Class is in Session!

Well y’all, day one of classes is officially in the books! And let me just say, God’s faithfulness is overwhelming. I am teaching English as a Second Language classes in a country where I don’t even almost speak the language. If you ask me, that’s a tall order. Going in to today, I was nervous. Nervous that I wouldn’t teach well. Nervous that my students wouldn’t respect me (mind you, all but one of my students are older than me). Nervous that they would speak in a language that I don’t know the entire time. But instead, God greeted my anxiety with a reminder that He is in control and that He never leaves us hanging out to dry (Deuteronomy 31:6).

First off, the plans I had for my classes today were somehow perfectly timed (and we all know that wasn't because of me). On top of that, my students grasped the material well and even interacted in the lesson some. But the absolute best part of both classes was getting to read God’s Word with my students. You see, the way our classes work is that we teach English for the first hour of class and then the last 30 minutes is spent reading a Bible story and digging in to that. Once a month, we get to share the Gospel explicitly with our students (obviously, we can more if the Spirit leads us. But we set aside time once a month to do specifically that). This unit, we are doing a series on the life of Elijah. Now I don’t know about y’all, but I don’t usually sit around and read stories about Elijah’s life for my casual reading. But today, I got to stand and listen as my students, who are almost all Muslims but chose to take the class even though they have to learn about Christ simply because they want English, muddled through the story of Elijah and the woman with a handful of flour (1 Kings 17:1-16). As they read this story that I haven’t heard in years, I was humbled and amazed at how awesome our God is.  I was amazed that God would use their desire to learn English and my desire to make His name known and tie them together for His will to be done. I was reminded that someday in Heaven, every tribe and tongue will stand before our Maker and worship Him. Even if no one comes to know Christ through me and my time here, I will still know that I’ve done what I’m called to do.  Because I’m presenting Truth and their ears are hearing. We aren’t called to change hearts, we’re simply called to speak.

Thank you for praying for my classes today, it means the world! Please continue to pray for my students – that God would soften their hearts and cause them to seek Him and the Gospel – as this term continues! 

All my love,

Sarah

Dumela from Botswana!

Whew! To say the last week and a half has been a blur feels like an understatement. On one hand, I feel as though I’ve been here for a month because of the way the Lord has really ignited friendships, revealed Himself to me, and really grown me and prepared me for the field. On the other hand, I feel like I just landed here in Botswana yesterday and that training can’t possibly be over. This blog post isn’t filled with words of wisdom or anything profound, but instead just an update on my time here in Africa and prayer requests as my team and I move forward in the journey.

But first, let me clue y’all in on the last week. “Botswana? I thought she was going to Senegal?”, you may say. Or maybe, “that girl hasn’t posted any sort of update at all…is she alive?”. The answer to all of the above is yes: I am in Botswana, I am going to Senegal, I am alive J For the last week and a half, my team and I (which consists of 17 students traveling all over Africa) have been attending orientation here in Botswana. Because we had so much to learn in such a short amount of time, we have not been connected to the outside world (but I’m sure my mother already told y’all that). Orientation started out fairly rough for me: my luggage got lost in transit, like ALL of it; and then I ended up with some sort of stomach bug or food poisoning or something, we aren’t sure which…all we know is that there was vomit and lots of it. Welcome to Africa, eh?! But in all honesty, I’m so grateful for those hardships. These bumps in the road forced me to start this term off in a humble mindset, realizing that I will have to rely on others and that there truly is no I in team. But after those little things got situated, things have been great! God has been teaching me so much about myself and about serving throughout this term, about my teammate (Kat) and how she and I work together, and has provided some friendships that I already know will last a lifetime.

As I type this, my friends and I are all in transit to our final destinations. I exaggerate none when I say that we are literally all over the continent.  Even though it is sad to know that I will not see most of my new friends again until the end of May, I find such joy and hope in the fact that God is using my generation to change the nations for His glory. I have full confidence in the work that our Father is going to do in and through each and every person on this corporate team and I can’t wait to hear the stories of His grace and love in such a season of stretching and learning.

As we go, I ask that you pray not only for me, but for my friends as well. Please pray for:

Confidence – that the Lord would constantly remind us that the work we are doing is not about our strength or will or grit, but only about Him and the grace He offers us in the Gospel

Revival – Africa is a continent that is hurting for a Savior. Please pray for open doors, softened hearts, and favor as we go and spread the Word. Pray that God would give us wisdom in sharing.

Endurance – that we would focus on the Task we are given and live our lives in a way that glorifies God and shines His light in darkness. Some of the places we are going are dark. And spiritual warfare is real (says the girl who experienced lost luggage and a puke-fest within a matter of 48 hours). Please pray that even whilst experiencing the attacks of the enemy, we will turn to the Rock that is stronger than us.

Transition – pray for comfort during this time of transition. I wish I could come up with words to explain how gracious God has been in blessing our friendships and causing them to grow in a way that is so pleasing to Him. Please pray that as we all go our separate ways that we would remember that Christ is our true rock, not friends…no matter how likeminded they may be.

