It feels like forever since I’ve blogged!
Last month was extremely busy and we had little wifi access,
but this month we have it every night after 6.
So get excited for some great stories. 🙂
Our ministry at Popup in month 3 is AWESOME.
Their goal as a mission is to empower the poor, teaching them life skills and sending them out as motivated contributors to their community here in Pretoria.
God is using each person's talents in a unique way here.
I get to work with graphic design and videography!
It’s so confirming seeing God use my degree overseas, a dream come true.
Popup ministries exemplifies empowerment.
They have showed us what it means to be taken care of and used by God.
I was even provided with my own office space and computer to work on the graphics!
There is a group from Germany here too, and I’ve had the privilege of working with one of the guys designing a new website layout for Popup.
It’s very therapeutic being back on the computer creating designs and layouts. I am so thankful.
I’ve really wanted to be honest and share some things that are on my mind.
Mainly:that it’s easy to be selfish on the race, just like in America.
Some of the locations we stay (although I still sleep in a tent) there is internet nearby, good food, movies, spare time, and shopping….yup, it’s all there. (Especially South Africa…Mozambique…not so much:)
While each day of ministry brings fulfillment and meaning to my life, the work we do is hard.
Ministry is challenging and after a long day I usually just want to relax and watch a movie,
listen to music or sleep.
However, I still have to cook, do laundry, wash dishes, clean my tent out, pick up around the campsite, make time for devotions, write blogs, and intentionally find quality time to spend with my teammates.
Just because I’m overseas doesn’t make each day extra exciting, overly spiritual or easy.
That is something we have the privledge to cultivate and need to remember to do so!
God has been teaching me a rather simple concept that I wish I had learned in the USA:
to claim my free time for Him and for His work in my heart.
It shows me how much time I wasted at home.
I guess my point is that even though I am on the mission field,
I go through the same things many of you, my friends and family back home, go through too.
Start now, make the most of your time!
Life is too short to hold grudges, let old thoughts get in the way, be annoyed by people, or think of your past.
Jesus died for our right to not have to think of that stuff anymore. We are free to ignore those thoughts.
Choose to live freely despite:_____________. (You fill in the blank to what’s holding you back.)
I'm learning to pray over the beginning of each month and ask God for special lessons and moments with Him and my community.
Pray over today, ask God what He wants to give you and be confident that it’s good.
Last month, our ministry was to visit people.
It felt simple enough, but when I looked at it as an adventure and mission from God, we made it so much more. We made it life changing.
You don’t have to be overseas to play an irreplaceable role in someone’s life. Start now.
Something I always wanted was for the spiritual highs in life to stick.
For some reason I thought everyone would always get along
and I would always be eager to serve on the race.
I thought I would always be some radical missionary running through Africa holding orphans.
…Yes, while I have done that, and felt that way before, we aren’t meant to live in those highs of life.
There are times when we all feel dry in our walks with God, but I’ve realized the important thing is to:
1) Know it’s okay. Allow yourself space to feel those lows in life, and 2) don’t stay there.
Jesus had hard days just like we did.
He experienced temptation, frustration, anger, tiredness, extreme joy, dry times and every feeling in between. He knew death and lost friends.
He also knew the truth, and He knew what it took to realign Himself with His Father.
He didn’t beat himself up (like I do a lot) when He had bad days.
The thing is, what we believe and focus on is the direction we go.
Even while learning all this new and amazing stuff, I still get scared I’ll forget it all.
Then I realize that I’m focusing more on fear than God…and it’s time to refocus.
It is no easy task, daily believing what God says about us, but it is essential to living freely.
Eventually, it gets easier!
Until we live each day in freedom knowing what thoughts are from God and what are from Satan.
So these are the amazing things God’s been showing me!
I hope it encourages some of you.
I love knowing we can all learn the same things no matter where we are on the globe.
God is the same God and loves you just like he does the people I feed at the soup kitchen each day this month..
He is so good.
A blog will come soon with all the photos of ministry soon!
Love,
Rach
