I’d like to introduce you to my team, formerly Team Odyssey now changed to Team Y.E.T.I. (I feel compelled to share a quote from someone who wished to remain anonymous, “They went from a stupid name to an even stupider one”). I haven’t officially had the chance to tell anything about them, I hope to compile a profile of each of them and who they are to me in the next little while.
Can I just get an Amen!!? So many barriers were broken down between us today, this is the strong foundation that we needed! Thank you all for your prayers for this, it’s not that there were any specific points of conflict, it’s just that we were not all on the same page. Lets start from the start.
I seriously cannot get enough of these guys!! This morning we had a seminar by Gary Black that made us get into our groups and write down a list of “norms” which would be constants that we would live by and commit to as a team. Some of those being simple like no gossiping. Others being a little more awkward like, what disciplines we would bring into effect if someone repeatedly went against the group, for example: showing up late all the time. So we all committed to always looking out for each other and seeking the teams unity and smooth functioning second only to our relationship with our almighty God. Sounds good right? But, I still felt a pit in my stomach… must just be something I need to deal with personally.
We had lunch cleanup after and although I was working in close proximity with my little family I could sense strains… again, I just assumed it was only me. We had a designated ministry time this afternoon to ATL (ask the Lord) and see what He lay on our hearts as to where He wanted us to serve. So I came to the table with a rotten feeling in my stomach and as I asked the Lord to show me what ministry might look like today, that I was giving Him my afternoon, the rotten feeling just got worse. So there we sat in silence under a 70 ft. towering bamboo thicket framing the awkwardly steep farming mountains which have been cultivated for over 1500 years, and waited on God…
Well, He showed up, but not in a way that I had ever expected. Ginger piped up after a long silence, and poured her heart out,
“I just want to have such an intimate relationship with God that all I want to do is love others, I want that so bad. I’ve had way too many missions trips where I just “did” things and “helped” people and never actually showed or experienced the true love that Christ offers, if I have to do that again I’ll vomit!”
This struck a cord with me so deeply, I do not want to mobilize anyone or anything without the anointing of God on that project. And whatever I or we do in ministry we want to be full of Christ’s love so we can truly overflow into others lives. The world does not need any more burnt out missionaries running on empty going on trips and settling for a lowest common denominator ministry.
Ginger and I both received a picture of the six of us standing in a circle and praying this out to God. We needed to make true commitments with each other and with God. So that’s what we did, we set aside our perceptions of what ministry should look like and what we may or may not have experienced in the past. We committed to our God first and foremost and next to each other as a family, that if anyone in the family was having a problem that that would be addressed quickly and brought straight to God and worked out before we made any kind of move. This is a 6 person marriage… kinda weird I know, but we know we’re freaks!! We released any anger and frustrations that were inside over these issues and I know that God covered us in an attitude of Unity, we will be a well oiled machine. Bri just laughed and summed up our whole afternoon experience, or epiphany in one simple thought.
“Guys, do you realize that this whole ordeal brought us to really know two of the most basic truths ever. It seems so huge to us which is great, but all we agree to do now is love God and love people.”
We had a little laugh cause it was so basic, but still so incredibly important! God will use us, I cannot wait to see Him set the captives free, there will be miracles, you better believe it! But most of all we want to catch onto even the tiniest piece of His love and truly understand that. Then show it in the simplest way to everyone that crosses our paths.
All of a sudden the afternoon was gone. I don’t care what anyone says, that was the most God ordained ministry time that I have experienced so far. We are ready, we are in unity and we love God so much that there is no way He can’t honour that!! Can I get another AMEN??
