When I started the Race in October I wondered what I got myself into. I had left the comforts of home to spend 11 months abroad with 23 strangers. Quickly God revealed to me this community would hold a key piece of my testimony. I was full of mixed emotions when our leadership team mentioned team changes. (Not once but twice)
Road Trip! Our squad arrived in Georgia and was given the ministry of Ask the Lord (ATL).
After splitting up my team and I started in Tbilisi. Within a few days God clearly asked us to make Batumi our home. Getting off the train smells of salt water and sights of bright lights filled my heart with Joy. The idea of a summer fling with the beach was so easy to get caught up in.
My current team is full of both evangelist and disciples of God’s kingdom. This month we are putting into practice ministry as life and life as ministry. We made a commitment to go out 2 by 2 as we pray for people, share God’s love, and build connections. Batumi is a piece to the story God is writing for me and my team.
Our house is about a 10 minute walk to the Black Sea. This advantage is so tempting for our personal desires. We are here for the Father’s will and not our own. Team Sharkbait’s mission isn’t to get tan, look for something brief, or hope things don’t end. God has created divine appointments, opportunities to use spiritual gifts, and building His kingdome through prayer.
This past week while I was worshiping on the beach God revealed hope in this new season. I was spending time in silence processing things when He asked me to do something crazy. Anger, bitterness, and confusion were heavy emotions I was battling with. I collected rocks as He revealed to me specific words I needed to write out. Within a few minutes I had rocks with positive and negative words. A teammate and I stepped upto the shoreline as I threw the negative and spoke the positive over myself. By the end I was in tears because I said YES to what the Lord was asking.
I called my momma to share the season the Lord was walking me into. She reminded me not all beaches are sandy. As I listened to her I gazed at the water and rocks meeting. My mind was consumed with focusing on the rocks and how hard this season was going to be. God asked me if I would sail into the sea, get out of my boat, and place my faith in Him.
Ministry is life and life is ministry! For me this looks like allowing Jesus to lead me into a new season and choosing not to focus on what if’s. Giving Jesus my YES this season is not just some summer fling. He is preparing my heart for how this is going to connect with others. I am committed for life to how far I’ll go by setting sail into the unknown of God’s plans.
