Family & Friends – I know it has been awhile since my last update. So much has happened since then! We made beautiful memories in Botswana with the Booyse family including hatching baby crocodiles, a safari in Namibia, encouraging circles and dressing up for “family” pictures. We said goodbye to the beautiful children of Seronga after several weeks of duck duck goose, fun songs, dancing circles, bible stories and lots of fun.
We left the hot summer of Africa to fly to the cold winter of Eastern Europe. We landed in Romania and headed to Draganesti-Olt to begin ministry with Hope Church and the entire squad. We spent a weekend driving into the snowy Carpathian Mountains to experience the historical beauty Romania has to offer. And so far ministry has introduced me to many amazing and beautiful Romanian people of all ages who have captured little pieces of my heart already.
God has been good to me – both in Botswana and in Romania, but the transition has been exhausting. Life has been going almost nonstop since arriving in Europe and my mind has been filled with a million different thoughts that are hard to put into words. But there is one thing God has been clearly showing me in the last month or so, and I will do my best to share it with you.
“Who are you?” “What’s your role in the kingdom?” “What’s your vision for your future?”
Our first day of ministry here in Romania, our host asked us these three questions. If someone had asked me these questions during month 1 of the Race, I’m not sure what my reply would have been. But in the last month, God revealed a lot of my identity to me through both his word and others. As I begin to understand more of my identity, I gain a clearer vision of what my future could be.
So who am I?
I am Naomi. An imperfect, yet still loved child of God. A servant. A daughter. A big sister. A friend.
What’s your role in the kingdom?
My role is encourager and supporter. My role is to love and to listen. My role is to be a safe place for people, especially children and young women.
What’s your vision of the future?
My future is still not crystal clear, but I don’t think it is engineering. I want to serve God and love people – probably overseas but if he calls me to America, I know he will use me there too. I want to work with children and youth who are in desperate need of love.
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God is good and he has a plan for my life. He will always be revealing new parts of my identity and he will always be calling me higher and deeper. All he wants from me right now is to believe I am who he says I am and to be confident in the role he has already called me to fulfill.
So here I am God. This is me.
