Loss for the Sake of Knowing Christ

I'm starting to realize how much I hold on to earthly and superficial things.  As I am starting to see the end of many of the activities/ministries that I so love, my eyes have been opened to all that I am giving up by leaving.  Recently, I have taken my last ice skating lesson, handed over my Kindergarten Sunday School curriculum, realized I have to give up my cell phone (wow, was that harder than I thought...) and have started saying good-bye to some friends.  While spending time with my family and friends, I find myself realizing all of the moments I will miss having with them - phone calls, hugs, lunch, coffee, being able to see them at a moment's notice.  As I had lunch with a dear friend this week, as I spent the day with my sister and nephew...I realized how much I will truly miss them. 

Yet, as I thought and prayed about my love for ice skating, teaching Kindergarten, my phone, and especially my family and friends...these things are nothing in comparison to gaining Christ.  Jesus is worth sacrificing for, worth following, worth loving because of the love he showed us on the cross.  He endured the tremendous pain and suffering for the sake of atoning for our sins.  It was a matter of fixing my eyes on Jesus - "the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before Him(gaining his rebellious people back) endured the cross, scorning it's shame, and sat down at the right hand of God."  Hebrews 12:2.  All of these things are worthy of being considered a loss for the sake of going and serving Jesus in Bogota!! 

One might say...even your family and friends??  In 2 Timothy 1:12, it says "That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day."  I love ice skating, yet Jesus is worth loving more :-)  I love teaching those precious Kindergarteners about Jesus, but I am willing to leave this ministry for the sake of telling people who have not heard about Him.  I love my family and friends, yet Jesus promises that I will see them one day again in heaven.  Praise God for this hope of eternal fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ!!

A year ago, I never would have thought it possible for me to give up ice skating, my phone or my very close relationships that I hold so dear.  But, left in the hands of Jesus, I know they are safe and He has made it possible for my heart to let go of these things.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  In his great mercy, he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade - kept in heaven for you..."  1Peter 1:3-4

Just think of the precious, and undeserving, rewards that we gain when we trust and follow Him :-)


Prayer Requests:

• 1st big road block over healthcare concerns - that the Lord would provide a way for me to have the medications I need while in Colombia, as not all of them are available down there.  Pray that the details between insurance/doctors would all work out soon :-)
• For my preparations to speak at a missions class at The Orchard-AH Campus on July 15th, as I share my heart for going and serving in Bogota.
• That I will use time wisely, not freaking out about details, but preparing my heart and getting important tasks done before leaving on July 23rd.
• Continued financial and prayer support - praising God for the ministry partners he is already sending my way :-)
• My living situation - I will living with a returning teacher and another newbie like me :-0  Super excited!!!

My journey to serving at El Camino

Currently, I feel like God has really been using these past few years to teach me, grow me, and prepare me for further service in His kingdom.  God truly blessed me with the wonderful gift of a godly mentor these past three years. Through her, God’s Word became alive and my desire to meditate on it grew more and more.  I learned a wonderful method of personal bible study for devotional time, learned to use/memorize scripture in areas where I was prone to doubt God’s promises, and to depend more on God’s grace.  Her love and support helped me to let go of the shame I felt about a genetic disorder I was born with and share how God was working in my life at a women’s event at my church just this past January.  What freedom there is when our identity is found in Christ and not our circumstances or whether we succeed/fail at something!!

The current sermon series on Leadership that my pastor, Collin Smith, is preaching has been really speaking to me.  Check it out at http://www.unlockingthebible.com/.  Looking at the life of Elijah and his call to ministry in 1 Kings, God has been showing how he leads his people and how leaders respond to God’s call.  After God calls Elijah to confront Ahab, he then tells Elijah to go hide at the brook called Cherith.  While it seemed that God was beginning to move in the ministry he had for Elijah, he now brings Elijah to a place of hiding where he learns to depend on God alone.  I can relate to this.  As I have gone to school to be a teacher, God has seemed to shut the door on using those skills in a classroom of my own.  While I struggle with why God has not opened this door for me, God has showed me how I can still humbly serve the student’s with special needs that have come into my life.  As I continue to depend on God and wait for him to show me where to use my ability to teach, God started to give me a vision of using these gifts for his glory as a missionary. 

I have always loved going on missions trips, and the few I went on in high school to build houses for the homeless down in Mexico were life-changing experiences for me.  The seed was planted to go and teach oversees came when I heard about a family from church who is serving at a school called El Camino in Bogota, Colombia.  Through prayer (and encouragement from a dear friend), God laid on my heart one Sunday that I was go and serve him and the students at El Camino.  Every concern that I had was met with God reassuring voice that He would provide.  As I started to prayerfully follow his leading, the door has been widely opened for me to go and serve Jesus at El Camino next school year!!!  I am so excited to go and serve Jesus in this way.  Check out El Camino's website at http://eca.edu.co/.  Prayers are much appreciated as I continue to rely on God's provision and his power as I prepare for my service to Him in Bogota. 

Prayers:

• God's provision for me, financially and prayerfully, as I prepare to leave for Bogota on July 23rd.
• My family - as they prepare to send me off for misisonary service in Bogota.
• That God would already be preparing the hearts of the precious students and their families to learn more about the gospel of Jesus for the 2012-2013 school year at El Camino.
• God's glory would shine as I seek to use the gifts he has given me.