Oh friends, I am so sorry I have failed you on this whole blogging thing. I have to admit that I thought by Month 7, I would have this writing thing down pat but…it doesn’t seem to have worked out that way. I could blame it on my lack of internet in the past two months or the craziness of the race but we all know those are just well…some pretty lame excuses. But the good news is that now I have a few “catch up blogs” so get ready for some posts to get you up to speed. You can’t say I didn’t warn you!
Ok, so let’s get you up-to-date here. I currently just finished Month 7 on the race in the beautiful country of Swaziland. Crazy right?!? I can’t believe the lists of countries I have been is now longer than the months I still left to go. Some days it seems to have gone by so fast and other days, it seems like eternity since I have been home. But everyday it seems I still wake up in awe that this is my life. That this is the crazy, fun adventure the Lord planned for me to go on with Him around the world. It’s truly incredible J
I’ve been in Swaziland for the past four weeks but before I talk about this month, I want to catch you up last month. I think it’s safe to say that when we were told that month 6 would now take place in South Africa, my heart was jumping with excitement. South Africa is a country I have always wanted to visit, partly because of its breathtaking sights and partly because of its beautiful people. And then to hear that my team would be doing “ATL or Ask the Lord” month again, I was even more excited. Excited to travel the country, excited for divine appointments and to meet obedient followers, excited to visit Kingdom building ministries, excited to bring encouragement to the unsung heroes and excited to have the same experience I did round one of ATL in Malaysia. I couldn’t wait to be completely depend on my Father for guidance, for wisdom, for provision and experience Him more intimately, more deeply, and learn just as much from Him as I did month 2. The Lord had used my ATL month in Malaysia to grow me in so many ways and I was looking forward to another major growth spurt.
Or so I thought.
Yes, I fell in love with South Africa. I fell in love with the people I came to know and my community I became a part of. I fell in love with the overwhelming beauty of the country with its grassy mountains and blue ocean. But ATL month…it was much different than I was expecting.
It was exhausting.
It was overwhelming.
It was hard.
Don’t get me wrong, the Lord worked in incredible ways and He led us to some of the most Spirit-filled people but the vision I had for the month didn’t quite meet up with reality. Everywhere we turned, there seemed to be hurdles to jump over and nothing came as easy as I had remembered. From having no consistent transportation to our low budget to having no easy access to wifi, it made the usual, everyday things become burdensome.
It was a daily struggle of wondering how we were going to get places, how we were going to pay for our expenses and how we were going to position ourselves in order for divine appointments to happen.
I began to question myself as a UH leader, my ability to hear from my Father and what had changed in myself to make it harder to see His hand at work.
But in the mist of difficulty, the Lord reminded me – it’s not about me.
It’s nothing I can do.
It’s nothing I can control.
It’s nothing I can plan.
It’s nothing I can schedule.
It’s by His power.
It’s by His timing.
It’s by His plan.
It’s by His perfect will.
It’s all by Him.
So simple right? Something I’ve been taught all my life.
But yet, still in month 6 of the Race I had to be reminded of this truth every single day.
And to my surprise, the divine appointments happened. Transportation was always provided whether it be by complete strangers or gracious people willing to serve. Housing was donated for free and we ended the month under budget.
It’s all by Him.
My efforts wouldn’t have brought fulfillment to the Lord’s calling, my abilities wouldn’t have made things happen and my control wouldn’t have guaranteed “run ins” with Unsung Heroes.
Nothing I possess but everything I rid myself of.
Empty myself so He could fill me.
So He could work in and through me to do His divine plan.
It’s all by Him.
Little summary of our month:
Cities we lived in: 3 [Johannasburg, Howick & Durban]
Places we were provided with FREE housing: 2
Churches we became a part of: 4
Schools we visited: 4
Strangers’ cars we rode in: 15
Nationalities we interacted with: 10
Meals Unsung Heroes treated us to: 9
Home-cooked meals we made: 15
Monkeys that lived at our apartment: 21
Monkeys that tried to live inside our apartment: 21
Five Roses teas I had: 30
Team orders of French fries: 50
Ministries we contacted: 25
Ministries we visited: 17
Contacts we made: TWENTY!
Stayed tuned for more blogs to keep you all up-to-date! Thank you for continuing to walk through this journey with me!
