 |
| Stefanie's Missionary Prayer Card - on my fridge! |
I have had the privilege of watching God call one of my friends to the mission field here in Colombia! Stefanie was one of the first people I met at my church here at Centro de Desarollo Cristiano last year. She is an amazing women who loves the Lord with all her heart. One instrument God used to draw me into making a home here last year was meeting Stefanie and feeling very welcomed into her group of friends.
Stefanie has told me stories about doing mission work in "la selva", or the jungle, with the indigenous tribes of Colombia. Her face lit up as she talked about serving these people who speak other languages than Spanish and have been culturally looked down upon for years. A few of them camp out on the pedestrian bridges hoping for money or food. Their clothes make them stand out, as they are ripped, old, and dirty.
Jesus says, "I tell you the truth, just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of mine, you did it to me."
Matthew 25:40
Recently, Stefanie has talked about wanting to go back and be a full time missionary with one of the indigenous tribes right here in her own country. This just blesses my heart to see God working right here in Colombia in the hearts of the Colombians themselves. My church, Centro de Desarollo Cristiano, has never sent off a missionary before. But, Stefanie has taken a leap of faith to answer the call God has placed on her heart."And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole inhabited earth as a testimony to all the nations..." Matthew 24:14
This past weekend, the church hosted a missionary dinner for her. Stefanie told of her plans to go to Argentina for a 7 month training to be a missionary. During this time, she is praying that the Lord would place on her heart a specific tribe to bring the Gospel to. Since our church and the people she knows have limited resources, she is relying on faith that God will show his faithfulness and provision. Working with her sister, Mayra, I helped host a birthday party and a good -bye party for Stefanie this past Saturday before she left for Argentina. We had a prayer walk for her around my apartment complex, where her friends from church gathered to support her. We ended the time with pizza and celebrating Stefanie's faithfulness to the Lord.
This has made me ponder my experience on the mission field so far. Serving as a missionary doesn’t make you perfect. Hardly! Being in a position like this can leave you feeling powerless and weak. So many times I’ve told myself “I can’t do it Lord.” And then I remember it’s not my strength, but His. When I surrender my own self-will, somehow God provides the strength to go on.
What a needed remind for me at this time - and for all of my brothers and sisters in Christ who feel weary or ill-equipped for the mission God is calling them on. Whatever your mission field, I am thankful to God for your willingness to serve him with faith. I am blown away with how much God blesses each of his children when we step out in faith. God is blessing me right now by allowing me to support and encourage a friend who is following God's call on her life. What a privilege!! For those of you who are supporting me, please know that you are part of supporting Stefanie. If it wasn't for your faithfulness to missions, I would never have met her and been able to share in this joyful time with my sister in Christ.
"I thank my God every time I remember you. I always pray with joy in my every prayer for all of you because of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now. For I am sure of this very thing, that the one who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:3-6
Prayers/Praises:
4th grade class has an outbreak of the chicken pox (about 7 students at this point). This has closed down the 4th grade class for two weeks with school being done online. Please pray that it does not keep spreading to other students! The Colombian health regulations sometimes require an entire school to close for a few weeks under these conditions.
Continue to pray for my decision for next year and that God would clearly have my heart set in the direction of his will.
For renewed energy from the Lord - feeling tired, weak, and drained lately (like I mentioned above :-)
Needing to find a large dose of Vitamin D that I need to start taking at the recommendation of my doctor who I saw over Christmas - not sure how I am going to get the supply of Vitamin D that I need here in Colombia. Anyone traveling to Colombia soon??
Pressing On for His Sake,
Carrie
No comments:
Post a Comment