I’ve started and restarted this blog post more times than I can count. I don’t normally blog and I don’t know where to begin. I read other Christian blogs occasionally and because of my insecurities and tendency to be self absorbed, I often leave the posts thinking something along the lines of, “Wow, their lives are so much more interesting than mine” or “I could never organize my thoughts so beautifully.” Ridiculous, right? Because I’m so concerned with using the right words or making sure my sentence structure touches people’s hearts, I’m choosing not to share the great work the Lord does in my life, which is the exact opposite of what we are called to do as Christians. So with that being said, I invite you to keep up with my posts every week during this journey, even though they may not be what you’ll find in a typical blog of a young Christian woman. I hope and pray the Lord works through my messy writing so I can give you just a glimpse of what He’s doing here!
It’s been exactly one week since I’ve landed in Pretoria, South Africa and the journey has just begun. Already I’ve been challenged, I’ve been stretched, and I’ve laid foundations for relationships with people I would have never encountered if it weren’t for the connections that bring us all to serve alongside Abba’s Pride. There are eight of us, all from different places with different backgrounds and the Lord has chosen to bring us all together to serve alongside Abba’s Pride and their work with the rural churches in South Africa.
This week has been dedicated to discipleship, training, and team bonding before we begin our ministry work in the churches. It began with a spontaneous camping trip. When I say spontaneous, I literally (yes, literally) mean our intern coordinators announced randomly, “Okay, you’re going camping for two days and you have thirty minutes to pack!” We left thirty minutes later and I was overjoyed at the thought- camping in South Africa! During those days together, we disengaged from social media, struggled to set up tents, slept outside in the cold South African winter, had lessons in two native languages (Zulu and Tswana), went hiking up a mountain that overlooks the city and during our last night together we shared our stories by the fire.
Keep in mind, most of us were strangers to each other at this point, so in a way this was just an intense icebreaker session. Learning how to work with people is always an adventure and then when you have time to sit and hear their stories, it’s unlike anything else. Mr. Rogers once said, “Frankly, there isn’t anyone you couldn’t learn to love once you’ve heard their story.” Every story is different and that’s the beauty of the Lord’s work. Our messes, our pasts, our mountaintops, and our dreams for the future all combine to create a beautiful and unique story that speaks to the Lord’s grace and mercy. The best part is we are all unique yet still all created in His image. We are all a part of His family.
After each person shared, I noticed that despite the different experiences, there was one common theme- the Lord restores. Although we stray so far from Him and often completely fall apart, He is always waiting with open arms to put us back together, piece by piece and to make us new. We just have to choose to come to Him. We are broken, we are insecure, we are fragile- yet He loves us with a perfect love that heals our wounds, provides a foundation and makes us whole.
“As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” -John 13:34.
It’s been exactly one week since I’ve landed in Pretoria, South Africa and the journey has just begun. Already I’ve been challenged, I’ve been stretched, and I’ve laid foundations for relationships with people I would have never encountered if it weren’t for the connections that bring us all to serve alongside Abba’s Pride. There are eight of us, all from different places with different backgrounds and the Lord has chosen to bring us all together to serve alongside Abba’s Pride and their work with the rural churches in South Africa.
This week has been dedicated to discipleship, training, and team bonding before we begin our ministry work in the churches. It began with a spontaneous camping trip. When I say spontaneous, I literally (yes, literally) mean our intern coordinators announced randomly, “Okay, you’re going camping for two days and you have thirty minutes to pack!” We left thirty minutes later and I was overjoyed at the thought- camping in South Africa! During those days together, we disengaged from social media, struggled to set up tents, slept outside in the cold South African winter, had lessons in two native languages (Zulu and Tswana), went hiking up a mountain that overlooks the city and during our last night together we shared our stories by the fire.
Keep in mind, most of us were strangers to each other at this point, so in a way this was just an intense icebreaker session. Learning how to work with people is always an adventure and then when you have time to sit and hear their stories, it’s unlike anything else. Mr. Rogers once said, “Frankly, there isn’t anyone you couldn’t learn to love once you’ve heard their story.” Every story is different and that’s the beauty of the Lord’s work. Our messes, our pasts, our mountaintops, and our dreams for the future all combine to create a beautiful and unique story that speaks to the Lord’s grace and mercy. The best part is we are all unique yet still all created in His image. We are all a part of His family.
After each person shared, I noticed that despite the different experiences, there was one common theme- the Lord restores. Although we stray so far from Him and often completely fall apart, He is always waiting with open arms to put us back together, piece by piece and to make us new. We just have to choose to come to Him. We are broken, we are insecure, we are fragile- yet He loves us with a perfect love that heals our wounds, provides a foundation and makes us whole.
“As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” -John 13:34.