Growing Together

Love, unity & communication.

I have been immensely blessed over my time here by the relationships that God has graciously given me. Each relationship has challenged me in some form and has pushed me towards Christ in a different way and for that I am so grateful. I am consistently encouraged to see the way the Lord is working in the lives of the students, staff, and those we minister to. Last month, we went through a study of Ephesians 4:25-32 and learned to apply that to the way we communicate to one another as sisters in Christ. After each night that we studied a different aspect of godly communication as found in these verses, I was amazed to see how the girls immediately began to put those principles into action. The day after our last study on this passage, I watched as girls met together to talk through different issues and differences and stood in awe of how God had worked in their hearts. Not only did he work in the hearts of the students, but he worked in my heart as well as the hearts of the other women on staff as well. He has reminded me of areas of my life in which I need to be more transparent and work towards biblical communication with others in order to create a sense of unity and love. There is nothing like an environment when we can learn and grow together; being willing to admit shortcomings, and push each other toward Christ.

Eternal impact.

In addition to the students, there have been many others who have encouraged me and spoken truth into my life in ways that they don’t even know. Recently, I had the opportunity to minister alongside a group of WOL alumni at a camp in a different area of South Africa. Never did I imagine how deeply I would be impacted by that experience. Though many of them had been out of WOL for several years, it was evident that God was continuing to work in their lives in big ways. I was consistently challenged by their hearts for the Lord and willingness to give up their holidays in order to serve. As I got to know each of them in a more personal way and got to see into each of their lives, it was awesome to see how God was using them both in the secular work force and in vocational ministry. It showed me the deep impact that a year here at WOL studying God’s Word had made on their lives. It also filled me with much hope for our current students and the future ahead of them. There is no doubt that God is moving in BIG ways and is using these students to lead their generation and country to Christ.

I am humbly reminded that I as a cross-cultural/missionary intern cannot change the world. BUT I can impact the life of another through God’s power at work within me so that they in turn can impact others for Christ. We don’t call this place a Discipleship Training Center for nothing! 2 Timothy 2:2 sums it up well when it says, “And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” THIS is discipleship. THIS is how we can truly make a difference. I am so thankful for the opportunity to make disciples here in South Africa for the glory of God!

True servanthood.

I could go on forever about all the things I learnt during that week of camp ministry alongside the WOL alumni. However, I think much of what I learnt can be summed up in these two words: true servanthood. Before we even arrived at the campsite in the days leading up to the trip, God had been confronting me with my motives and attitudes behind the things I did. From the very beginning of the week, God called me out with Ephesians 6:5-8 which says,

“Slaves, obey your human masters with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ. Don’t work only while being watched, in order to please men, but as slaves of Christ, do God’s will from your heart. Serve with a good attitude, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that whatever good each one does, slave or free, he will receive this back from the Lord.”

As we talked through these verses during our group devos the night before camp began, I was instantly confronted by the many ways I had failed to apply these verses. Funny enough, the entire theme of our second camp was focused on serving and coincidently, these verses were our memory verses. As we talked about being a servant with the campers, I was constantly convicted myself. You know how people talk about God hitting you over the head with a 2”4 in order to get your attention? Well that was me. I was hit hard. These verses resonated so deeply within my heart and I couldn’t deny that God was trying to tell me something. I was reminded again and again of how often I fall short. But I also remembered that God’s grace is sufficient and that I don’t need the approval of others or the self-acquired feelings of worth for myself. I don’t need to prove myself or compete with others. My service should be from a heart of thankfulness for the love and worth that Christ has already given me. Only then can I genuinely serve God and others with love. I am so thankful that God sometimes smacks us in the face with truth in order to bring us back to himself.

Not what we planned.

Many times, things don't go as we plan because God has something better in mind (Ephesians 3:20). That couldn't have been more true of our time at camp. We advertised camp as an event for teens ages 13-20. However, what we received did not quite fit that age bracket. On the first day, we waited for teens to show up for our first day camp. After a while some teens showed up; in addition to a lot of kids. At first we turned them away, telling them to come back for kids camp which would be later in the year. However, after a while, so many kids began showing up that we decided to take them even though the whole camp was catered to teens. But we adjusted and quickly changed our mindset. The speaker adapted his message to be suitable for all present and we changed up the structure and schedule of camp in order to separate the kids and teens. Those two days were not at all what we are anticipating but I'm so glad they weren't because if those kids had not shown up, we would've only been able to minister and evangelize to a group a third the size of what we had. Praise the Lord that his ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts higher than our thoughts. Over the course of that camp, several of the younger kids as well as a few teens got saved! Despite some language barriers the fact that the lessons were taught in Zulu, I was able to lead one of the guys to Christ and saw several in my small group profess assurance of salvation. What an awesome privilege! All in all, God has taught me so much over the past few weeks and I am so thankful that God has given me the opportunity to serve him here despite my many failures and shortcomings. Can't wait to see how he continues to work!