This weekend I had the amazing opportunity to join a missionary conference in Mars Hill, Maine. Mars Hill is about a half an hour away from where I lived, but I had never visited this church before. It was the United Baptist Church. We had a connection through a dear friend. After speaking over the phone about the possibilities of sharing the Word Race with their congregation, the pastor invited me to join them during their missionary conference. I was so excited!!! Not only was God opening a door to be able to share His vision for my life with them, but also I was able to meet current missionaries from Uganda, Africa. Their names were Amanda and Gilbert. They are such an amazing couple who are passionately pursuing God and serving Him in amazing ways in Uganda. God has used them mightily already and I know that He will continue to do so.
The conference was amazing! This church is just full of people who really reflect the love of Jesus. I had so many people come up to me, eager to engage in conversation and hear more about what the World Race is all about. It was such a great time. I was encouraged deeply by many people and I am so thankful that God opened this door before me.
I spent the entire weekend with them. Saturday evening, we had a meal at the church. (It was delicious, by the way! Huge props to the cooks! :)) During the meal, I was able to sit with Amanda and Gil and Amanda's mother. I was able to learn a little bit about who they are and how they come to know each other. I was also challenged to really reflect on my passions for why I want to be a missionary. It was a great conversation. After the meal, we went in to the main sanctuary and Gil gave a sermon of learning what vessel we are. This was a great challenge to me as well. I am still reflecting on this sermon and seeking God as to which vessel I really am. Then Amanda shared a slide show of pictures from Uganda and explained what it is they are doing as well as gave testimony to some of the things God has been doing in them and through them during their time with Word of Life. These pictures and testimonies stirred up an excitement in my soul. I can not wait to leave and be in the field!!!
Sunday, I spoke at the adult Sunday School service. Honestly, I did not feel prepared. I got up early that morning to spend some time in the Lord's Presence, in prayer and reading His Word. As I arrived, I prayed "Lord, I surrender entirely to You. Use me today Lord. Give me Your Words to say and speak through me" That was basically all I did to prepare. I had written down some "statistics", but that was it. I was uncomfortable, in my skirt and high heels. (Anyone who knows me would know that this is a rare occurrence in itself.) As I sat after the offering, waiting for the pastor to call me up, I was slightly nervous, but not nervous at the same time. I'll call it a "healthy nervous". I walked up to the front, placed my paper on the stand in front of me, opened my mouth, and just spoke from the heart. I really can't remember all that I said, but I know that it was powerful. I spoke for 35 minutes, sharing all about who I was, where I came from, how I came to be on the Race, and what the race looked like. As I shared my heart for the abandoned girls in Nepal, I actually began to cry. I have not done this presenting before, but the passion that I felt for these baby girls and for the orphaned children in Africa became intensified while I spoke. I was filled with this burning desire to help them. It was incredible. I just know that it was God speaking through me, not myself speaking. I answered questions at the end. It was crazy, the time just flew. As I stood by my board afterwards, I had so many people come up to me and thank me for sharing. I was told over and over again how good of a presentation it was. I was in shock. God used me! It was amazing.
It wasn't until afterward, when I was back at my host family's house speaking to my mentor, that I realized something. She told me "You are a natural behind the pulpit." And something inside me clicked. I had always thought I was a bit nervous during public speaking. It wasn't something I thought I liked to do. But looking back now, I realize that I actually don't mind it. In fact, I've never turned down an opportunity to speak in front of people about something I was passionate about. It surprised me, when really it shouldn't have surprised me at all. God is awakening something inside me. I know that all of these opportunities to speak publicly about what He is doing are for a purpose. What that purpose is, I do not know. But I do know one thing now. I have learned what another one of my gifts is: public speaking. So I am going to use this gift. I have felt for some time now that God wasn't calling me to do actual fundraisers (such as car wash, bake sale etc) to raise the money for my missions trip. He has been calling me to speak. "Be My mouth piece" are the words He has spoken to me time and time again in the past few weeks. This weekend confirms that.
I was also able to go to the youth group that evening to share my testimony. I had never done that before in a public setting, not fully anyway. I entered into this honor in prayer, knowing that God had used me that morning and He would use me again that night. "Give me the words that these kids need to hear, Lord" That was my preparation again. And God totally showed up! (big surprise, right?) He gave me the words to say and it was such a blessing to share with these kids and spend time getting to know them. They are all so precious and blessed to have the group that they have. My prayer is that they would have heard my words and that their eyes would be open to see how loved and cherished they are, by the Father and by their youth leaders. It was so much fun!
I have only a few available Sundays left between now and launch. Today I spent trying to call several surrounding Pastors to see if I could share with their congregation about my trip. I will go and be God's mouthpiece. I will get the word out about my trip any way that I possibly can. And I know that God will honor my obedience. Not to say that as if it is me, bragging about myself. But I have seen God honor the obedience of His people time and time again. Just read the Bible and you'll see what I am talking about. It is not about me or anything that I do or say. It's all about Him, what He has already done and what He continues to do and shall do in the future. All the glory and honor goes to the Lord.
Please pray for me, that doors would continue to open and that God would bring about other places/events to speak at between now and June. Pray that God would continue to give me the words to say, and that people would be stirred by my passion for these kids. I pray that I would be able to awaken hearts for the Lord's purposes. Use me Lord. Thank you Lord. Thank you for this church, for this weekend. I pray that you would bless them abundantly. Thank you.
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FUNDRAISING UPDATE!!!! 🙂
I have looked at the numbers. I started the weekend off being 33% funded. After adding up the donations from this weekend as well as some other donations I have sent in from other people, I am "unofficially" (because it hasn't processed fully through my account yet) at $7,642!!!!!!! Praise the Lord!!! Having reached this amount, I am able to launch in July!!! Glory to God, for He is good! I am beyond excited for this! In just one weekend, I have jumped from 33% funded to 49%. Woo hoo!!! Thank you to all of my supporters! I would not be able to do this without your help! Praying for you always, that God would supply all your needs, according to HIS glorious riches. Thank you thank you thank you! Love to all of you!
Grace and Peace,
Kayla
