Challenge

So this week so far has been...interesting. We moved to a new church on Saturday that is about 7 miles down the road from where we were last week. Me and Turner got to move into a sweet apartment that has wireless internet!!! Jake and Aaron are staying with a family a few streets down from us. We also were given a car for the week. That has definitely been nice so we don't have to depend on other people to get around. We've also got to go a lot more places this week. So anyway, this week has definitely been a challenge. We quickly found out that the philosophy this church has about outreach is definitely a lot different than what I am used to and what I would personally use. This has prompted a lot of thinking and meditation on my part. I have one of those personalities that tends to think I'm right all the time. I have to fight against that...a LOT. This is most definitely one of those instances. I have this instinct sometimes to think that because something isn't done my way, then it isn't right. I know that when I sit and think about, that's not usually the case. I'm just a really strong willed person and I have to keep that in check, especially when dealing with delicate situations like church relations. So the past few days, I've been weighing out a lot of stuff, praying, reading a lot of scripture, etc. so that I can better understand why it is that this church is doing stuff this way. I'm having to learn to go against my nature with this. I still have this huge voice inside of me screaming that I want things to be done my way, but I'm having to make myself pipe down and recognize that the people in this church have the same passion and desire that I have, and that is to reach lost people. There's a verse in 1 Corithians 15:58 that has been rolling around in my head the whole week that says, "So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and steady, always enthusiastic about the Lord's work, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless." I have to keep reminding myself of this. Even though I don't prefer to use the methods that this church does, it is still useful to God. I mean, they aren't saying anything that goes against the Bible, they are just emphasizing some points that I wouldn't necessarily emphasize when trying to tell somebody about Jesus. God is showing me that it's ok though.

Another thing that God is showing me through this is that ministry isn't always sunshine and rainbows. There are going to be difficult times. There are going to be sticky situations. There are going to be times when I just don't feel like getting out there and doing what I need to do. All of this stuff today sort of culminated a few minutes before we were going to start VBS tonight. I starting thinking so negatively about everything and was almost to the point of bitterness. I didn't want to go to VBS tonight. I just didn't feel like being around people, much less a bunch of screaming kids. So I did not have the best attitude in the world driving over to the church this afternoon. As we were getting out of the car, I threw up a prayer asking God to take away my negativity and help me get excited about what we were doing. God chose to answer that in a pretty cool, yet unexpected way. I was still feeling sort of annoyed with everything during the first few minutes. During the first song, though, I look over at the door and there is standing this new kid that hadn't been there last night...and low and behold, it was this little 9 year old girl that I had in my group last week that had been one of my favorites. She is also one of the girls I wrote about earlier who asked me about witnessing to her friend. I all but ran over to her and she ended up being in my group for this week. I know this probably sounds strange, but having this little girl show up tonight did me a lot of good. Maybe it was the familiarity of having somebody I knew from last week, or maybe something else, but my entire attitude changed when she showed up. She was such a huge encouragement to me. So the night ended up being pretty good. Go God!

So I suppose this week is just all about God teaching me some hard lessons about ministry. I think I'm getting a more realistic view of ministry. There are going to be ups and downs, just like anything else. And there's nothing wrong with that. This is by far the longest mission trip I've ever been on, and it's ridiculous for me to expect it all to be peachy. It might not be the most pleasant thing for God to have to teach me this stuff, but the more I think about it, the more I know it's quite necessary...especially since my whole life is going to be doing ministry stuff. So I guess the bottom line is, even though this week isn't the best one I've ever had, God is still using it for a lot of good...and hey, I still get to tell kids about Jesus! That's always something to be grateful for!

Prayer Requests:
-VBS at Emmanual Baptist Church this week
-That the 36-hour ferry ride to Ketchikan this weekend goes well
-VBS at FBC Ketchikan next week
-Team unity
-Good attitudes
-Energy, patience, preserverence, enthusiasm

Thanks for all the encouragement and prayers!

Lyndsey