Developed or Discovered?

I once heard Perry Noble say that a lot of leaders would rather be discovered rather than developed. I never realized that that was what I wanted until God revealed it to me through Perry saying that. I realized that the driving force behind anything I was doing or saying was to be "discovered" by a person, an organization, or anything that had influence to help me get where I wanted to go. I still fight those motivations every day, as I'm sure a lot of leaders do, especially young leaders. I would encourage anyone reading this to consider this: Am I seeking to be developed as a leader, or just discovered? To help you consider that, let me share some thoughts I've had when I've pursued discovery, as well as development.

When you look to be discovered, everything you do and think is motivated by:

- Pride: Where do others fail? How can I sell myself?

-Achievement: If I can do it better, I AM better

-Appearance: Who can I impress? 

Whereas these motivations may bring rewards of a temporary nature, there is no way to grow. When you look to just be discovered, there is no room for character growth when everything is done to be in the sight of others.There is no room for fellowship, when you are driven constantly by competition and comparison. And there is certainly no room for spiritual growth, because the focus is on YOU. Not God.

When you look to be developed, everything you do and think is motivated by:

- Humility: Where can I improve? How can I serve others in this position?

- Prayer: How can I be better aligned with God's will?

- Relationships: Who can I learn from? Who can I pour into?

If there's one thing I've learned, the pursuit of development  has eternal significance and the focus is entirely on being shaped by God and His Will. Discovery only lasts as long as it takes for a better opportunity to come along. Honestly, sometimes it doesn't have to be better, it just has to be new.

I want to be developed, not discovered. But wanting isn't going to change a thing. It's a start, but it doesn't fix anything. This blog post certainly won't. No amount or reading or talking or listening is going to change our focus. We have to fist take the focus off of ourselves and onto the one person who can change  us: Christ. If you want to be discovered, then any development that comes is superficial, just meant to move closer to the opportunity or job or respect or whatever that you're after.

But if you seek development, it doesn't matter what jobs or people or opportunities come or pass, because you will always be moving closer to Christ, closer to His likeness. And THAT is what lasts. Growing closer to Christ lasts far beyond any opportunity in this world.

"Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." James 4:14

No Longer a Wanderer

This is the first post I've written since changing my blog title from "Where My Mind Wanders" to "One Step Closer". The change came from the fact that I no longer want to be a wanderer. Right now, I'm experiencing a great deal of change in my life, from coming closer to graduation, to doing something new over the summer for the first time in 3 years, to the normal changes that happen to everyone every day. I'm surrounded by uncertainty and change and it is HARD. I'm not going to say I have no worries or doubts or fears, because I do. I have so many. I struggle with so many terrifying thoughts.

I don't have what it takes.

No one will listen to me.

I'm too weak to move on.

I'll lose touch with all of my friends.

No one can really love me.

And the fears don't end there. But, I believe that God surpasses all fears and all pain. When I have these thoughts, He is faithful in reminding me of the real truth.

I don't have what it takes. But God will be the One working through me.

No one will listen to me. God is always willing to listen.

I'm too weak to move on. But God is my strength.

I'll lose all of my friends. The Body of Christ is stronger than any distance, physical or otherwise. 

No one can really love me. Christ already proved his unfailing love on the Cross.

I don't want to wander through a sea of opportunities and thoughts day after day. It isn't about choosing the right opportunities. It's not even about the opportunities. No matter what opportunities I choose or pass up in my life, no matter who I meet or who I lose touch with, and no matter how many times I fail, I want to move towards the Lord in everything I do. In my successes and my failures. In my high points and my low points.

I don't want to wander. I want purpose. I want to have a destination. My destination is Christ. My journey in this life is to move closer to Him in every opportunity, every day.

 I'm done wandering.


 

Devotion

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:8

"And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. Then fear came over everyone and many wonders and signs were being performed through the apostles. Now all the believers were together and had all things in common. " Acts 2:42-44

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm exhausted.
 I'm tired of trying to be a better person.
 I'm tired of trying to figure out where I'll be or who I'll be with in a year, 5 years, 15 years, etc.
 I'm tired of putting so much stock in my image.
I'm tired of putting so much effort in trying to appear to be spiritual.

And I'm realizing that I'm so tired because I was not created to worry about all these things. We were not created to worry about all these things.

We were created to seek God, to trust in Him, to put all of our faith and hope in His strength, not our own.

