I have been blessed with the privilege of taking a year off of school to be God’s hands and feet in Pretoria this January-December of 2009. I will be going through the organization of Campus Crusade for Christ through their STINT (short term international) program, with a team of 9 students. We will be the very first STINT team to ever start a ministry in this location, which is so exciting. Our team will be working on the University of Pretoria campus, talking to college students about the gospel of Jesus Christ, raising and building students up in their faith, and trying to start a movement within that campus for students to begin leading themselves. Our hope is to create a self-sustaining movement on the Pretoria Campus so that every student will know at least one person who truly follows Jesus. South Africa is the educational epicenter of the entire continent. Students from every country of the continent come to South Africa to get a degree and go back to lead their countries. Because of this, we have the opportunity to not only reach South Africa, but all of Africa. We also have been blessed with the opportunity to work with young children in the South African townships. We will partner with another organization called BEAM, started by a couple whose hope is to restore the spiritual climate of the country by reaching the needs of children and their families. We will provide them with food, English tutoring, clothes, shelter, and other basic needs, accompanied with the unfailing love of God. I have such a huge heart for both college ministries as I do for young children, and so to be given this opportunity to serve in both ways alongside each other is an incredible blessing for me.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Come follow me.
As I finish up my third year of college, (which I can’t believe has gone by so fast!), it seems as though God continues to take me through different themes in my life. Freshman year was all about what it really means and looks like to truly follow the Lord with my whole life. Sophomore year I walked through a lot of grace as I learned the need for and joy of confession, and what it meant to be fully redeemed in Christ. This year has been a theme of getting to know God’s character on such an intimate level and understanding the cost of following Him.
Earlier this year as I was reading through Luke 9, the Lord led me to a passage that spoke directly to my heart. Luke 9:57-62 is a story about three men who say they will follow Jesus wherever He goes, but confess that they have other priorities before they go. Jesus says to them, “Come follow me” and they respond, “Yes Lord, but first let me find shelter, first let me get my inheritance, first let me see my family.” And when Jesus responds, He makes it clear that nothing comes before following Him. I have such a deep desire to follow the Lord with my whole life, but I realized in this moment that I had a lot of “but firsts” as well. “Lord, I will follow you and do anything you call me to do,” I said. And I thought I really meant it. But when He called me to a year of missions, my response was “Yes Lord, but first let me graduate, first let me get married, first let me settle down and get a stable job, first let me plan my future and then I will work around Your will for me.” I realized my desire to follow God was there, but my willingness revolved around my plans and not His. It was in that moment, that I realized that God was calling me now...and I therefore need to be obedient, now. It brought me to Isaiah 6 as I realized how marvelous God’s character truly was and how absolutely worthy He was of my whole life, no matter what the cost. My only response was to fall to my knees and worship, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies! The whole earth is filled with his glory! I will lay down my life for You, O God. Here I am. Send me” (Isaiah 6:3,8).
As I prayed to the Lord about where He wanted to use me next year, His answer came immediately and with such clarity. "Africa, Africa, Africa.." I just heard the nation repeating in my heart. I knew in that moment, I was to be sent. As Jim Elliot once wrote, "I am as sure of His direction as I am of His salvation."
Earlier this year as I was reading through Luke 9, the Lord led me to a passage that spoke directly to my heart. Luke 9:57-62 is a story about three men who say they will follow Jesus wherever He goes, but confess that they have other priorities before they go. Jesus says to them, “Come follow me” and they respond, “Yes Lord, but first let me find shelter, first let me get my inheritance, first let me see my family.” And when Jesus responds, He makes it clear that nothing comes before following Him. I have such a deep desire to follow the Lord with my whole life, but I realized in this moment that I had a lot of “but firsts” as well. “Lord, I will follow you and do anything you call me to do,” I said. And I thought I really meant it. But when He called me to a year of missions, my response was “Yes Lord, but first let me graduate, first let me get married, first let me settle down and get a stable job, first let me plan my future and then I will work around Your will for me.” I realized my desire to follow God was there, but my willingness revolved around my plans and not His. It was in that moment, that I realized that God was calling me now...and I therefore need to be obedient, now. It brought me to Isaiah 6 as I realized how marvelous God’s character truly was and how absolutely worthy He was of my whole life, no matter what the cost. My only response was to fall to my knees and worship, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies! The whole earth is filled with his glory! I will lay down my life for You, O God. Here I am. Send me” (Isaiah 6:3,8).
As I prayed to the Lord about where He wanted to use me next year, His answer came immediately and with such clarity. "Africa, Africa, Africa.." I just heard the nation repeating in my heart. I knew in that moment, I was to be sent. As Jim Elliot once wrote, "I am as sure of His direction as I am of His salvation."
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