Why God took me out of my state and country to serve for His glory.
I could go on and on about this topic, but for your sake I will try to keep this to a reasonable length. When I first got accepted to the race, I had a few people ask me, “why are you going around the world to serve? it’s dangerous. haven’t you seen what’s going on in such and such country?” or “why are you leaving the country when there are places in your own country and own city that need ministering to?” or “shouldn’t you get a real job now that you’re done with school so you can make some money?” These are all valid questions, and though I didn’t really have answers to those questions then, I do now.
When I say I was taken from all of my comfort zones to embark on this journey, I wasn’t kidding. I left everyone and everything to go on this adventure of a lifetime with God where there is no turning back. I gave up family, friends, church, my bed, hot showers, normal doctor experiences, great food, a car, power, washers, dryers, water, and independence – all things that people from the states are easily able to obtain if they really wanted to. All of these comforts are blessings whether most people see it or not. You really learn to value and treasure things once you no longer have them. I have learned to appreciate every little aspect of each day. I thank God out loud when we come back from ministry to find that the water is on just enough to wash the dirt off my body, and the power just to charge my phone enough to read a bit of my book before I go to sleep. From power and water being on at the SAME time, to being able to sleep in a bed, I’m beyond grateful to have the simple things that I took for granted at home.
As for being on the mission field outside of the USA.. I wouldn’t have learned this new found thankfulness if I hadn’t left my comforts. I have had to seek God before anything else. What a concept huh? Running to the Lord before seeking out earthly things?? Woah. At home I would run to food, or to people, or to anything to take my mind off of an unfortunate situation. Here, I can’t do that because I don’t have my favorite foods, TV, a bed, a room to myself, or my best friends whom I’d run to. I now actually face difficult days and spiritual attacks because I have to, and it’s something we all need to learn to do without distractions or comforts getting in our way. I have now learned the value of water, power, a dryer, a bed, functioning wifi, and everything else that you wouldn’t expect if you were in the states. The Lord had to remove me from these comforts in order for me to see the full greatness of who he is and the blessings he has given each of us on a daily basis.
Now of course I could have stayed in California and done evangelism around there, I could have gone to the nearest orphanage to play with children, or had done a bible study with a widows group. All of those things are great and I will do them when I get home- but it will look very different now that I’ve lived in these new cultures and can understand a bit of where they come from. I relate to them on new levels and share with them an appreciation for living that I would not have before. I have a heart behind ministry and candid interactions with my teammates because I have given them all of myself- without any distractions (for the most part).
Picking up your cross and following Jesus is not an easy thing, but it is the best thing you can do with your life. Following the call he has placed on your life is truly a blessing. It is not promised to be easy, but it’s promised to be worth it. Yes I left my comforts and flew all the way across the world to serve as the hands and feet of Jesus, but I have also died to myself along the way, and have loved every minute of it even in the hard moments. Yes there are things happening all around the world that are dangerous but you know what? There are crazy things happening in the states too! My flesh and our world may fail but He never will- that’s another promise he makes to us. Yes, a job is good, but money isn’t everything and all of that will pick up when I get home in a few months. The world doesn’t stop when we leave our homes to do the race, but our hearts truly change for the better. We get the privilege to meet so many people and live in so many cultures, it’s truly unreal when I think about how much life experience I’ve gained in a short 7 months. I have become humbled, thankful, compassionate, and so grateful for so many things along this journey, and I know for a fact my heart would not be where it is now if I had all of the easy and accessible comforts to take me out of hard days when I needed a break.
I want to challenge those of you at home who are reading this to do a few things for this next week:
1. take cold shows for a short three straight days
2. cook a meal without power or water
3. hand wash your clothes this week
4. give up charging an electronic for a day that you ‘can’t live without!’
5. eat peanut butter (no jelly *muahaha*) sandwiches everyday for lunch this next week
6. sleep somewhere other than your bed for a night or 2
7. eat dinner, hang out, read a book all by candlelight (as though the power is out)
8. have a conversation around the dinner table without any electronics around
9. turn off wifi for an ENTIRE day! whoa, what a crazy, crazy idea katie.. I know
10. give up starbucks for the week
11. ride a bike or walk somewhere you would normally drive
These are all a few things to give you insight of how we live this year, and how much we actually rely on the simplest things to get us through our daily routines.
Have fun y’all! Let me know how it goes.
Much love,
Katie