So many people, myself included, spend so much time trying to figure out the secret formula to a successful life, ministry, relationship, and whatever else. When, this whole time, God has the answers and He is just asking that we look to Him.

Stop trying to "figure things out", but put your hope in Christ.

Don't just pray to pray, but devote yourself to prayer.

Don't just go to church and listen and hang out, but  devote yourself to teaching and fellowship.

If we are going to be a generation that wants to receive power from the Holy Spirit and see incredible things done in our schools, our churches, and our homes, we need to devote ourselves to the Lord and His will, not just use Him as a backup when we aren't sure where we are headed.

Go all in. Know who you are as a believer. Know who you are as a church. Know who you are as a family. Then, prepare yourself to see the Lord do more amazing things you could ever imagine in your life.

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21

Wake Up

Born into sin, born into shame

Try to walk on my own with a body that's lame.

Covered in sin, a veil over my eyes.

Dead in the tomb by cause of my pride.

What I once thought was wise, 

 was really a death sentence keeping me from the prize.

Unable to get up my own,

looking for one last ray of hope.

Then, suddenly, from beyond the tomb I've grown accustomed to, 

I hear a strong voice shout to me, but who?

It is the Savior, it is the Christ.

Calling to me, "Come out! Begin a new life!"

I've never made the best decisions, but this one holds true,

Christ has made me whole, made me anew.

Now, it's up to you. 

That same God who called Lazarus from the grave, now calls for you.

He's shouting, "Wake Up! Open your eyes!"

It's no longer just you in the fight.

He won't just show you the light, He is the light.

Wake up.

"When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.

Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go." John 11:43-44

Those who are familiar with the story of Lazarus know the basic gist of what happens. Lazarus dies, Jesus waits four days to come and see him, then Jesus raises him from the dead. As you just read in the verses above, Jesus calls to him, "Lazarus, come out!" and Lazarus walks out of the tomb, alive, indeed.

There are so many parallels through that story as it applies to the present day. The biggest one that we see is that Jesus has done the same for us in saving us from our sins through death on the cross, raising us to life again. 

Yet, unfortunately, God has recently put on my heart that a lot of us are still living as if we are still suck in the tomb, dead in our sins. This includes me. 

When we receive Christ's love with an open heart, we are forgiven of past, present, and future sins. We are set free.  

No longer dead, but alive.

If you're still living trapped in sin and shame, Jesus is calling to you.

Christ is shouting: "______, come out!" 

Christ calls all of us to leave behind the dead ways that once ruled us, take off our grave clothes and the old ways we once lived by, and walk out into the light.

To walk out into a relationship with the one person with the power to set you free: Jesus Christ.

Be free.

 ^"Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die;  and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?" 

John 11:25

Why Is There A Lack of Persecution in the American Church?

Well, I'm definitely no expert on persecution, suffering, the church, or really anything. I can't say I've ever known true suffering or persecution. However, I do know that God promises it to us in His word:

"In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted," 2 Tim. 3:12

I think all of us can agree that living a Christian life is tough, but most of us in America can't say that the Gospel has cost us anything apart from slight discomfort, rejection, and the occasional sacrifice of our time to go to church. As persecution is defined as the subjecting of a person or group to cruel or unfair treatment because of their beliefs, I don't think those things count as persecution.

I've heard this topic discussed plenty of times, and usually the conversation loops around to being ended by saying, "We have just been blessed to have been born in a tolerant country."

Yes, we have been blessed to live in an amazing country where we aren't hunted down for our beliefs. Yet, you have to ask the question: Where there are so many countries in which Christians ARE being hunted down, why is ours so different? I don't think it's just because all of our government is just so tolerant of everyone's beliefs.

In a big way, we as Christians in America have stopped being a threat. It's easy to be tolerant of something when it doesn't pose a threat. Just take a look at the life of Jesus, the Lion and the Lamb. If he had just been the lamb and not challenged the current ways of the day, I'm sure the Pharisees would have been plenty "tolerant." But yet, He was also the lion, who came to defend the weak and change the hearts of those who believed.

And He became a threat.

Another threat was posed after Christ Himself was put to death, and His name was Stephen, also known as the first martyr for the cause of Christ.

"Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. Opposition arose, however..." Acts 6:8-9

The Bible says that Stephen was full of God's grace and power, yet there was opposition. But why? Verse 14 clears that up for us, "For we have heard Him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us." 

Although these accounts were from false witnesses, their lies tell us why they were afraid of Stephen. He told them that His Savior, Jesus, threatened to "change the customs". They didn't want to change. So in chapter 8, we see Stephen stoned for the threat that he posed in the name of Jesus.

