As I begin to place my thoughts into words I keep coming back to the fact that I’m half way through the race!! The last 6 months have flown by. Reflecting on the time I’ve spent abroad and the time I have left blows my mind- God has worked on my heart, rocked my world, and made me obsessed with His goodness.
He is good.
He is good to me.
& He is good at being God.
I’ve been striving to wake up with that mindset everyday. Reading those 3 simple truths over my day has changed the way I walk. It refreshes my mind of the simple gospel and brings comfort over whatever may be distracting me. It’s SO true. God is good, He is SO good to me, & He is SO dang good at being God.
I’m currently in Johannesburg, South Africa working with Impact Africa. Impact Africa does everything here; like they are truly impacting Africa and it is beyond amazing partnering with them this month. This ministry’s goal is to bring people to Jesus. Part of minitry is we walk around Squatter Camps (which are communities of immigrants that move here to find work) and share the good news.
These communities are disgusting. The living conditions are of the worst slums I’ve ever been in. They live in tin shacks so close together walking through the ‘neighborhood’ is like navigating a maze. There are Long Drops (permanent porta potties) on every corner, dry dirt, loose sewage, dead and alive rats, broken glass, & piles of trash everywhere. It stinks.
In its physical awfulness, it is also overflowing with the most beautiful souls.
As we walk through the communities, we just say, ”Sawubona” to people and hang out with them. Relationship is so cool here; I’ve made so many friends. I’ve talked with women and men about their lives here, gained perspective of how strong they are. Conversing over a bucket of dirty clothes being made clean, learning to cook pop (Africaan food), or holding a sweet baby while speaking truth over their moms; I’ve been made aware of how hungry these people are for the truth and how willing they are to listen. We have shared laughs, tears, prayers, & the simplest form of community.
I’ll be the first to say walking door to door evangelizing hasn’t always been my first choice. It used to intimidate me.
Like how awkward, walking up to someone’s home and forcing yourself into preaching at them.
But my mindset was all off. That ^^ is not the true definition of evangelizing. We take this big initimidating word and overthink what it’s intention is. I was wayyy off. I let my fear of branching out take over and twist my confidence into a morphed perception that I’m not equipped. In the past months this left me quiet. I surrendered my voice over to the enemy instead of using it for the kingdom as a powerhouse the Lord has intended it to be. My voice matters. Your voice matters. God has made me so uniquely. He made you so uniquely. Gives us words to speak. Use them!!!
I was doing the kingdom a disadvantage by not validating who I am in Christ. He placed me here to be bold, have fun, and share how sweet He is. How good He is.
I don’t know what clicked in me, I just woke up this month. A switch happened, Holy Spirit hit me upside the head and showed me how truly powerful I am because He dwells in me. In this, I absolutely LOVE ministry here. I get excited not nervous to go out into communities. I get pumped when I think about what the Lord is going to do through my team and I. I claim expectancy in what the Lord is going to do. I speak to the Holy Spirit to calm my nerves, give me fresh perspective, & create the space He needs to have His will be done. Keeping my eyes on Him and speaking to Him when my vulnerabilities and insecurities surface has totally changed how I see spreading the gospel. It’s just intentional conversation with a goal of loving others.
People want to be loved and God is love. Taking the time to say hey to a neighbor, help them with household chores and earn the respect to talk about my beliefs, has brought heaven to Earth. I have witnessed salvations and his goodness. How when you speak the name Jesus, atmospheres change. How freaking powerful!!!
