Womanistry: to do ministry with a group of woman
This month was Manistry/Womanistry month. This means that the men and women of B-Squad said their goodbyes to each other and split off on adventures of our own. The women of Somewhere Beautiful joined with the women of team Siloam and headed off to Penang Island. In Penang we partnered with three different ministries. Adventist Hospital, Kawan and St. Nicholas Home.
Adventist Hospital– Every year the hospital gives away 50 free heart surgeries to children whose families could not otherwise afford them. So our time spent at the hospital was working to raise support for the heart patient fund.
Kawan/Kawan Shop– Kawan is a soup kitchen for the homeless and needy. We helped in the kitchen preparing food, cleaned the bathrooms and shower rooms and built relationships with those who came through. Kawan Shop was a second hand store that was started up in order to support the soup kitchen. There we helped prep clothes to be sold.
And St. Nicholas Home– There is a large blind population here in Malaysia. St. Nicholas is a home for the blind where they also teach them skills for life. We did a whole variety of jobs at the home; office work, cleaning, organizational, ect.
But this is not what I want to talk about. I want to talk about how I felt like my team served me this month. It felt like in some ways that I was their ministry, and it was incredible how God taught me a lot about his love through them.
I was nervous for this month. Women have a tendency to be dramatic and “catty”, and without the balance of men I was worried I would be overwhelmed by it all. That we would be caught up in petty arguments and emotional outbursts. I was afraid that the month would be a month wasted on the race. But I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Our team name for the month was “Elani”, which in Greek means light. This month was an incredible month of God calling me up and out. He was challenging me with the question, “who am I calling you to be?” This was good, but it was hard (this will be addressed in my next blog). I felt very alone in my struggles and kept them locked up inside. I was outwardly acting but inwardly stuck in the dark not quite knowing what to do. But Elani lived up to its name, they were a light that penetrated the darkness and helped to raise me up into the light! The loved me when I fought against love. They encouraged me with words, notes and prayers. They were an example of what a woman of God should be. They breathed life and spoke truth over the lies, helping to push start me down the path of self-discovery that God is leading me down.
It really was Beautiful. I have never known women to be so filled with love and grace. These women are incredible and I will forever be thankful for them!
