Welllll!!! I haven’t blogged all month so for the ones that were wondering if I was alive or not…I’m alive and thriving in Jesus name!! Can I get an amen?! *you’re supposed to say it aloud….* AMEN!!
Okay, so check this out! This month was everything I could ever ask for. I’ll put it like this, God basically wrote in His book, “When Rashad goes on the World Race, I will specifically design this church that they are serving at for him to feel apart of and loved.” Yeah, that’s what He did. I know it. Anywho, from the jump (from the beginning) when we first arrived as I was walking down the church ramp through the sanctuary to our rooms, I just KNEW this was going to feel like home. I scoped out the place:
-a big kitchen with old ladies in it. *check
-the grandma of the church that I’ll know give me extra food. *check
-a place to workout and run within the gated church. *check
-a clean bathroom and bedroom. *check
-young men serving within the church. *check
-radiant love from the pastor and his congregation. *double check
-a dirty guard dog that I know will grow on me by the time I leave. *check
And this list goes on! I just knew this place was going to feel like home and I didn’t know all the reasons why, but the Holy Spirit within me did! What caught my attention the most was how the people all loved to joke around and laugh! If you don’t know me, that’s what I love to do. Despite the language barrier, we somehow always found a way to be laughing at something or someone. To be honest, that’s what I enjoyed the most. A family that laughs AND prays together, stays together!!! It took me no time to find my joking buddy, a 55 year YOUNG man named William (he is in the above picture)! He lived on the church ground along with the other family members of the pastor. I thought I pranked and joked around a lot until I met this man! He would light firecrackers that made a loud noise and throw them near me just to see me get scared out of my mind! And would laugh and walk away. But for the ones that don’t know me, just know I don’t go down easy! I snuck in his room one morning and lit a firecracker right next to him to wake him! He woke up not startled, but laughing! We had SO many moments where we would be talking smack to one another in our different languages not knowing what the other person is saying and laugh like we knew exactly what each other were saying!! He would purposely try to annoy someone and laugh when they get annoyed, and that’s exactly me. My mom said that him and I have kindred spirits!! What I appreciate most about him after sitting here and reflecting is the mere fact that he finds joy out of the little things in life. He would see a broom stick, pick it up, and act like he is shooting you and laugh. Most people would look at him like he is crazy, but as he was shooting me, I was falling down dramatically taking every bullet to my body. We would laugh, and keep it moving with whatever we were doing as if that is normal. As I just wrote, “as if that is normal” it didn’t sit right in my spirit. At what age do we as humans stop joking around as much and start taking life SO serious? It’s a sad thing to me to see people so serious. Our own God isn’t always serious…you want to know how I know? Pull up a picture of a giraffe. Why in the world does it have such a long neck?! Have y’all ever sat back and really thought about that? I can’t do nothing but smile when I look at a giraffe sometimes. God calls us to be joyful!! Laughing is good for our souls! When was the last time you had such a good laugh that after you finished laughing, you said, “whoooo that was a good laugh! I needed that!” There is nothing like a good ol laugh and a smile! I hear Jesus when I hear laughter. I see Jesus when I see a big ol smile. What is life without joy?
Anywho, on to what our average week looked like:
Monday: we had breakfast at 8am, clean the church at 9am until lunch at 12, relax for a few hours (during this time I would workout), team time, a church service at 6, dinner with the church members at 8, then head to the local hospital to pray for patients and preach.
Tuesday: We would head to a village after breakfast that was two hours away, serve the people within the village at the church they planted. We would assist with children’s ministry while Pastor Mario was preaching to the adults! And then help serve food.
Wednesday: Same as Monday, minus the hospital.
Thursday: Rest day. We would read and do whatever we needed to get clear our minds.
Friday: Same as Wednesday.
Saturday: Adventure day. We would go to malls or view the surrounding cities. One weekend we hiked a volcano!
Sunday: Church service at 9am and 6pm.
So as you could see, we stayed very busy! Church services 5 days out the week. I actually was blessed to have an opportunity to preach one night, and God led me to speak on intimacy with Him. I shared about how we can get lost in doing God’s work and lose sight of Him. Christ not only died for our sins but for us to always be in communion with our Father through the Holy Spirit! The same God that created over 350 BILLION galaxies, is the same God that DESIRES to be in communion with you. Like how AWSOME is that? That does not want to make you get on your knees and pray to Him, knowing that He hears you?! I was able to break down the universe and galaxy so they could see just how big our God is through a 2 minute video that zoomed out from Mt. Everest, all the way up to the galaxies. The video showed actual camera shots of galaxies! It was so heavenly, I can only imagine what heaven will be like. I tied all of this together and preached out of Psalm 19! It can be so easy to forget just how big the God we serve actually is. God shared with me that people of the church have fell out of love with Him, and He wants them to take His hand and go deeper. It was such an awesome experience to see God move through me and impact His children. It was a honor and humbling to hear people say to me that the massage He gave me spoke directly to them.
God is amazing man! And He hears your prays and knows exactly what you need, when you need it. I felt His presence not only on Christmas (it was spent on a beach with the pastors family) but bringing in the New Years (it was spent with our translators family). I am so blessed that He placed us around a family and a community that truly have a genuine heart for Him. It was what was needed for me to feel as if I was at home at a place that was 1,500 miles away from my family and friends.
We leave for Vietnam tomorrow! It is a closed country meaning it is illegal to be a missionary there. So please keep us in your prayers! The password to access my blogs from here on out will be: Psquad2019
(capital P, squad is all lowercase, 2019, no spaces or dashes)
! I will also make it a priority to blog more this upcoming month.
I pray all of you are doing amazing!!! Continue to seek God and enjoy life. I love you all.
-RC
Prayer request:
-that my team and I stays focused on Christ.
-that I go so deep in God that I get lost.
-My teammate Michelle and her family, for they have recently lost a family member.
-that God will move in supernatural ways in Vietnam.
-that He increases YOUR desire and joy in Him.