Stephen was living in a "God-believing" nation, as well. But that didn't stop him from being seen as a threat. Wherever you are, take a stand against even the most minor injustice that you see and see how the people react.

Where there is no risk, there is no threat. Where there is no threat, there is no need for persecution.

Even Satan cares very little when we are Christians but taking no risk. We don't pose a threat to His purposes.

It is when we take risks that we become a threat to Satan and the world around us. When we finally become dangerous, then persecution will come. Christ was persecuted for OUR sake. We follow in His footsteps because we believe in His cause, no matter what it costs.

What has following Christ cost you?

In Your Word we are promised persecution and suffering, 

but where is it, aside from the slight discomfort of occasional rejection?

You've called us to risk and danger

but those of us in the "Land of the Free" have become stagnant

We chalk up our lack of promised persecution to tolerance,

but that is not the whole story, not the full picture.

Tolerance exists because threat doesn't.

The Church and the world were never intended to be in a tolerant standstill,

we are called to dangerous influence, to threaten the regime of the Evil One

Our very Savior was crucified by His own people for posing a threat to "the way things were"

So GO! Be dangerous, be a threat.

Identity

Recently, I've been meditating a lot on the struggle we face between the fact that we are sinners and the fact that God has redeemed and restored us from all of that through His grace:

 ^"But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared,  he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,  whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior,  so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life." Titus 3:4-7

I realized that when I struggle with sin, I have generally two incorrect outlooks. 

First, when I am indulging myself in my sinful desires, both during and after, I feel strong guilt and shame and I feel unable to go to God for forgiveness because I tell myself I'm not worthy. Which is stupid. I'm never worthy. That's the beauty of grace. Christ became sin for our sakes, so that through His sacrifice we could be redeemed and cleansed of ALL of our sins, past, present, and future (2 Cor. 5:21).

Second, when I feel as I'm doing well resisting temptation (with God's help, since I can do nothing apart from Him giving me life), I act as if I'll never sin again. SO, I get on my righteous high horse and begin to put all the accomplishments on my own ability. 

I don't know if anyone else is like this, but I find myself in one of those two states more often than not. If you're like me, then be in prayer that God can remind you of how weak you are in your own power against sin, but also that He redeems us and gives us strength to overcome sin. When you do mess up (which you WILL) pray that He reminds you of His love and grace that is stronger than any guilt or shame the Devil can place on you. 

Who am I but a man bound to sin?

When I fall I am ashamed of my stupidity

yet when I am lifted up, I expect to never fall again.

The only thing I can hope for is to be reminded of my weakness and Your grace

Only then will I be consumed entirely by the fire my soul longs for.

Only then will I be free to dissolve into you.

Following Through on your Leadership and Ministry Goals

For me, it has come to the time of year where I'm really beginning to prepare for the coming summer that I'm working at CentriKid. During this time, I've begun to think about how I am to cast the vision that I have for how I want to minister. I'll be in a formal leadership position within the team for my first summer, so I find it even more crucial to create a cognitive road map of the goals I have and why I have those goals. I've found that the steps I'm taking to cast that vision for my ministry over the summer is helping a great deal and will keep me much more accountable to follow through on those goals. As a person who has struggled with following through on goals in the past, I've realized the difference it makes in your life when you follow through. Without following through on the ministry goals you set for yourself, those goals become wishes and hopes that "could have been". I've done my best to learn from those shortcomings, and these steps have definitely helped me to be more diligent in achieving my goals.

1. Pray and meditate. Pray and give real thought to what your goals are for your ministry, what you expect of yourself, and what you expect of the people on your team and write them down. Joshua 1:8 tells us to "Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful." Joshua urges us to meditate on Scripture to be prosperous in our lives, and I think it goes the same for our ministry goals and expectations. The more you pray and meditate on what you expect of yourself and how you will glorify God in your ministry, the more likely you are to follow through.

2. Confirm your goals with Scripture. It's much harder to follow through on your goals when you don't have solid evidence for why you believe in those goals. When you confirm your goals through Scripture, you have a great reference point when you pray and meditate on your goals. Let Scripture be your main point of reference when you are determining your leadership and ministry goals.

3. Seek wise counsel. You don't have to be entirely original in your goals, nor do you have to keep them to yourself. Feedback on your goals from peers or mentors always helps. It may help you develop new goals, improve upon your own goals, or even realize where some goals don't match up with the Biblical standard God has set for you.

