This weekend isn't over yet, but we are all are sensing it coming to an end. I don't want it to end. I want to keep learning about missions. I want to keep learning about this journey and what God may possible be doing in my life. So many great conversations happened today, one in particular where the person, never having met me before, heard my name and said, "oh you are the who is involved in all the children's ministry at your church". I just smiled and say yes, it is such a joy to see children learn the love of Jesus. A person, who has never met me personally and yet knows that I have a passion for seeing young kids see Jesus.
8am: Breakfast. I keep forgetting to mention that they have cinnamon swirl bread! With apple butter...so delicious!
9am: Intro to SIM finance. Since this lecture, we have had many conversations about what this may look like.
11am: Building your support team/RDM-Relational Development Ministry.
12:30pm: Lunch! Cheeseburgers. Broccoli salad. Watermelon.
1:30pm: Preparing to Thrive. This was one of the most encouraging talks I had heard from our entire time here. Bob talked about all the pieces of missions ministry. He incorporated such great stories that he made the field come alive.
3:45pm: Next steps/Questions answered. Here, Allen basically summarized all that we had learned at SIMstart as well as what may be in our future.
5:30pm: Supper. (I need to correct my other posts, it's not dinner on the east coast, it's "supper") An Italian lasagna(had a cool name). Green beans. Garlic bread. Salad. Creme puffs and blueberries.
6:30pm Community Hour. We talked about the missionary call. I shared about how I felt God's initial call back in fall of 2010. In April of 2011 I had no real answer and felt myself falling away from praying about it. I shared how the next few months, God broke me down. I felt tired, I felt drained. At that point, I went back to my last blog, posted about 3 months before. I had asked that God would show me if missions was what He wanted. I wrote out a prayer, and within a few weeks I had found, contacted and applied with SIM. Since then, God has been faithful to walk with me step by step and has led me to today. I still can't believe I am here. I still can't believe that I am walking this journey. I still can't believe that God would choose to use me. I still can't believe how God works in our lives to fulfill His purposes in this world that has such an eternal impact. May we all look into our own lives and see how God is faithfully providing a way to Him as well as showing His great love to others, no matter where you are or where He might send you.
Today was a lot of sitting. All these lectures were done in one room, a board room. After less than 5 hours of sleep, chocolate, chair hitting, random funny comments, soda and did I mention chocolate kept me awake. In between these meetings and food breaks, I had some great encouraging conversations with the different people who are here attending SIMstart. We talked a lot about how God is answering prayers, just in these last few days. How God has shown me where, I think, He wants me to serve. We talked about our strengths and how we think that can influence our field of impact around the world. But my favorite part of this whole day was our few moments of prayer. By prayer. SIM's tagline. Such strength and wisdom comes out of prayer. Such encouragement and love comes through prayer. Such peace and truth comes from prayer. God is so good.
Dear Jesus,
How grateful I am to you for who you are. You are faithful, you are my provider. You are strength. Thank you God for breaking my plans of what the American Dream may be. Thank you for providing an organization that wants me to go to the mission field, and wants to personalize my way there. Lord Jesus, I am so excited to see what you are doing. I'm enjoying walking one step at a time, as difficult as it is to want to see further, I know my ultimate goal is heaven. My eternal security is in You and therefore I seek to do everything I can to further your kingdom until I reach your throne. Jesus, what an amazing opportunity you may have for me to go, across seas, to work with another culture, another language, another nation all together.
Tomorrow is a big day for each one of us. I lift us all up to you Lord. You know us personally, but I want to lift them up by nicknames... Please continue to confirm in Soup and Carrots lives that their mission is where they feel directed. I pray for Eclairs night tonight and that tomorrow she can wake up rested and joyful that you have continued to guide her path. God I also want to pray for Apples with caramel not peanut butter. She has so many talents and a beautiful caring personality and I know You have the perfect position for her. I pray that she can seek out your Spirit and come to know exactly what your will is her for life. Lord Jesus I lift up Reese's and Sushi's goals, the specific plans that you have shown them and how you have orchestrated their paths this far. Thank you God for providing them as friends and I pray that you would continue to use that friendship to encourage them along this path.
I pray for Taco and Chocolate. I pray Lord Jesus as their options are prayed over that You would make it perfectly clear what you have for their lives and how you will use their unique personalities and gifts to reach your lost people across the globe. Lord God I lift up Strawberry salad to you. I pray that you would make her placement, the will you have for her life. clear to her. I pray that your Holy Spirit would be present in her exit interview tomorrow so that she and her placement coordinator can work together to see where You want her to go. I pray that she can spend time in your Word and that you would continue to equip her and give her confidence that her strength is found in You and You alone. Lord God I lift up Apple jacks and jellybeans to you. As they spend the next few months and years preparing to go and actually going, that you would use their gifts to impact your world in a mighty way.
You love each and every one of us personally and have a specific plan for each of our lives. I pray that we can continue to seek out your will for our lives and I pray that you would make it completely evident where You want to use us and how we might serve You better. I pray for our relationships with You Lord that you would make the time in each of our lives to seek out truths in your Word, that time would be made daily and often to pray and that we would find You in all that we do.
Jesus, I pray specifically for tomorrow. As each of us spends some time with our selection coordinators and go over whether or not SIM is the organization for each of us, I pray that your Holy Spirit would be present in each meeting to direct the words and hearts of those involved. I pray that you would open doors wide or shut them tight and that each person would leave confident that You had worked out that specific plan for them. I pray that are hearts are sensitive to Your spirit within us as we accept guidance. I pray that each of us can leave this training with more information, more experience and ultimately more love for You.
In Your mighty and perfect name we pray,
Amen
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