Get your head in the game!

When I first wrote this blog, God was teaching me to focus more on ministry and less on myself and my desire to see results. 

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Coaches use this phase "GET YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME!" all the time to motivate their players. Lately I feel like God has been telling me to get my head in the game!

A week or two ago, Ashlee shared some feedback from people back home. They told her she's become too self center since embarking on the race. Her blogs are all about her, how she feels and what God is doing in her rather than about the ministry we're involved in.

We talked about this as a group and concluded that this journey is more about us than we originally thought. We've realized how true it is that God can't use us to change others until we've been changed ourselves – and he has been changing us from the inside out.

I've been chewing on this for the last few days and since concluded that its obviously a lot easier for me to see how God has and is working in my own life. I can quantify a change within myself while it's much harder to see the impact I'm making in the lives of those around me.

I've been reflecting on the last two and a half months in an effort calculate the impact my team and I have made in the nations:

Month 1 – DR:
As a team we spoke in every single school and classroom in the city. We shared Bible trivia, favorite verses and personal testimonies with the students. It was amazing to see how attentive the kids were during our visits.

Month 2 – Haiti:
Our ministry was centered around prayer this month. We sought opportunities to bless people through prayer. We prayed over an old beggar on the street, for a voodoo priest and we anointed the Haitian soil and claimed the country for Jesus! We also blessed each other through nightly prophecy – each night we prayed over a different girl asking Jesus to speak through us in the form of words, pictures and verses.

Month 3 – Thailand:
This month we have spend countless hours working the land. We have used machetes, rakes, axes, saws, weed-eaters, etc to clear the land for a future boys home. Each night we go to the current kids homes for dinner and to love on them.

After looking back on the past two and a half months, the difference we've made is not one that can be quantified. It's intangible. The difference we made is in our love and through our prayers. 

Nearly a week ago, I received this Facebook message from a former coworker:

"Just wanted to tell you what an inspiration you have been not only to me but to my 17 year old daughter…she mentioned a few months ago wanting to do a big mission trip…I told her what you are doing and she has been following your blog and looking at your fb when she is here with me…she actually decided to transfer out of UCF and get her degree at FSCJ instead in order to be able to save money towards a mission trip when she graduates..so not only are you touching countless lives where you physically are, you are touching them all the way back home…we pray for you daily…!!"

This message was very encouraging. It was a nice reminder that this journey affects a lot of people besides myself. I've been inspired "to get my head in the game" by focusing LESS on myself and what God is doing/wants to do in ME and MORE on OTHERS and our ministry.