Wow, is it really that close already? Time has flown by so quickly the last few months. There have been so many waves of emotions leading up to this journey. As it gets closer, I continue to get more excited, but also more sad about leaving. It's difficult to describe, but I often feel both at the same time. I know God has plans up His sleeve for while I'm gone, but He has also been teaching me so much in these last few months as well. I have felt closer to Him than ever before and have felt a connection with Him that is just wonderful! One emotion that I have barely felt at all is fear and I am so thankful for that! God has been so good about helping me trust Him completely. One of the "theme songs" for my trip is Oceans, by Hillsong. That song is one of the reasons why I felt like I was supposed to do this trip in the first place. The whole song is so powerful, but the lyrics that influenced this decision the most are these:
"Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior"
As I was singing these words when the thought of doing this was first developing in my mind, I felt like it was a huge confirmation that I was supposed to go to Uganda. How could I sing something like this, have the thoughts I was having, and not follow through? I was singing something that I was desiring, but really it was more like a commitment that I was going to do what He was calling me to do.
I thought the "where my trust is without borders" part would come true once I got to Uganda, but it has been applied even while I'm still here. I feel like I have an abnormal amount of trust in His plan, His provision, and His protection, and I know that it is only through His strength, and because of many prayers that I have been able to have it. I would definitely say at this point that my trust is without borders! I can't imagine what it will be like once I actually get over there. There is so much uncertainty, so much that is unknown. I don't know what to expect, I don't know so many things! But I can be confident in the fact that God does know, and He has been planning this adventure for me since the beginning of time. So I choose to trust Him and rely on Him to give me all the strength I am going to need while I'm there.
I read Joshua chapter 6 yesterday, which tells the story of the fall of Jericho. I have always like this story because of how obedient Joshua is, even when what he is told to do seems extremely silly and pointless. "Go walk around the city wall for 7 days and at the end, shout really loudly and the wall will collapse." Despite the doubts he may have had, he didn't question God. He just obeyed. I love how God uses the simplest things to show His power. I think He tells us to do things that don't make sense in the human mind, just to show us how powerful He is. In our weakness, He is strong! This story resonated with me this time because I feel like it directly applies to my journey to Uganda. What group of people walks around a city wall for seven days straight, expecting the walls to fall down at the end? What girl goes to Africa for six months right after graduating high school? I can imagine the Israelites were pretty confused and had to have so much trust! But they had a history with God of faithfulness. He had proven Himself to them over and over again, so they had no reason not to trust Him. I feel the same is true for my adventure. My life up to this point has been full of God proving Himself trustworthy to me. He knows what is best for me and He is going to be with me the whole time. I love the last verse of the chapter. "So the Lord was with Joshua, and His fame spread throughout the land." I want to live in such a way that only makes sense if God has had his hand in it. I want to do things that seem crazy to even me, so that God's power can be displayed. I don't know exactly what God has planned for this adventure I'm about to embark on, but I do know it's going to be all Him. I don't feel adequate to do this, but that makes me excited because I know He will be able to work through me in some crazy ways! So, don't be afraid to obey God when what he says to do doesn't make any sense. Trust that He sees the big picture and is always faithful.
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." -Jeremiah 29:11
I would say that this verse is one of the most quoted verses in the Bible, yet hardly anybody (including myself) really understands it. I am reading through Jeremiah right now and came upon this chapter today and I was amazed at the context. Here is the first verse of Jeremiah chapter 29: "This is the text of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders among the exiles and the priests, the prophets, and all the other people Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon." Verse 11 is right in the middle of the letter. Only one verse before verse 11, God tells them that they will be in exile for 70 years. Where is the prosperity? Where is the hope? Most of the people alive to hear this promise wouldn't be alive when it was fulfilled. God has been teaching me the last few months how important it is to keep my eyes fixed on Heaven and to continually remind myself that this earth is not my home. I think that this verse has such a bigger meaning than I have given it in the past. Yes, I do believe God is referring to His promise to release them from their exile (and He did), but I also believe that He is referring to Jesus' coming. Both the first AND the second. So many people on the earth will not experience prosperity and they will be harmed, but that does not mean God has broken His promise! Heaven is the place where this verse will be able to be completely fulfilled. His ultimate plan is for us to be with Him forever, and that promise WILL be fulfilled, even if not while we are on this earth. I believe that one of Satan's main tactics is to get us to focus on only the here and now. He doesn't want us to think about or talk about Heaven, because if we do, it will drastically change how we live! Along with Jeremiah, I also read 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 today. I thought it was amazing how it perfectly lined up! The last three verses of the chapter say this: "For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words." Wow. God commands us to talk about this! He knows how important it is for us to keep our focus on Heaven so that we are not discouraged. After I read these few verses I knew I wanted to share this with all of you to encourage you. As I am in Uganda it will be one of my biggest goals to always keep my focus in the correct place, and I hope you will all do the same. So I will leave you with this verse: "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." -2 Corinthians 4:16-18 And I can't help but add this because it fits so well!! I hope it encourages you as much as it encourages me.
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Hi Everyone!
I wanted to start this blog to keep all of you up to date on everything that is happening in my new adventure. :) For starters, I would like to share with you all how God led me to do this program.
As long as I can remember, I have had a little tug in my heart toward Africa. I first heard about the Watoto organization through their children's choir that we went to see at a church. I immediately fell in love with the ministry and we went to see the choir multiple times. I first heard they had a discipleship program when my mom mentioned it to me about five years ago. As soon as she said something about it, I had this feeling that I had never had before. It was like God was stirring up something inside me that I didn't even know was there. Looking back on it now, I know it was God giving me a little hint. :) So I got super excited and looked up their website and was just so pumped about it! But the excitement faded and I pretty much forgot about it.
Well years went by and I always had the same answer when people asked me what I was doing after high school: "I don't know". But then last summer I went to a youth conference with my youth group and went into it really praying that God would reveal to me on this trip what He wanted my next step to be. On the second night the speaker was talking about Abraham and how God asked him to go, and he went. As I was listening, Watoto360 (which is the name of the discipleship program) randomly popped into my head. Throughout the week I continued to ask God for confirmation that that was really what He wanted me to do, and He definitely gave it to me. So many things happened that convinced me that it was absolutely His will for me to apply for this program.
So long story short, I applied when I got home and I was accepted! I will be in Kampala, Uganda from January 8th until June 30th and I am so excited to see what God has in store. I will be posting updates on this blog all the way along this journey so that you can be a part of it.
Here is a taste of the children's choir:
If you want more information about the discipleship program, head over to
www.watoto.com/get-involved/visit-watoto/watoto360
