Where on this map will you have me go?

Among all the things I could write about from the past couple weeks, I’m going to focus on only a couple things. The focus lately of Project is having a heart for the lost and mission work so that’s what I’ve written about.

This past week we had a speaker from The Travel Team, a team that speaks to summer projects around the country, come and speak to us about missions. His name is Todd Arhend and he and his wife are missionaries; by far, he is one of the best speakers I have ever heard. I really believe that he could take the most unmotivated person and make them excited about missionary work. He went through the history of mission work among college students and gave an entire map-out of the history of missions within the Bible. Through the Bible he explained how God set up the world to be reached through missions. In the very beginning God tells Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply, to fill the earth. After the flood when Noah’s family is the only one existing he says again to fill the earth with people. Then God separates languages and people at the Tower of Babble and later calls Abraham to leave his country and reach other nations. From the very beginning we can see God’s heart for the lost and how desperately he wants them to hear the gospel. In Malachai 1:11 He says,“For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations.” In 1 John 2:2 it says, “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” And in Mathew 24:14 it says, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Later in Mathew is the great commission where Jesus says to “go forth and make disciples of all nations.”

That’s Jesus’s command – to go forth and make disciples of all nations, to reach the people who haven’t heard the gospel. Todd is so passionate about mission work, especially overseas in the 10/40 window, and he’s incredibly challenging. He started his first session by asking the question, “what is stopping you from going into the nations? Could you stand in front of a map and say ‘God, forget my own future plans and desires in life, where on this map will you have me go?’ Would you really go where God called you? Even if it was the most persecuted country in the world?” One of the reasons I came on Project stateside is so I could learn how to better share my faith to prepare me to go overseas one day. When I think about it, this is the most opportune time in life as a college student. To say it strongly, I think I’d be a fool to say that God isn’t “calling me” to spend some time overseas, that he’s not “calling me” to go into the nations, especially the 10/40 window, the most populated and unreached area of the world. In a list of stats, these stood out to me the most.

Within the world there are:

§  262 nations

§  16, 200 different people groups

§  There are 910 churches for every 1 unreached people group.

§  over 6, 000 of these people groups have no church.

§  In the U.S, there are 650, 000 international students from 188 countries of the world studying here.

The 10/40 window is made up of :

§  Tribes who worship over 250,000,000 different spirits.

§  850, 000, 000 Hindus who have over 330, 000, 000  Gods to choose from to worship.

§  1.2 billion Chinese people – 1 out of every 6 people in the world are Chinese.

§  Muslims of whom 1 out of every 6 people in the world say they would die for Muhammad.

§  650, 000, 000 different Buddhists.

§  And out the 10/40 window alone, the most populated area in the world, 88% of the 10/40 population will live their entire life and never come in contact or shake hands with a believer.

There are 430, 000 missionaries in the world and break down into these ratios:

§  1 missionary for every 700, 000 people in China

§  1:2, 000, 000 people in Vietnam

§  1: 3, 000, 000 people in Iran

§  1: 140, 000 people in Russia

§  1: 213, 000 people in Pakistan

§  1: 68, 000 people in Indonesia

§  AND 1: 2, 700 people in America.

Do you realize, out of every 2, 700 people in America, one of them is a missionary? America has the most missionaries in the world – we have the capability TO go forth into the nations – what is stopping us? As college students, we are so incredibly blessed to have already accepted the gospel at such a young age. This is the most opportune time of our lives to do overseas missions. It’s so disheartening to know that 88% of the most populated area in the world may never hear the gospel before they die. Literally, when he was done giving these stats my heart just sank and overseas missions has been heavily on my heart.

