Movement to Movement - Month 8
It's been just over two weeks since I wrote about how God has provided reassurance and revealed Himself throughout the little town of Mongolia we lived in. Now to a big city, He’s giving even more revelation and a much-needed release.
Before beginning a week of debrief my team and I stayed in a hostel where Jesus made way for existential conversations with a stranger who I now call friend. I think God gifted me with this time as He knows how I enjoy the back and forth on worldviews and I haven’t got to engage like this since my subway ride back in New York. Over those brief few days the Lord allowed for interest of belief and questions of complacency. He brought understanding to comparison and planted (maybe even watered) His seed of truth. What fun! I pray those talks now take lead into a plentiful harvest of faith one day.
At debrief we reengaged with our whole squad to worship, discuss, and relate over what happened in this last month. While I was happy to be back with the 30, I started to have daunting thoughts of perception. I wondered if others saw me as closed off or unapproachable because I am reserved, quiet, and selective with my words. Did I appear to have a chip on my shoulder or my nose in the air? I took into account all the relationships I saw forming, the distance I felt from them, and how natural connections appeared, then questioned who I was. After about three days Jesus brought His peace and showed me that those thoughts weren’t for me and they weren’t realistic. What a release! I have so much praise for the way our good Lord allows wrestling and trials to produce gifts of persevering character and then wraps them up in a great big bow.
I think the biggest gifts I received that week came on the final day of debrief where God showed me more of His power, more of who I am, and more of who He created me to be. Each woman received a word of prophecy in a gathering of surrender that day. The word given to me was “trust” and honestly, I sat with the thought of how generic it was. However, I didn’t want to miss what Jesus was trying to say in that moment so I asked Him for clarity and what I should glean from this important statement. Soon after that I was given a letter which talked of my love in everything and the way that I emboldened others to go deeper with Christ.
We ended the night all back together, woman and man, children of God, speaking encouraging words and impression of Holy Spirit over each other. I was complimented on my interest of others and how genuine it all seemed. There was so much comfort brought to me in the simple statement, “thank you for being you.” The Lord allowed me to see the unique beauty of my characteristics listed earlier (reserved, quiet, selective) and how He created me fearfully and wonderfully just like He created you. As I learn how to embrace the good qualities of those descriptive words Christ works to refine them from the ways they can be negative. I’m honored.
Finally, I received one other note that night that had no correspondence with the first two yet tied them all together. In a mere 3 sentences that letter mentioned the word trust (or some version of it) at least 5 different times. It talked of the duality of trust and how in the same way we learn to trust God He’s learning to trust us. How faithful we can be to the things He gifts us with. Holy Spirit spoke so sweetly in that moment and my hallelujah is not a powerful enough word to express my praise. Though I have no adequacy for describing this beautiful movement I hope you can understand how sovereign Christ is over everything and comprehend like all people should how deep His love is for us.
As we wait to move into our second country God is still moving in Mongolia. He’s already brought us another new friend who I believe has had a heart change (no matter how small) and given great opportunity for deepened unity. He’s showed up in daily occurrences that wouldn’t have happened without Him and twice this past week I, then my team and I, got to pray for some natives. Tears were shed as Holy Spirit quickened one mans heart in addition to ours and God’s love was tangibly felt.
I have to say, I’m so excited for what the Lord is doing right now. What plans He has and how He’ll play them out. I’m excited to turn 35 in just under two weeks and know that this year is a milestone for my life. Jesus has done some pretty cool things in this first month of our journey together and only a glimpse of it have I shared. Knowing there's more I’m praying for a variety of things right now that I hope you’ll join me in.
I’m praying for an increase of opportunities to share the Gospel. For guidance on what God would have us do each day. For the love in this team to grow and for our whole squad to experience kingdom daily. I am praying for my fundraising process and a birthday gift of meeting my 3rd deadline. I’m praying for loved ones and their sensitive hearts. I’m praying for new experiences of Christ and a resounding joy that drowns out all insecurities. For dreams, visions, and revelations through Word. I’m praying for tangible and physical evidences of heaven and trust that all will be answered according to His good will.
With a list of prayers I could carry on in, an important concern of mine is how I can be praying for you. Please share.