Unity – please pray that we would continue to lift one another up in prayer and in love from afar.  Pray that God would cause unity in the teams who are placed together.  Pray that Christ would bind our hearts together with a supernatural love that can only be explained by Him.

Our leadership – please thank God for the leaders we had during orientation. They were such a blessing to us and truly prepared us for the field. Please also be praying for the leadership we will soon all be under as we reach our final destinations.

Home – pray for the ones we left back home.  Pray for our hearts as we are away.  Being gone is hard not only for those of us serving, but also for our loved ones. Please pray that God would continue to wrap His comforting arms around us and that we would continue to trust wholeheartedly in Him.

ABOVE ALL ELSE, please pray that His will be done.

I know that’s a lot, but there is so much going on here and I know that there is undeniable power in prayer! God is beyond good, all the time. One last thing I will say is this: we’ve been doing a study on 2 Corinthians 4 & 5 and it has encouraged me beyond belief. If you’re wondering what our role is in ministry, check it out. In case you don’t know yet, it’s not about us and it’s truly all about Him and His love. How wonderful is that?

When Happy Smiles Meet Sad Tears

I am a walking paradox. Situations in my life are constantly senseless, or seem opposite of one another. But never in my life have I felt more contradictory or torn than I do now. As I sit at the airport gate waiting for the first of many flights, I can't help but smile...and shed a couple of tears.

I cry because I know that I will miss my loved ones. I cry because the unknown is scary. I cry because 5,141 miles is a real long way.

...BUT...

I smile because I have complete peace at what God is doing in my life. I smile because I know that what I am about to get to be a part of is something much greater than me or anything I could fathom. I smile because I know that God is always faithful. I smile because I am excited for the growth that is going to occur during this time and expectant of what God will do. I smile because I'm learning to trust God without borders.

Explaining emotions is hard, and summing up how one feels can be even more difficult. But when I try, all I can think of is the song Oceans by Hillsong. The lyrics go, "Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders, let me walk upon the waters, wherever you would call me. Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander, so my faith would be made stronger, in the arms of my dear Savior". That's where I'm at. Even though there may be tears along the way, I smile because I know that I serve an almighty Lord who is worth trusting. Because 2 Timothy says "If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for he cannot disown Himself". Check out this song and know that you can set your hope in Him.

Please pray for me throughout this journey. Saying "see you later" can be hard and leaving home can be scary. Please pray the God would give me strength and comfort throughout this time. Please pray for safe travels. And please pray for comfort for my family while I am gone.

Grace

I am preparing to go on a 4 and a half month long mission trip. Man, that sounds crazy! 140 days in an unknown environment focusing solely on Jesus and telling others about Him. For now, that's what this blog is about -- the trials, the growth, the joys, the heartaches, and all other things that missions entail.

One of the biggest things I've struggled with during this season of preparation is feeling inadequate, like why on earth would God choose me? Without a doubt there are others who are more prepared, who know the language, anything that would make them a better candidate. To be quite honest, God and I have gone back and forth on this one quite a bit...am I ready? will I be effective? did He really mean to send ME? Recently, as I was praying, I began to journal about this exact thing. Here's an excerpt from what I wrote that day:

"God I can't do this...it can't be me. I'm not qualified. I'm not prepared...I'm also an idiot, because none of this is about me...Help me to remember that today".

How many times have you felt this way? As if God must think you're way more competent than you are because there's no way He really meant to call you to that specific thing? I can honestly say that pretty much anytime God calls me to something, I don't feel prepared. And by pretty much anytime, I mean every time. But here's what I'm realizing. We aren't prepared. We aren't qualified. We probably aren't the best choice. And do you know why? Because when we aren't qualified, God gets the glory instead of us. Our job is simply to be God-centered and to joyfully follow the call, because we were made to bring Him glory (Isaiah 43:7).

 One of my favorite quotes, from a fabulous book called Kisses from Katie, says: ""remember, God will never give you more than you can handle". People repeat this frequently...It is meant to be a source of encouragement, and it would be if I believed it were true. But I don't. I believe that God totally, absolutely, intentionally gives us more than we can handle. Because this is when we surrender to Him and He takes over, proving Himself by doing the impossible in our lives". This is what I want for me and for you. I want for God to call us to much more than we could ever possibly handle because in that, we learn to rest and hope in Him.  God calls us to more than we could imagine not to scare us or push us over the edge, but because He is gracious and chooses to use us. Deuteronomy 30:4 says, "Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there the Lord you God will gather you and bring you back". That's what God does. He gathers us, brings us back to Him, and then uses us for His glory. And praise be to Him for that!

So as I prepare for the upcoming season, I realize that I'm not qualified and I can never be fully prepared. But God is sovereign, and I can depend on Him to provide. How incredible that He receives praise and glory even when He uses broken sinners like me and you!

Because He qualifies us by grace.