Hi everyone! This is Jadyn, and though it’s hard to believe, this will be my last post from New Mexico. With that mind, I’d like to share with you some of my reflections on outreach.
Over the past several months, my team and I have passed through fires, stumbled into dark valleys, and fought off enemies we’ve never faced before. We have battled homesickness, depression, and anxiety. We’ve been shoved outside our comfort zones and given a crash course in things we didn’t even know we had to learn (not to mention that we became teachers literally overnight!). We doubted, we worried, we questioned God. Are you sure we’re in the right place? Do you really think we can handle this?
And God answered. Yes, you’re in the right place. Yes, you can handle this. Not because you have the right human capabilities, but because this is what I need you to do.
Let’s face it: This should not have worked as well as it did. Five girls living together in one house, hundreds of miles from home, expected to minister not only to each other, but also to students who are starving for love and acceptance? Anyone else seeing any potential problems here?
As a team, we answered God’s calling to come to Albuquerque. We knew that this is where we were supposed to be, and yet we were still overwhelmed by trials and uncertainties. But God is faithful. He turned our confusion into clarity, our sadness into laughing fits, our frustration into pride and joy. He equipped us to fulfill his purpose, and opened our eyes to see His hand at work. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we taught the kids much more than their schoolwork. To the best of our ability, we showed them what the love of Jesus feels like.
The hard truth is this: following Jesus will take you right into the midst of raging storms that you have no idea how to handle. But what we need to recognize is the fact that these storms in our lives are being used by God to teach us, refine us, and draw us closer to Him. And the best part is, He’s right there with you. Don’t believe me? Take a look for yourself. Listen for His voice, catch a glimpse of His shadow, sense His presence. He will see you through even your darkest time. And you will come out of it stronger, bolder, wiser.
Trust Him on this one. It happened for us in Albuquerque; it will happen for you too.
Thank you for your continued, sustaining prayers for the REACHers over the past year. Both teams will be returning to Columbus on Sunday, May 16th. Please pray for physical, emotional, and spiritual health as they complete their time in outreach and process their time in the REACH program.