Hi, friends. I wanted to start this blog post by simply saying thank you. Thank you for following along, thank you for encouraging me, and thank you for journeying through the World Race with me.
When I get down time during the race, as much as I would love to send 100 texts to all of my loved ones, it is best for me to share my heart here, spend time allowing the Lord to recharge me, and continue working after resting. If you aren’t subscribed to my blog yet, hit “Subscribe for Updates!” and it will send you e-mails when I post!
This is the best place to keep up with the work Jesus is doing in and through our squad. Thank you!
•
Part of our time here in Colombia is spent partnering with a church in Armenia, Colombia, about 30 minutes from Filandia.
This church is not what you think of when the US says ‘church.’ (But boy, is the Holy Spirit present).
It’s less of a church, more of a small room off the main street in Armenia.
It’s a room with white cement walls, probably the size of a typical living room in the US, but narrower. It has bible verses on the walls, proclaiming the power of the Holy Spirit and the goodness of the Lord.
There are about 30 people that attend each service; they are people with open hearts and arms.
They have taken us in like family and loved us really well.
The pastor is a man, full of the Holy Spirit, who charges the church to bring the power of the Holy Spirit outside and into the city.
When one person prays, everyone prays.
Prayer opens the service, closes the service, and follows worship songs, sermons, and offerings. I am inspired by their devotion to prayer – how often and how vulnerably they communicate with the Lord.
On Saturday, we attended a service in the church, and a few of us were asked in advance to speak. The topic of the talk was “missions,” and we spent time asking the Lord what He wanted us to speak about.
During my quiet time Saturday morning, I prepared for my talk, and allowed to Lord’s words to flow through me and onto my journal pages.
I had bible verses, a take home message, and even some jokes that might get a couple laughs.
I was prepared. One of my favorite things to be.
•
Before heading to the church service, our hosts Karson and Ason took us out for arepas, a delicious treat in Colombia. (All 9 of us had an arepa and a soda for about 30 bucks…what).
We rode in a couple different cars, myself and a couple others in a car with our new friend, Enrique. As we went into the restaurant, Karson encouraged us to leave our stuff in the car, as we wouldn’t need it in the restaurant.
We went in, had delicious food, and shared some time of fellowship before the service.
When we were leaving the restaurant, Karson and Ason said some of us were going to walk and others were going to ride in Ason’s car.
“Where’s Enrique?” I asked. “My stuff is in his car.”
Karson looked back and said, “He went home, he won’t be back until after the service.”
My heart sunk, it started to beat a little faster, and I was instantly sweating.
My notes were in there. My Bible was in there.
All of a sudden, I was unprepared. One of my least favorite things to be.
I also had no control over the unpreparedness. Another one of my least favorite things.
“Oh, okay. That’s alright.” I replied as I was searching quickly in my head for how I would handle this.
Here’s an important thing to understand about my brain: I think I have to handle things alone, all the time.
It’s a mix of pride and false independence. It’s sinful. But in moments like this, I put the weight on my own shoulders and tell myself, ‘you’ve got to figure this out.’
We rode to the church, and the whole way, I was racking my brain, trying to remember what I wrote in my notes.
Generally speaking, I have a pretty good memory. But I couldn’t seem to remember a single thing I wrote.
We sat down in worship, and as we were worshiping, I was planning in my head what I would say.
I closed my eyes, and chose to just be still for a moment, to spend a few seconds really surrendering my heart to the Lord.
“Don’t prepare,” He said.
I immediately opened my eyes, and (in full honesty) tried to shake that idea off.
Don’t prepare? You want me to walk up with no plan?
No. That’s a bad idea.
Right then, my team leader Jada stepped over and said, “I want to pray for you.”
She laid her hand on my shoulder and began to pray into my heart and situation. She said, “Father, let them see you and not Hannah Beth. Let every word that comes out of her mouth be of you and nothing else. Allow her to speak your words.”
She prayed and prayed and the peace that surpasses all understanding overcame me.
It’s almost like God knew I needed to hear that. Ha.
So, I surrendered.
I said, “okay, Lord.” And I walked up there with no plan.
Ason, our host and the person translating the sermon, smiled and welcomed me to the front. I took a deep breath and began to speak.
What did I speak about? I have no idea.
I walked off the stage and could not remember a single word I said.
I remember hearing “Amen” from people in the crowd.
I also remember thinking ahead of myself as Ason was translating, beginning to say something I felt was appropriate, and the Holy Spirit literally changing my words as I spoke them.
My teammates later encouraged me with positive feedback, for allowing the Holy Spirit to speak through me.
Obedience is hard. But honestly, I am at the point where obedience is the only choice.
Walking outside of what He is telling me to do feels impossible, silly, and scary.
I’d rather be with Him than anywhere else.
Sometimes I just have to be reminded of this when my comfort and preferences are compromised.
I walked in obedience.
I said yes to being unprepared.
I said yes to the Holy Spirit that day.
This is really all I want.
I want to continue to walk in obedience.
I want to hear the voice of the Lord, all the time.
I want to be so in love with the Holy Spirit that when He tells me to clean while people are sleeping, I choose servanthood over rest.
I want my life to resemble Jesus in every aspect, not just the ones I prefer.
I want Jesus to look at me when I walk into the gates of heaven and said, “well done, my good and faithful servant.”
And I want to live the rest of my life meditating on these pure desires.
•
Jesus, I am so in love with you.
I am thankful for the work you are doing in my heart, and the way you are humbling me.
I will choose life with you every day.
•
All my love,
Hannah Beth