At the end of his last session he showed a video that flashed through all the cultures and religions of the world, all the tribes, idols, and rituals played out to music. All these people on the screen are the people that need to be reached, that have no idea who Jesus is and what He has done for them. We need to be engaged in the world, not afraid of rejection, persecution, or other religions. My friend and I tried to share with two Muslim boys the other day and I realized how uneducated I am – I need to learn and be engaged, not be afraid of what they believe – I know what I believe, and learning their religion isn’t going to change that. Furthermore, it’s important to know that all parts of the Christian body are equal and missionaries who stay stateside, or people who only financially support missionaries, or those who teach the people being sent out – they are all equally important to the furthering of God’s kingdom. I want that to be understood because in no way am I saying that missionaries out in the nations are more “valuable” or more “worthy.” It’s only that for me personally, I think it would be selfish of me to ignore the need in the world and pretend like God only wants me in the US, when I know I am capable and have the opportunity to serve overseas. If we don’t go out and share our faith as we have been called to do, whether it’s in the US, at work, at home, or somewhere else in the world, how will people come to know Christ?

Romans 10:14-15 says, “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

I hope this verse is encouraging :)

I came on Project asking God to teach me compassion and His heart for the lost; of all the things Project has taught me so far, God has been extremely faithful in teaching me just that. Through the international students here, being on the World Vision team, and exceptionally through Todd’s talks, God has softened my heart, but not only for the people who don’t know Him, but for the people closest to me as well. I’ve been learning what it means to have compassion and love for the people around me for who they are and this has made me even more excited about starting my Social Work major in the fall! When it comes to overseas missions, I know God is stirring that in my heart. I’m excited to see what He’ll do with it, and also learning to trust rather than be anxious with my future; I have to trust in his sovereignty and calling, for He promises to never leave us, and I will trust that He knows what He’s doing – I came across a verse that one of my best friends gave me towards the end of school: Psalm 45:10-11

“Listen, O daughter, consider and give ear; Forget your people and your father’s house. The King is enthralled by your beauty; honor Him for He is your Lord.”

I need to honor God by obeying His calling, even if it means I spend a year or so after graduation serving overseas or not, I need to surrender to His plan for my life and be open and willing to wherever He wants me.

It has been an awesome weekend so far and I’ll have a semi-full schedule this week for work. This morning we took an adventure, haha, and woke up at 4:45 in the morning to drive to a wildlife refuge 45 minutes away to watch the sunrise. It was incredibly beautiful!! And then we all went to IHop for breakfast, then church, and tonight we have our Ministry Team meetings as usual. Things at work are going well and this past week I was able to have a couple good conversations with one girl, Angel, that I work with. It was very encouraging because it’s often hard to talk during work and hopefully her and Laura and I will get to hang out after work soon. As always thank you for your prayers and support! I hope that your day is going well and I pray that God is working incredibly in your life :) Trust in Him and know how deep his love is for you!

"Killing the Giants"

Whew, I know it’s been almost 2 weeks since I’ve updated (sorry mom ;) so I’ll jump right into it.

Last week was “Killing the Giants Week” because we all had to set goals that we wanted to accomplish. One was the number of spiritual conversations we wanted to initiate, the number of gospel presentations we wanted to present to people, and a personal giant such as sharing with a co-worker, unsaved family member, etc… Reflecting on the week, I can only say that God is faithful and always provides opportunities.

We started off the week with an outreach called “Battle on the Beach” where we all dressed up as warriors of good vs. evil. We marched around the boardwalk to gather people to come watch and then the men fight a choreographed battle. In the end, it’s the generals of both armies (i.e. Jesus vs. Satan) who battle it out and Jesus wins. The intent is to signify the spiritual battle we all experience here on earth in our minds and hearts. After the battle and everyone is dead on the ground except Jesus, he gives a gospel presentation to the crowd and then we all go out and share with the people standing around. It was the most intense outreach I have been a part of and it was incredible to see the way people responded. I was able to share with an older man who was suicidal and had lost just about everything in his life. When he told me he was suicidal I started to share about my friend Josh that committed suicide this past spring. At that time Laura, Josh’s girlfriend, walked up and was able to share her story. I can’t even tell you exactly what she said but by the time we were done talking to him and sharing the gospel, this grown man was almost in tears.  He didn’t make a decision to receive Christ but I know that what we said is resonating in his heart. Before we left we prayed for him, and he was very emotionally moved and said we had given him something no one else had. I believe that God is mighty to save, even an old man who has nothing and sees no way out other than ending it himself. It shows how sovereign God is and how he can use past suffering for his glory.  If Laura and I had not had that experience, we wouldn’t have been able to share the same way we did with this man. I am amazed by how many opportunities I’ve already had to witness to someone through Josh’s death, something I’m not even over myself. I know that it’s only by God’s grace and strength alone that I’m able to share it with people and share my faith.

