The room was quiet in tense anticipation… We all knew the announcements had been exciting lately, but this felt different. Lewis, (Our faithful male squad mentor), was clutching a piece of paper between his hands while his eyes smiled behind his covid-warding mask.
“Ladies and gentlemen”, he said with a thrilled tone, “we have JUST received news that the kitchen staff has decided to gift us with a snack in the afternoons!” The squad ERUPTED with applause and cheers. Our week had officially been made. God is good. Back to work…
Little did we know that his announcements weren’t over. After allowing the applause to settle down, he calmly said “Now this is my favorite announcement right here”. We all grew silent. “On October 10th your squad will be leaving to serve in Louisiana as the communities there work to recover from the recent hurricane… YOU’RE GOING OFF CAMPUS!!” The gasps were pretty hilarious to witness. You’d think we were stuck in a tower, but in all honesty, the excitement was real. This was it. An opportunity to use what we’ve been learning and serve in the name of Jesus. The countdown began. . . Skip ahead about a month, now we’re back, and the Lord showed up in countless ways.
Being in Louisiana blessed me more than I ever thought. Something I’ve been learning a lot about lately (And deeply been convicted about) is ministering to people and making connections without the “savior mindset”. What I mean by the savior mindset is the mindset that you’re going to fix someone based on their problems. This is rooted in pride, and means that you’re looking at people as projects and seeing yourself higher than them. What I didn’t realize is that if you break down that fake savior identity and meet people where they’re at, the Lord will use them to speak to you in ways you’d never imagine. Switching settings real quick to one of our project houses in Louisiana. . . This house was owned by an incredibly sweet lady named Mrs. Charlotte. When we first arrived on Mrs. Charlotte’s property, it was a sad sight to see. She had beautiful fruit trees all over her back yard that were ripped up and thrown around along with some massive oak trees that had been snapped like they were toothpicks. You could tell Mrs. Charlotte’s once beautiful yard was her pride and joy, and even though she had much better circumstances than most, and didn’t complain at all, you could still see the sadness in her eyes as she showed us the damage. At one point during the work I decided to walk over and strike a conversation with Mrs. Charlotte and take a little break from the manual labor. After finding out that she was a Christian and had two of her own ministries, I ended spending about 30 minutes just listening to her as she shared some of the most incredible wisdom. Her story and the way she trusts the Lord and seeks Him in every area of her life blessed me in ways I never expected. She saw the hurricane’s damage as an outlet to speak to others and minister to those around her. She went on to bless us with a mindblowing home cooked breakfast and ended up laying hands and praying an individual prayer for each worker. Ministry is a two way thing. The Lord WILL use people to pour into you and fill you up along the way, it just takes a step of trust to actually start that conversation with the homeowner, or approach that guy in the laundry mat, or compliment that person walking around downtown. I also think sometimes people get so caught up in waiting on the Lord’s “calling” when in reality He has already called us all to go out and speak to people. We are told specifically in the great commission to obey the commands of the Lord, be like Jesus, and go out and spread the gospel. We are all already called, so we need to stop waiting. The Lord is waiting on us, not the other way around. I say all of this because they are things and mindsets that I have STRUGGLED with, but the Lord is pounding them into my mind, and I’m so thankful for the people and experiences He’s put me in to do so. Thank the Lord for ministry. Thank the Lord for evangelism. Thank you Lord for Louisiana. Thanks for listening to me rant guys. Love you all!
Wes
