In February, we had our Missions Conference at the church.
It was a weekend full of prayers, speakers, mission reports, fellowship, and inspiration.
I always love to hear about how the God of the world is working in all of His people--it's so encouraging and serves as such a reminder of His strength and His sovereignty over the world.
I want to give a little spotlight to my sister and her upcoming mission trip she is going on this summer. Here's a post from her blog that she will be using to keep in touch with everyone while in Ethiopia this summer on her mission trip:
Addis Ababa
Hello everyone!
For those of you reading this that don’t already know, this summer I’m doing an internship through Mission to the World (MTW) where I’ll spend the months of June and July in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
I, along with the other interns, will be working with kids coming from impoverished families. Often these families don’t have jobs, enough food, or adequate housing. As an intern I will help with the after-school tutoring program geared mainly towards elementary aged children with focus on teaching English as a second language. In the month of July, when the kids are out of school, we will run a VBS type program for the kids so that they can learn about the gospel and also have a good schedule while they are on school break. I will also help with a more extended, focused tutoring program that takes place in July. While I’m serving I will also be exposed to other parts of their project including home visits, helping with two-week teams, and helping with support distribution among the team.
I thought a good way to begin the story I’ll be sharing on this blog, I would share with y’all how God has lead me to this opportunity:
After I served my first summer at Twin Lakes, I went on a mission trip to Peru with TL that following Christmas break. Twin Lakes takes this trip every year and pairs with the local churches in Trujillo, Peru to put on summer camp for a week for the children in the local communities. My first cross-cultural ministry experience was so wonderful. I fell in love with the children I worked with and felt such a heaviness having to tell them goodbye on the last day of camp. As cliché as it sounds, I felt like I left a piece of my heart with those children in Peru. I felt like God used that trip to reveal to me the passion I have for cross-cultural ministry. This was something I really wrestled with the following year. Am I really called to do mission work over seas? Is this something God really wants for me? Or am I just confused? How could I feel such a love for something that I only experienced 8 days of? Amidst all of my doubts there was still so much I was sure of.
I was sure of the joy I felt when I got to hold the hands of those sweet children and see smiles spread across their faces. I was sure that my heart broke when I had to tell them goodbye not knowing if I’d see them again. I was sure that I wanted to see them again.
I returned on that same trip the following two years. After my second trip to Peru I spent most of the spring semester (2013) praying that God would open the doors for me to go somewhere. I even secretly hoped I wouldn’t get into nursing school for the upcoming fall so I could finally go. Doors continued to shut and my I experienced a lot of frustration with the place God called me to. But He walked alongside me and patiently taught me to trust His timing.
When I realized summer 2014 was going to be open, I began to look into MTW and their internship options. I applied and hoped that maybe God would open the door for me to finally go. I couldn’t be more excited to say that He has done just that! He has affirmed me along the way in so many ways.
When I chose Ethiopia as my first preference, I wasn’t completely sure what all I’d be doing. All I knew is that I’d be working with children. (that’s all I needed to know) But whenever I talked to the missionary in Ethiopia that did my interview I learned what they were expecting from the interns. She said that we would be working with children and one thing they really want from their interns is people that can apply the gospel to all we would be doing with the child. For them to be able to take fun games, songs, sports, and be able to practically teach the kids the gospel through activities. My eyes filled with tears and I listened to her speak. The very thing she was looking for in the interns is something that God has taught me to do while I worked at Twin Lakes. Twin Lakes does that very thing- we are taught to apply the gospel to everything the kids do. To teach the children, the gospel isn’t just something you do on Sundays and Wednesdays, but it is central to EVERYTHING you do. I was blown away by how God, in some ways, has equipped me through working at Twin Lakes to do the part job he’s called me to this summer. He has equipped me through three summers of working at Twin Lakes, to minister to children in this unique way. How neat is that? What has been even cooler to see is that 2 other people on our team have both worked at Twin Lakes before too!
I’ve been overwhelmed by the amount of support and encouragement I’ve gotten about this opportunity. Thank you all for the ways y’all have provided for me both financially and emotionally. Every amount of financial support, every prayer, every encouraging word, every thought- all of these things mean so much me and I really appreciate you all. I’m not good at keeping up with things, especially blogs! But I’m going to try my best to keep all my supporters, family and friends updated on things going on before and during the summer. I’ll share specific prayer requests, feelings towards the trip, and stories while I’m there.
I’ll end with this:
“Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.”
Hebrews 13: 20-21
When I think about this summer, I’m filled with a wide array of emotions. There is a lot of uncertainty. But I am certain that the Lord has equipped me with everything I need to do His will- everything I need to please Him. Only through Jesus Christ. This is the sole strength I stand in.
Yours in Christ,
Mary Claire
Be sure to keep up with her blog here and read alongside with me.
But above all else, please remember to pray for her as she is gone all of this summer!
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