4. Be serious about your goals. You've set the goals out at this point. Don't compromise on them. Stand firm in following through on your goals and keep your mind focused toward Christ.  1 Peter 1:13 tells us, "Therefore, with your minds ready for action, be serious and set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." Prepare your mind to accomplish these goals through prayer and practice and remember that only by the grace of God will you be able to achieve the goals you have set out. Through his strength and power, you can be a powerful leader for the cause of Christ.

In no way is the only way to achieve your goals. These are just some ways that have helped me to recognize and achieve my goals, and if you decide to try it, I hope and pray it works for you, as well.

God Always Loves You

Imagine messing up in the worst way possible.  I mean, you’ve really done it this time. Maybe you accidentally slept through your date at the sockhop with your gal, or hit a baseball right through Old Man Jenkins’s window, I don’t know. I mean, you probably didn’t do those things because you’re in college and it’s 2014. But who knows. The point is that you’ve really messed up. Then, imagine that you go home to your parents or start talking to your girlfriend or whoever you’ve wronged in this situation. You start to apologize, but halfway through you’re heartfelt apology full of remorse; they stop you and say, “It doesn’t matter. I still love you.” Perplexed, you ask them, “But, why?” Then, while making solid eye contact with you, they gently respond, “Because I have to.”

            Now that isn’t exactly what you want to hear in that situation, and it definitely isn’t comforting. Never in a million years would I seriously try to console someone with those words. Yet the guilt and shame that we feel after sinning against God convince us that He responds to our sin in that very way. Satan whispers in the back of our minds every time, “God is ashamed of you. He only loves you because He is God and He has to.”

            Let me tell you something right now. God doesn’t love you because He has to. God loves you because He is love. 1 John 4:8 gives us that proof when it reads “…God is love.” I don’t know if you’re like me and you spend time sulking in your sin, telling yourself that God struggles to love you, but that is a LIE. God has loved since the dawn of creation and He has not once stopped loving you since. God’s love for you doesn’t begin when you accept a relationship with Him. Accepting the gift of salvation and living for Christ is a reciprocation of the love that God has given you your entire life. Listen to the words of Isaiah in this passage:

"For this is like the days of Noah to Me, when I swore that the waters of Noah would not flood the earth again; so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you nor will I rebuke you. “For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake, but My lovingkindness will not be removed from you, And My covenant of peace will not be shaken," Says the LORD who has compassion on you.” Isaiah 54:9-10

God is not angry with us when we sin and He is not ashamed of us. He is nothing but love. The words of that passage are so powerful. Even mountains and hills can fall apart, and He will still love us. He knows we are sinners. He knows we’ve turned our backs on Him at times. But He has NEVER turned His back on us. Right now, if you’re like me, we are letting our sin get in the way of truly serving God. Stop sulking and feeling sorry for yourself because you think God really has to fight to love you. He doesn’t even break a sweat when it comes to loving us. Let go of that fear, accept the love form God that will always be with you, and follow Him down the path leading to His glory and your salvation.

A Redeemed Criminal

"Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left." Luke 23:32-33

I have had this coming for quite awhile. Maybe if I did things differently, I wouldn't have to be in this place. Maybe if I had suppressed my desires.

But I indulged them. I am, by all senses of the word, a criminal. Maybe I can't help it.

I've heard about the helpless and sinful state of man, ironically, from the followers of the man on the cross beside me.

But I don't get it. This man, this Jesus, has done nothing wrong. I've heard of the miracles, I've heard his preaching, I know that he is the Son of God. There's no other answer.

So why is he being crucified? Why is he, a perfect man, facing the same grotesque punishment as I am, a sinner and a criminal?

I DESERVE THIS! I went against his Father, the Lord God Almighty, and looked to my own self-preservation instead.

They keep mocking him and tormenting him, those fools!

And Jesus is just taking the punishment. Why? I don't understand!

I don't know much about God or Jesus, but I know that this isn't what he deserves.

He deserves a real crown and a real robe. I am the one who deserves this pain and torment.

Unbelievable. Even the other criminal on the cross is mocking him now, does he not see who this man is?

I yell to him, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong." (Luke 23:40-41)

Feeling my own death approaching, I turn to Jesus and ask him to "remember me when he comes into his kingdom" (vs. 42).

And he turns to me and says, "Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise." (vs. 43).

I understand now.

