March 10–End of Outreach

I don’t even know what to write on here… I feel like I should sum up outreach or something, because it’s the end, but so much has happened that I don’t even know what to say. 

Mexico City was hard.  It was really good, but really hard, for everyone on my team.  The street evangelism that we did was really challenging for me.  I really like doing evangelism when I have something to start a conversation or something – like bringing homeless people pizza and water, or something like that.  But in Mexico we just went up to people and tried to talk to them.  God taught me so much through it… I don’t think it’s something that I’m called to do with my life, but it was so good for that time. 
It was really challenging too though personally being there too.  The first week I was there I got altitude sickness and couldn’t really get out of bed for I think 3 days, then had a cold for pretty much all of the rest of Mexico, and wrecked my knee (again) – funny story, there’s a reason Mennonites can’t dance in church… it’s dangerous.  Pretty much, I just spent a lot of time sitting around, it was hard, because it made me feel useless, and it was sometimes really hard not to question why God had brought me to Mexico, but then I was sick or injured for so much of it and missed out on a lot.
But when it comes down to it, God used our team, and he used me.  Looking back, we saw over 200 people saved, and about 3 people healed (I don’t know the exact numbers)… not to mention the countless amounts of people that heard testimonies, or the gospel, or got prayed for.

God is doing amazing things in Mexico City, I’m so thankful to him that I was able to have a small part in that.

Then there’s Thailand… this place is amazing!  It’s by far the most incredible place that I’ve ever been to before.  God is doing amazing things throughout Asia!  The church is rising up so much – I haven’t met a Christian here that is at all ‘lukewarm’ in their faith, every person that I’ve met is just on fire for God, and so passionate about sharing his love with everyone that they know.
ARK International and the work that they do here is awesome.  Knowing that they’re giving the kids home, and a possibility at a better future, as well as showing them Jesus, it’s such great work that they do.  I’ve loved being a part of that so much for the past month.  The kids here are impossible not to love… they just have the hugest smiles anytime you see them, and coming running to where you are.  There’s this ‘game’ that we play with the kids in one of the communities when we see them.  Basically we throw them up in the air over and over and over… and they love it.  There’s nothing better to them than just being loved by people, and by being able to be a kid for a few hours with us at Live Life, or for a Saturday morning at Nak Suu. 
Bangkok is a place that I’m so sad I have to leave.  I would love to just miss my flight back to Perth and stay here, or to get on the wrong plane to go home, and come back here, and be with these kids again.  They’ll stay in my heart forever, and I know that because of the work of ARK, I’ll see a lot of them again someday, whether I come back here or not (I really want to, in case you couldn’t tell – but we’ll see what God says), I’ll get to see them again someday in heaven and it will be awesome.

I think more than anything though, outreach has given me such a huge heart for the world.  It’s made me so much just want to go everywhere, to be able to share God’s love all over the world.  To actually do something that has eternal value with my life.  I don’t want to live just going through life – working every day, hanging out with friends, never really making an impact on the world.  I want to be someone that’s used in world-changing ways, someone that when life’s over, I can stand (or more likely just be flat on my face) in front of God, and he’ll tell me “well done, good and faithful servant”, and then hug me, and then I’ll get to hang out with him - the kids in the slums, and the kids that I’ve cabin led, the people that we talked to on the streets in Mexico City, everyone from the amazing churches that I’ve been to over these last six months - forever in heaven!

 

I guess that’s it then… my DTS is over.  It feels like I’ve been here for forever, being at home seems like another life to me.  But not in a bad forever, it’s kinda just like time doesn’t exist anymore, being all over the world, and doing so much stuff, I’m actually just so confused at what time of year it is.
But DTS has been amazing – if you’re reading this and haven’t done a DTS yet, please do… God will completely change you.  He’s taught me so much about him, it would be impossible to write it all out for you.  There’s something about actually being in missions though, even if it is only for 3 months right now – you learn so much more how everything that you learned about God is so true.  About how he is your strength, about how he’s bigger than any language barrier… whatever it is, God is bigger, and stronger, and all you need.

 

But all that being said, I am happy to be coming home, for however long it is that I’m actually there.  I’m excited to see my best friend again (even though I have to spend 24 days there first alone.  I’m excited to see everyone else too: to go to vespers at CBC again (even though I’m not a student there – whatever, I’m pretty sure like half of the people there aren’t), to ride a scooter with Rose (please pray I don’t die, she’s driving), to be able to actually decide what I want to eat, to get to drive again… there’s way more. 
I’ll miss being here, everyone here, I’ve made such amazing friends – but I’ll see them all again someday, heaven’s going to be a giant party!  But it will be good to be home again…

See everyone soon! (Unless you’re David, in which case you would have to come out to BC to be seen soon)