This past Saturday we used tug-o-war to reach people on the beach. We all went out and got people to play with us and have fun and then explained who we were and why we were in Va Beach. As we shared with the people who played, my friend Kaitlynn and I had the privilege of leading 3 girls to Christ! Two were in college and one was in high school. While we were sharing with them, a couple other project students were talking to another boy and girl who accepted Christ. It turned out that all 5 of them were cousins! And all accepted Christ separately that day! How amazing God is! They were also the first people I have seen come to Christ – what an encouragement and blessing it was to witness that and be reminded that God IS at work in peoples’ hearts!  What an even more blessing to know I will see them in Heaven one day and they will have eternal life with Christ. Praise God for His love!

I cannot believe that I am almost halfway through Project. It feels like I’ve been here for so much longer, yet I can’t believe it’s already been a month and that I’ll be here another month and a half! This is the point where the staff leave Project and we are all assigned a role. The Project Directors do come back the last week of Project to debrief us but everything is student-led from here on out. I will be leading our Thursday night meetings “Lighthouse” with my friend Grant, who is from Ohio State. We do all of the scheduling for the meeting and training time beforehand as well as meet with the leaders from the church we partner with. Just as I used to be on the World Vision ministry team, we are now leading the Lighthouse ministry team. I’m excited for the opportunity to lead; this job is a lot like what I do in our Crusade at MSU. I know that God will work through this position because lately I’ve been contemplating whether or not scheduling for the Crusade meetings at school is where God wants me; we’ll see what He does.

Like I said, I can’t believe I’ve been here a month and reflecting on the past few weeks, it’s amazing to see how God’s been at work. The first couple weeks were really tough and overwhelming. Everyone who has been on Project told me you go through stages in order of being excited then overwhelmed then depressed, and then finally you begin to feel comfortable where you are. I have been no exception to that timeline. The first couple weeks were incredibly hard and I asked a lot of questions like “Why am I here? Should I be here? How is God going to use me? How do I share with people when I have so much to learn? Am I really ready for this? Should I have waited a couple summers?” But God is continually reminding me that he is sovereign over my life and fully in control of all circumstances – whether I’m in Virginia Beach, Jackson, Panama City, East Lansing, etc…One theme God continues to put on my heart is that He defines me and I am not defined by the sin in my life or things of the world. I am prideful, and I’m a mess – but, I am loved by God and I need to rise up to who He has called me to be as a woman of Christ.

There is no doubt that we all have “giants” we face every day, whether it be pride, insecurity, a family member, a co-worker, a friend, an argument, bitterness towards someone...It’s a matter of stretching ourselves to face that struggle and rely on God to help us do so. For me I know my giants don’t stop after “Killing the Giants” week. They continue the rest of this summer, when I go back to MSU in the fall, when I’m home during Christmas break…Will I choose to boldly search and overcome them with God’s help? Or will I shrug it off and avoid facing my struggles and fears? We really all have a choice to make. What are your personal giants and do you believe that God is sovereign enough to help you overcome them?

Hebrews 12:1 says “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with great perseverance the race marked out for us.”

God has an incredible race outlined for our lives. Will we throw off everything that hinders and entangles us and run with perseverance the race He has marked out for us? I would like to challenge you to think about the “giants” in your life and trust God to help you take a step further towards them.

The rest of this week is different than our regular schedule because staff has planned a lot of extra things since it’s their last week here. Thursday we will have Lighthouse and Friday we are having a dinner event called “Agape Feast” with all the staff and students. As always, your prayers are immensely appreciated and you can pray specifically for us students as we lead the rest of Project. Also, be praying for the relationships we are building with people from the Virginia Beach community and the outreach events we host – that we may share our faith and show God’s love genuinely, and for the hearts of the non-believers we’re interacting with. I hope all is well with you and I apologize if this update seems scattered. I will try getting back into updating at least once a week. God loves you incredibly and have a fantastic day! :)