It was vulnerable and safe. And then we kind of just stared at each other…now what? We weren’t really given a ministry to work with this month and we weren’t really sure what to do now. Do we rest? Do we visit our former teams and check in on them? Do we stay in the city or travel? We had no clue. And the fog of the future…of our purpose was coming back to me. So, what did we do? We prayed.
And, almost as soon as we got done praying, a beautiful young woman approached us. And so, we were invited to step into ministry through the English classes she offered in her home. This is where she made connections to people and this is how she began to share the Gospel. And she boldly shared it with the, primarily Islamic, people’s that attended her classes and that she made connections with.
“Just Show Up.” That’s what I’ve been learning. When I ask, “Lord, what do I do? How do I do it? What do you want of me? Where do I go? Etc, etc, etc…” He says, “just show up.” He has so much for me to step into if I pay attention and I obediently step in.
About a week ago, I was walking back from the market with both my headphones in when a man started walking alongside me to my left. He asked for the time, in English (yes, that is sometimes still rare for me to hear). I decided to not only answer his question but to take my headphones out and continue talking. We talked for a few minutes and, turns out, we were headed to the same building— another supermarket. We said our goodbyes. And as I was searching for the tea that my teammate loves, another man stopped me to ask if I could help him read the labels on some of the products. So relieved that I actually did speak English, he expressed his loneliness in the city of Bishkek as he had recently moved there and was struggling to find people who spoke English or his native tongue (one from India that I can’t remember). We chatted just for a short while but it was so sweet.
At another point, our team was shopping at another little quaint supermarket we had found when a man approached us and started talking in English. As he was sharing about his time spent in the States and, the now, English classes he offered for business professionals, youth, etc., we could just tell that he loved the Lord. And just as I was thinking, “I should ask him if he has any children and what their names are,” he began to share about his newborn baby, Immanuel. I reacted, ”Immanuel. God with us. You’re a believer aren’t you? I knew it.”
His response? “I knew you were believers, too. First, I saw you and then you (pointing to Paige and I) and I just knew you carried the presence of God.” And I felt God say it again, “just show up. I am already at work here. Just show up.” And then I had to laugh to myself and I think I even made a comment to Paige, “He sees the presence we carry and here I am carrying around sparkling water, deodorant, and pastries.”
But, this month has continued to solidify it for me— God is here and He is at work. All I need to do is pay attention, show up, and step in. Because life is ministry and ministry is life. So, here’s to continual adventures with the Lord as I step into a whole new season!
