Their joy abounds.
Their faith is not shaken-its strong & mighty.
Their eyes begin to weep as they sing praises to our God.
Their passion overflows and fills the atmosphere. Their way of life is simple.
Their smiles are crooked&big…
their hearts are even bigger.
Their faith is simple- they exemplify what it means to live like Christ-to live the gospel.
Their prayers are intense, powerful & my skin tingles at the presence of our God when I’m around them.
They take care of each other-they take care of us. They’re inviting, they’re family. Physical touch is their love language and they are completely uninhibited.
Being naked is the norm for kids…ain’t no thang. They’re constantly dirty and their imaginations are big-they haven’t been stolen by distractions & technology. They mind their manners and respect their elders-everyone has the right to discipline your kid if they’re outta line.
They’re obsessed with us…and we’re obsessed with them.
Thomas, in particular, has been one of the biggest blessings to us. We’ve known him for three days now and I already consider him a close friend, a dear friend. He is a jokster, passionate about The Lord, on fire and in love with his savior. He has such a servant heart, longs to help people, and desires to preach the gospel to everyone he meets and everywhere in the world. Yesterday he dropped Tayo and I off at our ministry site at 9 am & said he’d be back around 3 to get us. Well, he came back & immediately began working on the toilet we were building. He didn’t ask if help was needed, he saw the need & simply began to serve. It was an inspiration to me. We then asked him how his day was and what he did today & he said:
“I went and taught…”
“Taught what?”
“I taught people creation…”
“Creation, like the bible?”
“Yeah I went and taught the bible…I’ll go to Pub Street tonight to tell the foreigners about the bible & about Jesus.”
Straight up evangelizing.
“So you were evangelizing in your down time?”
“Well, yeah.”
Who do you know that evangelizes for fun?? I desire to be like that.
“Thomas, do you have a girlfriend? “Girlfriend? No I’m not looking for a girlfriend, I’m looking for a wife.”
He turns around in tuk tuks to say “You know what?” “What Thomas?” “Jesus loves you.”
He sits and eats ice cream and shares his testimony like we’re best friends…(which we are now)
He makes crosses out of paper and evangelizes and tells the lost about Jesus.
He encourages and says, “Who are you?” “You are a daughter of the king.”
I’m blessed to know men like Thomas exist.
He’s great.
My stories of this awesome man of God are never ending & I have only known him for three days! He, my friends, is a beautiful example of somebody who truly knows our savior and knows his worth in him. He is always joyful-always joking, encouraging, smiling, and putting smiles on all of our faces.
No time to waste-I feel like that is his motto & it’s inspired me.
We can ALWAYS be doing more for the kingdom. My desire is to continually do more-not because I need to earn my way to Heaven, but because I know the love of a savior that is unlike any other love on this planet and I desire to share that love with the world. I desire to share His light and freedom and grace with everyone who does not have it, who does not know about it. I posted a quote from a podcast from Carl Lentz’s on Facebook the other day that read:
Through weeping eyes He said,
“I wish somebody would’ve told me sooner. All these people knew about this Jesus & nobody has ever invited me to church, nobody ever told me that God cared about me, nobody ever told me that I could come to Him. I just WISH somebody would’ve told me sooner-maybe I wouldn’t have thrown away my whole life, maybe I wouldn’t have done the things that I did. I wish somebody would’ve told me sooner.”
I want to be somebody-somebody like Thomas, Carl, the villagers, someone like JESUS.
That’s what we were put on this earth for:
To love Jesus and to share that love with the lost.
Not for a career – a family- a husband – a wife- that’s all fine and dandy but your truth, worth, & the fullness of your life will never be found in those things. They will only be found in Jesus and in the fulfillment you receive from sharing Jesus with others. It’s amazing. God is amazing.
Needing you is so beautiful Lord. I’m reminded of this daily.
Like a flame, love burned in Your eyes
Driving You to pay the greatest price
You bought my life, so I could be Your light
Reflecting You, reflecting love
-Father of Lights by Jesus Culture
