so on the world race, we get off days, or adventure days, whatever you and your team decide to make of it. last monday we went ziplining and cave tubing (it was a blast, gopro videos were taken). on friday, we tried to go to Xunantunich, the second biggest ancient mayan temple in Belize, which happens to be a $2 bus ride away. when we got there on friday, the ferry to get to the temple was closed because the river was too high. we figured we would wait until today…good thing a good citizen taxi driver asked where we were planning on going and told us that the temple was still closed, because we were about to hop on that stinkin bus again!
we were all kind of bummed, but i came to realize that i was actually quite tired today. we played futbol (soccer for you uncultured humans) with a youth group for like four hours on saturday night, and lets just say ya girl is sore from running that much. these belizeans will whip ya into shape REAL quick. anyways, i was tired. and i had some things to do on my computer, so we all kind of chilled and did our own thing.
some of you know that i am a logistics coordinator for my squad. this simply means that i, along with my fellow logistics buddy (shoutout to emjay, follow her blog she’s awesome) are in charge of the transportation from country to country for our entire squad of 36 ducklings. we are also in charge of all of the major and minor details of our debrief sessions which are at the end of every couple of months. missionaries need a break and a safe place to debrief what we are seeing and feeling, and this happens at, you guessed it, debrief.
last week emjay and i could not for the life of us find anywhere for our squad to stay, within budget, for our upcoming debrief weekend. we looked, and looked, threw our computers out the window, pulled our hair out, read our bibles and asked for forgiveness, and then looked some more. NOTHING. c’mon belize, help us out a little bit. NOTHING. then today i opened my computer and realized with fresh eyes that it was right in front of me. i had already found a place for us to stay! i just couldn’t see it beforehand. i was doing simple math wrong and not using a clear mind or a mind driven by the Spirit to find what i was looking for.
later this afternoon, two of my teammates and i decided to take a walk to the other side of town to get a fun coffee drink. we told the others we would be right back…two hours later we showed back up (whoops) this is what happens when we get to talking and sharing our hearts with one another. this is what living in community looks like. it is challenging, yet so rewarding all at the same time. my teammates and i got to explore new parts of the town, new faces, new drinks, and new things about one another together.
we get back home and there had been a mother and son that came to check in last night to the small hotel where we are staying. being 6 of us, we tend to congregate in the common area quite often, so we had met the mother and son in passing and had a small talk with them. this afternoon when i got home, i walked into the kitchen and the mom was in there. turns out her name is jennifer. she complimented my key that i was wearing around my neck. it has the word “beauty” carved into it. i told her that it was a key that someone who didn’t know me at all prayed over, received that word, and now i get to find out the meaning behind that word as it pertains to me. she replied and said “oh yes, a prophetic word”. i was kind of stunned because i didn’t know if she was a believer or not…turns out she QUITE the believer. keep reading, trust me.
i’m sitting in my room with michelle, one of my teammates, and there’s a knock on the door. it’s usually one of the boys asking when dinner will be ready (rolls eyes so hard my head hurts), but it wasn’t this time – it was jennifer. she came in and asked if she could ask a question, and i said of course. she asked if she could practice something with us. and i was like well…yes….what is it? she said she had just taken a course in prophesying over people and she wanted to practice on us. we both excitedly said OF FREAKIN COURSE!!! she went upstairs to pray first, then came back down. she was nervous, but confident. she prophesied over both michelle and myself. i shared some of my story with her for her to know that what she had said over me was absolutely from the Lord. (i promise i will follow up with a blog on this prophecy once it is fulfilled, if it is during the race).
over the past few days, some names kept coming up in conversations with basically everyone in my team: todd white, heidi baker, kris vallotton, bill johnson, toronto, bethel church, etc. i had finally remembered that i had heidi baker’s compelled by love documentary on my computer, so i suggested we all watch it together. if you’ve not seen this and want to be holy-wowed by the Spirit, be my guest, friends.
when that movie was over, everyone was ready for bed…but i was feeling the Spirit. i needed to get some praise outta me and up to my Father! i put some headphones in, climbed the stairs to the roof, and sang my loudest praises of my favorite songs with the stars for nearly two hours; knowing full well that God was listening, watching, smiling, and probably giggling at my ridiculousness.
all of this to say: we might days that are “off” from ministry, but the Lord and his Spirit never stop working. they are fighting day and night for us to see them and feel them and hear them. they don’t sleep. and because of this, we don’t get “off” days either. we can have rest days, but the best rest is resting in the Spirit. resting in the Father and knowing He will catch you and lift you back up when you can’t depend on your physical self any longer.
the next time you feel tired, praise him. the next time all you want to do is sleep, praise him. the next time you want to watch netflix, praise him. just praise him. he never stops working on our behalf. find the little things in every single day that HE has done for YOU.
much love for you, and i hope you sing and dance on a rooftop under the stars sometime soon, no matter where you are.
xoxo, mags.