But it is so incredible, so unbelievable, I can barely contain myself.

He is doing this for me.  He is bearing this burden so I, a sinner, can be forgiven and rejoice with him in paradise.

I have never known love like this. This must have been his mission the whole time.

He came down to earth to save me and everyone else from our sin, because we could not. 

I can tell now that I'm about to breath my last.

But that doesn't matter. I welcome my last breath. I am no longer condemned.

I AM FREE.

Not because of myself, but because of what he is doing for me right before my eyes.

I AM REDEEMED.

Not just because I regret what I've done, but because I realize now that Christ is the One who can take away the burden of my sin, because He has taken it upon Himself.

And I breathe my last.

But not as a criminal.

AS A CHILD OF GOD RANSOMED FROM MY SIN.

                                                                                                                                              


Thank you Jesus, for bearing our burden upon the cross, giving all of us the chance to be redeemed and set free through a relationship with you just as the criminal being crucified next to you that day you saved us all.

A Born Again Man

I woke up yesterday morning and began my day as usual, but something was different. I felt a conflict in my soul. There has been a man going around the city, claiming to be a prophet, and doing incredible wonders in the lives of those in the city. He even turned water into wine at a wedding earlier.

But my friends and religious brothers proclaim him to be a heretic, a false prophet.

A blasphemer.

I felt torn. I didn't know what to believe.

The miracles I have seen him perform cannot be done unless they are done by someone come from God.

But my people, the Pharisees, the ones with whom I rule, they condemn him who claims to be the Son of God.

I had to see him, to speak with him, but I couldn't be seen by the others. I decided to go to him in the night.

I approached him last night, and I said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him." (John 3:2).

This man, Jesus, said to me that I must be born again. Not physically, but I must be born of the Spirit of God.

I asked how this could possibly be, and what he said I will always remember:

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son." John 3:16-18

He told me last night that I must believe in the Son of God, who he himself claims to be, and that he was sent by God to save our souls.

And you know what?

I believe him.

He is the Son of God.

This morning I woke up. But something was very different.

I felt alive. Set free. Redeemed. I feel as if the Spirit of God is alive in me.

My life is changed. I am still Nicodemus, but I am a new man.


                                                                                                                                                                        


Now this is in way a historically  accurate account. This story is meant to prove a point, to recapture the amazing story of the Gospel. We have more in common with Nicodemus and other biblical characters than we think. We all started out or still start out our days dead in our sins, and a life-changing encounter with Christ has the power to make us alive again, and we can wake up every morning after new creations. Don't let the world keep you from approaching Christ where you are at. Nicodemus didn't, and I promise it will change your life.

It changed mine.

Reclaiming Passion in a World Seeking Happiness

Passion and happiness don't fit together as perfectly as we want it to. Passion is what keeps us up at night. Passion is what breaks our hearts. Passion is the love for something that has been given to us by no one else but God. 

In the past few years, I have realized that God has given me a tremendous passion for working with kids, and ever since I discovered that passion, I have seen my work ethic, my relationships, and so much more in my life grow tremendously. 

This drastic change in my life that God has given me by way of passion, has ended up giving me a passion for passion (still figuring out how that works) and after examining the passion in my life and in the lives of others, I've noticed that passion generally invites two things into our lives:

1. Passion invites incredible pain.  

I'm not talking about physical pain, unless of course you're passionate about kickboxing or jousting or awesome things like that. 

Passion causes you to truly care for something and for the people you encounter along the way, and that invites potential for heartbreak. I guarantee that chasing after your passions will involve let-downs and failures, both on your part or the parts of others, and that's why I, and so many others, have been so afraid of passion. Passion shows you care about something, and that gives you something to lose.

God knows about this more than anyone. He is passionate about His creation, mankind, and the Bible records numerous occasions where He has experienced pain and heartbreak because of the way we have turned our back on God.

As I mentioned, I have a huge passion for working with kids, and that has definitely brought pain in my life. I have seen kids go through horrible situations that I can't help, and I have seen them create horrible situations for themselves. It breaks my heart, and I know so many others who say the same.

However, passion also invites something else:

2. Passion invites indescribable joy.

Yes, passion brings pain, but the joy you experience when chasing a passion is incomparable to anything an dispassionate person could ever experience. 

