What defines a family? Does the term only refer to a collection of people that are united by their similar genes? Is it possible to apply this term to ten people you've known for only four months?
Clay in the Hands of the Potter
This blog is me pouring my heart out as I share the amazing things my Heavenly Father has done on this journey. The radical changes He has made in my life is not just beneficial for me, but is also to share with those around me. I want others to experience the same intimacy with their Creator as I have. God is good and His love endures forever!
This last week, I learnt that The Lord provides in abundance and delights in blessing His children. Us Global Challengers had the opportunity to practically apply all that we have learnt during training by going on a 5-day Luke 10 journey from Wednesday to Sunday. Simply put, we followed in the footsteps of the 72 disciples that were sent out by Jesus as "lambs amongst the wolves" in Luke chapter 10. Each small team prayed and waited upon The Lord for direction as to where He wanted them to go.
Turning water into wine. Telling fishermen to be his followers. Followed around by spiritually-hungry people, searching for truth. Feeding five thousand people with a little boy's lunch. Setting people free from law and leading them into grace. Yes, that's my Jesus. This same Jesus allowed Distant Worlds to get a taste of what that felt like during our week in the Andes mountains.
It was a dream come true. Rattling, shaking and bumping up zigzag mountain passes to the village of Incahuasi. This was where we would sleep for five nights. We drove for four hours on 100km on a single-lane, dusty, serpentine path. In the Andes Mountains. I almost couldn't believe it.
The mountains were colossal, stretching 3130m into the heavens. My eyes were as wide as saucers as we drove past mountain villages, with hand-sown rice fields and horse-drawn carts. The women wore the most beautiful, colourful, handmade clothes. Not much has changed in these villages from 100 years ago.
We shared bibles with many far-away schools in isolated towns. The average amount of students were 40 in the whole school. It was interesting to note that most of these people had never even left their mountain town. They didn't know about things such as beaches, skyscrapers of drive-thru McDonalds. They knew more about mountain trails than LonelyPlanet and their diet consisted of things they had planted and cultivated themselves. A whole new world. "Lord, what do I say to these children? We come from two different worlds. We don't even speak the same language - they speak Quechua and I only speak primitive Spanish. Holy Spirit, speak through me please..."
Venezuela. A country that has been sitting on the drawing board of Distant Worlds for many months. A name that has been written on our itinerary and on our hearts. And finally, a country that we can say we have been able to share the Good News with.
Due to turmoil within the country's borders, Distant Worlds was kept from going to Venezuela. We detoured to Santa Marta for ten days, waiting upon The Lord for our next step. Sure enough, while praying, Venezuela seeped into our prayers again. Here is a point-form summary of how we were able to enter Venezuela.
Since my scoliosis operation in July of 2010, I have been hearing the words "You will never" quite often. "You will never carry more than 10 kilograms at a time"... "You will never be able to walk more than 5 kilometers at once"... "You will never be able to ride a bicycle again"... "You will never be able to do road-running again".
Physical barriers constructed through medical precautions prevented me from being able to do all the things I wanted to. I valued my doctor's opinion more than my God's opinion.
In all honesty, I have grown accustomed to thinking of God as some spiritual being way up in the atmosphere, looking down at us humans with disappointment. With Veritas Training this week, that mindset has shifted. The first time God spoke to Man was in Genesis 1:28 - "Be blessed". A two-worded statement that sums up the Lord's heart for His people. After the fall of Man, God did not first reprimand them for their sin. His first words were "Where are you?" It is as if He was asking their permission to approach them , testing to see...
The speaker crackled as the pilot announced our descent. Nervously, I grabbed Kasia’s hand as we descended into my homeland… South Africa, hello old friend. I was ready to go home, ready to see my family and friends, ready for the next step God prepared for me. I just wasn’t ready to say goodbye to my team…my family.
We had spent ten months in each other’s company. For the last eight months, I had watched these people grow and mature as the Gardener Himself pruned and fertilized them. They watched me cry, laughed with me, supported me, prayed for me and loved me. They were my family for eight months… and now I had to say goodbye? God, am I ready to be on my own again after being part of a team for so long?
It's funny how, just a year ago, I was watching a documentary about the Amazon on the television. Halfway through the program, I changed the channel, thinking: "Why should I watch a program about a place that I'll never visit?" It's funny how The Lord works, isn't it?
