I am officially in my tenth and final week of outreach. It has been a crazy ride, backpacking in seven different countries including: Cyprus, Colombia, Mexico, Canada, and England. I have seen God move in miraculous ways from people being healed at malls and coffee shops, to refugees being saved at a sports event. Throughout this incredible adventure I have learned so many things and God has really revealed so much to me! I thought I would celebrate our tenth week of outreach with ten things I have learned in this time.
- God takes care of His children.
Just a couple hours upon arriving to our first destination (Cyprus) we opened an envelope basically telling us we were going to a country called Cyprus, we have one contact, and a place to stay for two nights. From there we needed to seek God and see what we were to do. This really threw me into my reality for the next 2 and a half months. This was going to be my life and it freaked me out alittle bit, but God is SO faithful and took complete care of us. We got connections the morning after we got there because we felt God was telling us to go to a local church first thing in the morning. There we met a team on outreach from a base in Scotland. We also found out that day that the one email given to us was the wrong email and we knew we had to be out of the hotel the next day. None of this shook us however because God provided all we needed that next day; a place to lay our heads for the next two weeks and many solid contacts. From then on we had days packed with fruit filled ministry. I truly learned how to fully rely on Jesus and I´m never going back to being worried and scared that He won´t take care of me.
2. God loves to give His kids good things.
I think this has been one of the biggest lessons our team has learned on outreach: the art of receiving. God has blessed us immensely throughout outreach. He has taken my team places that I could have never imagined: Mediterranean Sea, Andes Mts, Caribbean Sea, Rocky Mts, and Niagara Falls! Not only were we blessed to see these amazing landscapes, but we had the privilege to declare God´s goodness and light over them. God blessed us with great living conditions, food on every plate, showers, and even the little things like getting a row to our selves on long plane rides. We went through the struggle of feeling guilty for these things because we are on outreach and we were fooled that that means roughin´ it. Don´t get me wrong, we had our rough times, but we really learned just receive the blessings God gives us because He loves us and wants to give us good things, He loves giving us gifts.
3. Evangelism, prayer, and intercession can be so fun!
I have really learned that evangelism has a bad rep. When you hear it, it just does not honestly sound pleasant, but God has completely changed my heart on it. Evangelism is simple, its the life followers of Jesus are called to do everyday: love, encourage, pray, and spread the simple life changing gospel to His people! This is the life I should be living everyday and I think I really have learned to do so. I have also really seen the power of prayer and intercession. It is so fun because you can do it anywhere. Whether you are in a coffee shop or road tripping for days in a car, you have the power to really make an impact in someone´s day. I absolutely love just sitting somewhere public and asking God to highlight and give me a word for someone. Then I just get to go up to them and encourage them with what God is telling me! Most people are so touched that they are on God´s heart. I also have loved getting to intercede for people at home and just partner with what God is doing in their life! It is crazy that we have this ability right inside us to touch others´ life, wherever we may be, whatever we may be doing!!
4. Going without a phone for some time isn´t all that bad.
One of our first days in Colombia my phone was stolen out of my pocket and I went six weeks with no phone, no music, and no camera. It really sucked for the first couple weeks, the 6,000 pictures I had on that phone were gone and for those who know me pretty well, I loveeee taking pictures and capturing memories. However I found that instead of spending my spare moments scrolling on social media, I found myself talking to Jesus and reading the Bible. Throughout this time of being disconnected with what was happening in the world, I became more connected with Jesus. I found that He is really all I need. HE is all I need, HE will sustain me.
5. One can certainly live off three shirts for ten weeks.
I have spent most of outreach wearing the same three shirts, they are great, and I have learned to appreciate them very much! I have really experienced that I do not need nearly as much as I thought I did. I may wear the same outfit for four days straight, but with some sink laundry and lots of deodarent, it really isn´t all that bad. If anything I think I might enjoy having three shirts rather than ten. Its so simple. Before I left, many people advised me to pack less than I thought I would need and it was probably one of the best pieces of advice I´ve received. I also learned that practical is better in the sense of outreach. I have two articles of clothing that have really saved me: my poncho and my buff. Both can be used for countless purposes. SO GOOD!
6. You need to know who you are before where you are going.
God has taught me so much about who I am in Him. That no matter where I am, I am hidden in Him, I belong to Him, and nothing can change that. I think for the first time I really know my value and worth. I know what the King says about me and that is all that matters. I may not know where I am going or how I am gonna get there but my identity in Jesus is solid and that is what will keep me grounded.
7. Discovering the secret of a true servants heart.
I asked God at the beginning of outreach to really give me His servant´s heart so I can serve for the right reasons and for the right person, so that my motives are correct. I learned very quickly that a true servant´s heart (at least for me) needs to be genuinely okay with doing anything, with doing the dirty work. Being willing to do the stuff no one wants to do is so valuable to God and with that willing heart He has actually has not given me that many dirty jobs, I´ve actually truly enjoyed all the work I have done for Him whether it be pulling an endless amount of weeds in a garden or painting for a church for twelve hours straight. I have seen God really honor the willing hearts of everyone on my team.
8. Ask and you shall receive.
WOW did I see God´s faithfulness in this outreach or what. When we found out what country we were going to go to, one of the first things I did was ask God to give me His heart for the place, and I was surprised with how much love He gave me for (most) of the countries! I will not lie, I was not exactly excited to go back to North America, and the States in particular, but with each country I found it harder and harder to leave because I grew such a love for the place, the people, and the ministry.
9. Being an introvert is not an excuse.
I learned this lesson real quick. I am a hardcore introvert and sometimes ministry is hard for me because more times than not it is centered around making relationships and connections with people which involves ALOT of conversation with ALOT of different people, and usually I am the one initiating it. It can be very exhausting always being with so many people, but I have learned that I cannot run from these moments just because I do not want to be around people, or because it intimidates me, I need to power through for the sake of their souls, so they can encounter God´s perfect love. It has really been a journey of laying down my right to my introvertness.
10. Rest days are more than necessary.
This may have been one of the biggest things I learned on outreach. Having days off to rest, process, and rejuvenate are so vital to make sure I do not over extend myself. These are the days I find it appropriate to run off and spend the day alone with God going over what happened during the week and just letting Him fill me up. He has also shown me that I need to stop trying to operate in my own strength because after ten straight weeks of backpacking, I physically am not capable to do it on my own; causing me to completely rely on God to strengthen me, and it´s great because He always does. These days off are nice, although I never truly have an off day and I do not want to because I always want to be open to what God is saying, what He wants me to do, and who He wants me to talk to. It is an exciting life.
I could continue for hours on things I have learned during these last ten weeks. They have been the most adventurous, scary, fun, uncomfortable, exciting, challenging, and life changing weeks of my life.
THANK YOU JESUS