Passion is what brings me to stay up thinking about ways to be better and how to show the love of Christ to the people I'm with. Here's a quick story to illustrate that: 

When I was working camp this past summer, I became close with one of the campers, and one day I saw him crying. I found out that he was very homesick and really missed his dad. So, I asked him what he and his dad would do for fun, and he said they always played cards together. After he told me that, I went searching for cards and eventually found some and that night we spent about an hour and a half playing cards, and the way he smiled and laughed brought me so much joy.

The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love." 1 John 4:8 

I tell that story not to try and convince people that I'm thoughtful or whatever, but to show that Godly passion allows me to do that even though the root of my being is selfish. God is love, and love is at the root of passion. Passion isn't about us, but passion is an invitation for God to work through us to show His love. 

That's why he gives us different passions. Passion allows for everyone to be ministered to by people who truly care for and understand them. Please, search for your passion and embrace it.

It won't always invite happiness, but it will invite the love of Christ to you and those around you.

My Experience at Prince of Peace in Guatemala

To start, I jut returned home from a week-long mission trip to Guatemala in which the team and I served the majority of the time at Prince of Peace Home for Girls in San Cristobal. The experience was incredible, and I loved being able to experience a new culture and country. However, this post is not going to be about my clash with another culture. Maybe another post down the road will be, but this one is going to be about the beautiful and incredible girls I met at Prince of Peace.

"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world" James 1:27

This verse was our theme verse coming into the mission trip, as we were doing just that: visiting orphans in their trouble, and doing our best to minister to them. However, God gave me so much more than I ever expected before the trip, and it was all due to a single revelation God gave to me when I was there in Guatemala: I was not just serving these girls, but I was serving with them. The incredible group of girls at Prince of Peace aren't some short-term mission project so I could have a new experience, but they are a true God-given gift and they served me every bit as much, if not more, than I served them.

Looking back, this fact was clear starting at the very beginning of the mission trip, because of how much hope could be felt in the home; and this was not because the super-holy American missionaries had come to the rescue. No. It was because God had already done, and was still doing, so much work in the life of each one of those girls.

I know that God did not send my team there, nor any mission team for that matter, to find or bring new hope to the people we meet and serve. I, and every member of my team, was sent there to show those beautiful little girls the hope that had already been provided by Christ. That hope was there long before we showed up last week, in the laughs and smiles of all of the girls, in the incredible sacrifice and love of the people who help to run the home every day, and in so many other places.

My team went in to the trip desiring to serve and love until we couldn't anymore, and God definitely gave us the strength to do that. Yet, God used those girls to serve and love us just as much. There wasn't a "big moment" that everybody hopes for in a mission trip, confusing any emotional experience for life change. It was just the everyday things that those girls did, painting a beautiful canvas of God's love every time I saw one of them. I saw God's unconditional and uncontrollable love through a 9- year old named Luisa, who showed me more love after one day than any person has shown me my whole life. I saw God's passion for His children through the way those girls brought out uncontrollable joy in me (I mean, they even got me to learn a dance to a Justin Bieber song). Finally, I saw God's strength and power through the courage and bravery of every single one of the girls at the home. They have experienced more loss and heartbreak than I can even imagine, whether it was through sexual or physical abuse, neglect, or flat out just not being wanted by their families, and they can still show true love to complete strangers and have the strength and courage to let us in their hearts. These girls are a testament to how God can restore broken people, and howcontagious the joy and love He brings can be.

I definitely plan to go back again, if anything just to let those girls know once again how incredibly special they are, and how much they taught me. God sent me for a reason, and the more I think and reflect, that reason becomes more obvious. Those girls have lived much of their life feeling like they aren't wanted or needed by people. Well, this past week revealed to me that I needed them. My team needed them. We needed to experience their unconditional love, and their God-given beauty inside and out. We weren't called to Guatemala and to Prince of Peace for the girls to see they needed another group of people to rely on. We were called so those girls could see that this group of well-off in every worldly sense of the word American people  who didn't seem to need anything needed them. I pray that they saw this week and will continue to see how full of worth they are in God's eyes and in the eyes of His people. Those beautiful, incredible, amazingly valuable girls at Prince of Peace are truly a gift from God in my life and so many others and I hope they always remember that.

If you're reading this, please check out the site for Prince of Peace below and think about how you could serve them. They offer a sponsorship program, as well as an email address if you want to organize a team to go and minister there. Even if those aren't viable options for you, please just look at the list of girls at the home and pray for them. They've been through a lot, but I know God has huge plans for them.

http://www.princeofpeacegt.com

Thank you, and please share this with anyone who has a heart for missions and/or Latin America!