Saying Yes

Something that has been on my heart lately has been how I first felt called to Africa. I’ve always loved missions. I remember going to summer camp as a kid and this family from Peru coming to talk to us about their life on the field and I thought that was the coolest thing ever. Like go live in another country and get PAID to tell people about Jesus. That’s just so cool I want to do that! And I found out they really don’t get paid that much but the reward of heaven is eternal. Anyways, I very very first felt called to missions in May of 2020. I was working at a summer camp. The summer camp was closed but they had a snack bar that was open in the evenings to the families that lived there over the summer. I lived on campus Thursday -Sunday in a tiny little cabin. And I had committed that summer to writing in my prayer journal everyday, I wanted to be more disciplined in prayer. That weekend when I had packed up all of my things for the weekend I forgot a pen. I was so mad at myself. This was the second day of my commitment and how am I even going to write anything if I don’t have a pen. I scoured the entire campground hoping to find someone’s lost pen. I could not find one anywhere. I sat down in the old recliner that was in my cabin and I was listening to a podcast by Sadie Robertson and the woman was talking about how faithful God has been to them since they obeyed God to do stateside mission work and plan churches. I paused the podcast and prayed and asked God to give me something to write with. So I reached my hand down into this crusty old recliner and I couldn’t find anything except crumbs and crushed chips. I braved the coushin one more time and found a fidget spinner and when I found that I began to pray for a broken crayon or anything to write with. I reached further down in the chair for a third time my fingernails caked in 30 year old crumbs and I found a gold colored pencil. God is good. He reminded me that day that his work is as pure as gold. And he provides for even the smallest things because he sees us. And I wrote in my journal that my life was his. I would go anywhere and do anything for Him. He had my yes. But that year there were a few things that I didn’t say yes to and it was weighing on me. So the next year I said yes to every single opportunity that came my way. I had 6 jobs the summer of 2021 and said yes to every single thing that was put in front of me. It was one of the hardest most freeing years of my entire life at that point. Fast forward to beginning of 2022 I had gotten invited to Passion conference with some friends from my church. I wasn’t going to be able to go because my family was going to be out of town. I did not plan on going at all. As we were on our way home to Alabama we were driving through Georgia. I had seen a couple posts on Facebook about the group that went since they had went down a little early so they could settle in and see a few things before the event. I told my mom about it and she said “we could have just dropped you off we’re about to pass through Atlanta. I said “hahah that would have been funny” I kid you not - not even 5 minutes later I was scrolling on instagram and I saw where a few different people were selling their tickets for passion because they weren’t able to make it. I knew instantly I was supposed to go. I reached out to the woman who was coordinating the trip and asked if it would be possible for me to join them and they ended up having 1 bed open and 1 seat open in the car for me to ride back with them and I had 3 clean outfits same amount of the event. I told my mom that I wanted to go and as we are driving downtown Atlanta I still don’t even have the tickets yet. The girl I had messaged hadn’t responded that quickly and I was waiting on her but I went on faith. I literally lied to my mom and told her I had the tickets. She dropped me off at the hotel at 5:30 and I met up with the group with just enough time to walk to the first session that started at 6. The theme that year for passion was “to the ends of the earth” acts 1:8 says “but you will receive power when when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and Judea and  Samaria” and  they gave us this card on the last night that had that vs on it and told us to write where we felt called to take the gospel. And when I tell you I never have had a desire to go to Africa before I never have in my entire like. Until that moment. I wrote down Africa. I went to Africa 8 months later. And the Lord reminded me to pray and believe. 5 weeks after I got home from that trip I went to Israel and Palestine and the Lord wreaked me. It was my prayer that he would strip me of it all. And he did. And then 2 years later after a long long long season of what felt like the wilderness I went to Namibia and the Lord restored my heart and my joy, for all people all places and all things. One simple yes of me going to Passion 2022 lead to a life full of Gods faithfulness. Luke 8 says “you who is faithful with little will be faithful with much” and I’ve seen that time and time again in my life. You know sometime as simple as a gold colored pencil lead (no punn intended ) to a life full of yeses. Missions doesn’t always look like building houses or making disciples. sometimes it looks like making friends. And sometimes it looks like saying yes. It’s the same God here that’s in Africa. And the same God that’s in Israel and the same God that in Thailand and in Canada heck sometimes it doesn’t feel like it but it’s the same God here that’s in California. And now just a few weeks ago I had the privilege to experience the same God in Mozambique. And every single time I come to Africa it feels like home. And this tome was no different. I was so impacted by the church and these people. I wasn’t expecting God to move in the way that he did because it was only 10 days, God really showed up and reminded me why I say yes. Their hearts to say yes were so pure. The entire project is built on one never ending prayer. One prayer from one woman that lead to prayer of 2 women and 3 women and where two or more are gathered in his name there he will be also. The nearest school was an 8 mile walk one way, the nearest church was 9 miles 1 way and there was no running water or electricity. These women said yes to prayer and they said yes to God. And 14 years later they are walking an breathing a lifetime of yes after yes.

Something that God has been teaching me is to be disciplined. Disciplined in prayer, in my thoughts, in my life and in my actions and disciplined with my yes. It’s on my heart to pray without ceasing and constantly seek Jesus in all things.  Sometimes being disciplined does not look how we think it ought to. Sometimes it looks exactly the opposite. When I think of discipline I think of structure. What I’m learning is discipline to God looks more like listening. I’m sure you’re familiar with the Vs in Matt 28 that calls us to the great commission. “Go therefore baptizing them in the name of the father the son and of the Holy Spirit” I learned recently that in the original text “go” actually translates to “in your going” so in your going - in all that you do, whatever you are doing make disciples. Say yes to God even if it’s as silly as praying with someone at the grocery store or sitting with a stranger at a ball game. Say yes. Listen to God in the small things.

One of our nights in Mozambique was spent with a host family. The project just got electricity last year. But they didn’t want teams to loose the humility of peoples lives in the community so people from the church opened up their homes for us to see how they live. As we walked to our home I was reminded that the pace of life doesn’t have to be fast. We need to take time to be interruptible in our daily life. We need to listen. We need to be disciplined enough in prayer to hear His voice so that we can say yes. Because if you can’t hear God how are you going to say yes. Let yourself be interrupted with conversations and forget about your own agenda and remember that it’s Gods time not ours so as we go through life “in our going” how can we say yes. How can we listen better. Like I said earlier missions doesn’t always look like we think it should. Think about the story of Mary and Martha. I’ll read it really quick from Luke 10. Mary sat at the feet of Jesus and listened. She cared to know him. she didn’t care about all that needed to be done she put Jesus first. I’ve learned over my time in Mozambique that prayer is the center of discipline and I see the ministry thriving because of how many people are faithful in prayer.  And how many people put Jesus first. And you can see it in the children. The children pray and worship just as much as the adults. They rely on God so patiently because he is everything to them. If we made God our everything how much easier would it be to listen to him? to hear his voice? and how much easier would it be for him to discipline us?