The past month and a half have been so busy, but so, so amazing!
A few weeks ago we took a two week road trip down to Missouri and Arkansas. We spent the first week at the GO Conference in Missouri. At the conference we learned a lot about missions. One of the speakers talked about missions in cities. He suggested that God is bringing the diversity that is in cities today to fulfill His plan of every nation hearing the gospel. This perspective was new to me and so inspiring!
We spent the second week of our trip at the Ozark YWAM base in Arkansas. We spent three days getting search and rescue certified. We had to go to a class and take an exam and then we got to do a mock search and rescue. I am so thankful I had this opportunity and for the way it has equipped me. For class that week, we learned about spiritual warfare. The speaker shared a powerful truth with us: We don’t just fight for victory, we fight from victory. Living life and facing difficulties from this stance is life changing. My favorite part of our time in Arkansas, though, was our day off which we spent hiking in the Ozark Mountains. We started by a lake, hiked a couple miles, stopped and had lunch beside a beautiful waterfall, continued our 6 mile hike up steep, steep hills, and ended up at a lookout that overlooked the forest. God showed our team a lot about endurance during that hike. For me, I realized how that hike is much like life. There will be normal times, beautiful times, and very challenging times, but in the end, if you endure through all those times of life, God will give you moments that take your breath away.
After our road trip we jumped right back into our “normal” life here in Madison. These past few weeks have been exhausting! We have learned so much and God has done more in my life than I can even begin to describe. In class we have learned about the Holy Spirit (if Jesus, who was fully man, yet God, had to be filled, led, and empowered by the Spirit, why should we think we don’t need to do the same?); roots (our family plays a big role in how we view God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit; unforgiveness and bitterness keep us in bondage and gives the enemy a foothold; and bringing darkness to light brings so much freedom); and destiny (the purpose, plan, and call of God on our lives, and the importance of our heart in everything we do). At the end of each of these teachings we spent hours in prayer as a school. God really moved in all of our lives every time. We have been broken, encouraged, convicted, and inspired. I am so thankful for this family and these ways we get to experience God together. Personally, God has shown me that His main purpose for my life is for me to have a relationship with Him. He has taught me that I need to trust Him with every part of my life. He has reminded me that I cannot serve two masters−that I need to live in fear of Him, not in fear of man. These are things that I have always known, but God is showing me what these things look like in a more full way. These are hard and scary things to do, but I am excited to see where God is going to lead and what He is going to do as I go deeper in my relationship with Him.
If you would like to pray for us, please pray for us to be able to focus and get everything out of our classes that God has for us, especially since a lot of us are so exhausted; pray for health; and pray for safe travels over Thanksgiving break.
Thank you (:
