This blog is hard to write, because there are so many things I could talk about. But to start I want to say THANK YOU! Thank you for your continuous prayers, encouragement and supporting me in so, so many ways this year. Without each of you, none of this would have been possible. As I stated when I first began fundraising, each of you play a vital part in sharing God’s word across the world as well. Thank you, thank you for being a part of this community and allowing me to go to each of these countries and communities.
Because so many things happened, there is no easy way to wrap it all into a short summary. If you ask me how my year was, I will tell you it was good. It’s not a lie, but there are so many other words that could describe it as well. It was good as well as hard, tiring, exciting, and probably any other word you can think of.
To give a little recap of what ministry looked like in each country.
Costa Rica- cleaning/clearing Ocean’s Edge property, painting a mural in the park, working with the youth at church
Guatemala- English classes, house visits, VBS, Worship Room, soccer
Honduras- cutting bamboo/trees and clearing/leveling the ground for a church to be built
Romania- street evangelism
Albania- VBS, children’s home, church
South Africa- Mosaiek church, lots of praying for people, Footprints, house visits (Johannesburg) helping at the school, after school sports (Heidelberg)
I enjoyed each of our ministry placements, but my favorites were Guatemala and Johannesburg, South Africa. Why? Because in both of these places, we were welcomed with open arms into our hosts’ communities and became family. It was such a representation of the Kingdom and how we should actively be taking part in that now, here on Earth. Both locations also had a focus on first worshiping and praising God and then going out to serve which is so important.
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.”
(Matthew 22:37-38)
The importance of a God loving community who will encourage and challenge you is one thing I learned this year. If you aren’t actively participating in a community who does this, I encourage you to find a group of people who have a deep desire to love and know God and then from that desire they/you go and do His will. Because if we aren’t first filled with God, we can’t serve from His love. Sit with God, make your relationship personal, talk to others about what He’s teaching you and love your neighbor as yourself.
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28: 18-20)
