On the other side
If you know me then you know that I am 100% extrovert. This has always been the case for me, but was amplified (if that is even possible) by my experiences in community during the World Race in 2012. I get energized and refreshed through spending quality time with people and being able to connect with them. I greatly value the personal connection of a long and “real” conversation.
In light of this, it shouldn’t surprise you to know that one of my favorite parts of the race was when I got the opportunity to talk individually with the missionaries that we served with about their stories and their ministries. It was always so fascinating to me to see all of the different types of people from all different backgrounds and with different experiences that the Lord would bring into full-time ministry. I loved seeing the different paths that they had to getting there. I loved hearing about their hopes and visions for their ministry and being able to connect with the heart behind it all.
Over the past week I have had “one-on-ones” with each of the girls that are on the WR team serving with us this month and the experience has been great for me, but a little surprising as well. I was a trainer for this squad at training camp last May and so I was eager to sit down with these ladies a year later and discover what this experience had been like for them and where they were now. I wanted to know all about them . . . but the surprise was that they wanted to know about me. They wanted to know about my story, and my background, and the path that the Lord brought me on to bring me here. They wanted to understand my heart and vision for my ministry. Then I realized . . . I’m on the other side.
I gained a glimpse into what it may have been like for those missionary contacts that I spoke with and I can only hope that they gained as much encouragement and growth from those times with me as I did from my time with these ladies. I definitely did enjoy catching up with them and seeing how the Lord has grown them over the past year and sharing in their excitement for what is to come, but it ended up being so much more than that for me.
In response to their inquiries, I discussed my heart, my path to where I am now, and my hopes & vision for the future. These conversations reminded me of all that the Lord has brought me through, and all that He is doing in and through me on a daily basis. This experience has given me a renewed confirmation in my soul that I am exactly where the Lord has purposed for me to be. He is in control and I can rest in that.
