A few days ago, I prayed for the Lord to continue pushing me to trust him. To give me a situation where I would have to lean on him. Not that all my days haven’t been days where I can lean on him, but I wanted a time, a situation, where I’d have no other choice but to trust him. And, as always, the Lord heard my cry and answered. I found out a member of my extended family has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, and it has spread to two different areas of his body. Oh, Lord. I ask for faith, and you gave me the challenge of it. Here I am, in Kenya, with 9 people I’m still getting to know, and on the other side of the world, is the painful idea of someone in my family being sick. But at the same time, this is probably the best place for me. I can struggle with my fellow interns and share with them my fears. There isn’t a better place right now for me to be.
One of my favorite verses is Isaiah 43. “Fear not, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by name; you are mine.” I think I love it so much because one of the things I struggle most with is knowing whether or not I am accepted by those around me. It’s something that if let loose, can take over my mind and drive me crazy. But look! I am already accepted. Not only that, but I am redeemed and chosen. I can’t do anything more or anything less in God’s eyes. “Fear not”. I don’t need to be worried about being weird, laughing too loud, saying something awkward, or even when I am alone and not with people. “I have redeemed you.” I have full confidence that my sins are forgiven and that nothing can undo that action. I once was blind, but now I see. “I have called you by name.” Jesus knows me, inside and out, and wants me. He sees my heart, knows it’s true nature, and still calls out for me. Like a lover when they see someone they love. They can’t help but desire to be with them. “You are mine.” Again, like a lover. A man who loves a woman wants her all to himself. No sharing, or anything like that. She belongs to him. Jesus loves me even more than a husband loves his wife. I am his beloved, beautiful little lady. I am his and nobody else’s. It’s like the song by Tenth Avenue North, called Beloved. “I am the giver of life, and I’ll clothe you in white.” As I go out into the slum to teach or into the church for worship, this is what I’ll start remembering. I am called, needed, redeemed, and beloved.
This Saturday we’re putting together a VBS day with the church and the community! We were told that close to 300 kids could possibly attend so to be ready for anything :) Here’s what’s going to happen: We’ll begin the morning with Mark sharing the Gospel story, and Courtney sharing our memory verse, “I am the way, the truth, and the light. No one comes to the Father except through me.” After that, we’ll divide into 4 groups, and start rotations. One group is music, led by Rachel and Jacob. Another is crafts led by Lauren and Rebecca. Another is games, led by Corey, Travis, and Justin. The last group is another story, led by Mark and I. Courtney will be in charge of the babies. We’ll have snacks and makes sure the kids are having fun. Of course, it will be crazy, chaotic, and exciting.
Today marks our third week. We’ve been told that after the third week, we will drop like flies. Now, that’s not to scare anyone reading this, but what I think he means is after the third week, people begin to realize that this schedule we’re living will be lived the rest of the summer. And for some people, that can cause the conflict stage to happen. I’ve been praying a bold prayer that my team would just skip the conflict stage. I mean, how ideal would that be? We would all be in the honeymoon stage for 8 solid weeks. CHECK PLEASE. But, the devil is cunning, and hates what we’re doing so he’s going to put up a good fight against us. He’ll use his crafty ways to lure us into small jealousy traps and cause us to doubt the power of the Lord. For those who have been following me, please pray that no matter what happens, our team will put all our trust and hope in the Lord. Pray that no matter what, we’ll believe that our God is more powerful than any earthly force. We’re here, 9 strangers for a summer and conflict is more than likely to happen. I just hope we can skip right through it, and leave it in the dust.
I’ll leave yall with a verse that has helped me get through the past few days:
“O Lord, my heart is not lifted up, my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great or too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me.” - Psalm 131
Virginia
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