Only three more days left at orientation!!!I can't believe it is almost here. We leave for Africa next Thursday. I am so thankful to God for his faithfulness. God called me to be a missionary four years ago, and the journey has not always been easy, but I praise God for walking with me every step of the way. These past couple of weeks have been jam packed with tons of information. All of which will help us immensly and in ways I don't yet realize when we get to the field.
The high-light of this past week were two things. Now I know that when you fast you are not supposed to share it with others, but this was my first experience with fasting, and I just wanted to share what the Lord taught me from it. My teammates and I started Monday by committing that day to fast and pray for the Fulani. Mondays are tough days anyways right? How much worse could it be without eating?(these are thoughts that crossed my mind) I had never felt hunger pains before that day. I think it was something God wanted me to feel. Many of the Fulani live out day to day wondering if and when they will have their next meal. God also taught me about how much I love routine. I wasn't necessarily very hungry until that evening, but all throughout the day, it felt strange not being in the cafeteria. The greatest thing was being able to spend that time with my Lord, and with my teammates. I think that time really helped to unite us in spirit as we interceded in prayer for the Fulani.
The other high-light was the next day when we went to D.C. God taught about how if you pray you had better be prepared for God to answer some prayers. As soon as they dropped us off in Union Station I began prayer-walking. When we got on the Metro, there was a lady, and I started getting to know her. It turned out that she was a Christian, but that she had struggled with a drug addiction all of her life, so I asked if I could pray for her, so I did. I praise God for that encounter, but God taught me something even bigger after that. We were sitting on a bench in the Metro waiting for a train, and I started praying again. I was praying for the people there, and I prayed that God would give me another oppurtunity and bring the people right to us that we were supposed to share with. Immediately after I prayed an older man sat down next to me, and I thought wow God, that was quick, but I wasn't ready. I didn't even open my mouth. The thoughts that ran through my mind were I know you want me to share with him, but he looks scary, and he probably wouldn't even be interested in what I have to say. Our train came and I will never know what could have come out of the conversation had I only opened my mouth.
It was unfortunately another reminder of how Satan can decieve us into thinking that what we have to say is unimportant. I did not expect God to answer my prayer so quickly. That night I had to confess my sins to God and ask him to forgive me for my lack of faith. I find it ironic that my memory verse for the week had been Romans 1:16-17. "I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes;first for the Jew and then for the Gentile. For in the gospel there is a righteousness from God that is revealed. Its is a righteousness by faith from first to last. Just as it is written:the righteous will live by faith. I don't know why in the midst of that moment in the Metro God did not bring it to my mind, but it shows that what we have to say is very important, because it is the word of God no matter what Satan tries to make us believe. The Gospel is the power of God, and not me.
Please pray that my teammates and I would be unashamed of the gospel. Pray that we would have faith, and believe in the power of the gospel. Pray that God would reveal himself to the Fulani.