Indonesia has been quite the country so far! My last blog consisted of an update of our first two weeks here. We are in this country longer than other so there is a lot that goes on! And there has been a lot that has happened in the past week and a half. This blog aims to bring an update to some very important events that have recently happened in my life and show what time here has been like for the past week!
I guess I should pick up right where the last blog left off: the revival. My team and I were to teach at a revival after coming home from Lake Toba. One of my teammates and I were supposed to do the teaching: we were excited, needed to prepare, and ready to see what the Lord was going to do. I love teaching and was stoked to have the opportunity to teach alongside one of my closest friends and one of the best teachers I know! However, the day before the revival I got really sick and stayed sick for a few days. Therefore, I was down for the count and unable to even go to the church service. I had a temperature of 104 by was freezing. My host family was incredible – the mom treated me as if I was her own and her husband took me on a late night doctor run to get medicine that would bing down my fever and make my stomach feel better. Our host family is incredible and I am so thankful that the Lord placed us with them! I was pretty bummed about missing a few days of ministry and honestly a little discouraged because that’s what we are here for!! And I couldn’t do anything! But the Lord taught me a lot during those few days of being sick.
My health has been up and down since then but for the most part, I am feeling much better! Through this week the Lord has been teaching me a lot about what it means to wait on Him but pursue Him with everything in me at the same time. I’ve had a great desire to read the Bible and learn more about who He is through Pastor Dave’s teaching and different books. So while physically, there has been some difficulty – spiritually, the Lord has filled me up and brought me to a place of desiring Him above all else! Which is such a sweet and incredible place to me!
The revival was last Saturday and since then our ministry focus has been kids. Everyday has looked similar. We go to a teaching from Pastor Dave in the morning and do a kids English or church program in the afternoon. We have become experts at impromptu 2 hour kids ministry as we aren’t always told that we will be hanging out with kids. But it is always a good time! And what a great opportunity to pour into and invest in the next generation!
On Tuesday, we went to a village to teach kids English and play games with them. On Wednesday, we thought we were doing the same thing but upon arriving, we were told we would be doing a church service for about 70 kids between the ages of 5 and 15. We quickly whipped up a plan and at the end asked if any of the children wanted to be prayed for. All 70 kids stood up and got in line to be prayed. We each took a kid and prayed for them one by one. It was such an honor to play this role in the life of these kids! Being able to ask the Lord to bless their lives and help them stay on the path of righteousness! On Thursday, we did an English camp with our neighborhood kids and since we have been doing this for a couple of weeks, we took the opportunity to minister to them as well through Bible stories and games. The kids here are so joyful and fun! On Friday, we thought we were going to a church to listen to Pastor Dave teach but when we got there, we all realized there was about 50 kids just hanging out and the goal was to give the teaching to the moms. So our team got put in charge of kids ministry for about 2 hours. Thankfully we had been practicing all week for this! It was so fun to be able to hang out with the kids and teach them Bible stories and English and play games while Pastor Dave and Pastor David ministered to the women that came for the teaching! The following and last week of ministry, we are anticipating doing more teachings with youth and kids ministry. It has been so sweet to be able to teach others what the Lord has been teaching us on the race and hopefully equip people with tools to gain a more intimate relationship with the Lord.
Along with doing ministry, which has been great, I have been walking through something else as well. Something not as fun as playing with kids and listening to teachings about the Lord. Recently, I got news that one of my family members passed away. My Great Aunt Jean, who was like a second Grandma to me whenever I went to visit my grandparents in PA. It’s hard being here when I want to be home, grieving and spending time with my family. It was hard knowing my family was getting ready, going to, and spending time at the funeral to honor my Aunt Jean and I was halfway around the world. But I am thankful for technology that has allowed me to check-in and FaceTime my family back home to hopefully be an encouragement to them and get encouragement from them. It’s hard not to wrestle with the question of “why now?” In regards to this event. But I trust the Lord with where He has me.
This month has been full of confusion but the Lord has used this month to pull me into a deeper relationship with Him and has shown me how to look to Him as my true source of Comfort. Whenever I take my eyes off of Him I get confused and anxious but as I put my eyes back on Him, I feel peace and joy flow over me in abundance.
Continued prayers for my team as we do ministry and prepare to go into our last country would be appreciated! And prayers for my family as they walk through this time of grieving. The race has brought a lot of different experiences that I was never expecting but the Lord is good and faithful through them all!
Side note: we are famous in Indonesia. Everywhere we go people say hello and we have about a 30 minute photo shoot with everyone around. So that’s fun!
