The Miracle of His Perfect Will

WOW! The last 2 months have flown by so fast. I can't believe we will be home in 6 more weeks. It will surely be bittersweet for me--I have fallen in love with my time with God here and these precious people. The bump is getting PRETTY desperate for some american food and a soft bed, however!

This week has been incredible! Brandon has been moving along steadily with the worship workshops. I am pretty sure they are his favorite...although he says that about many things here! He has been training these worship teams to love and serve each other and to become more united as a team in times of worship. This is a very foreign concept to them but it is working. We are already seeing fruit in the services which has been so awesome! 

I was able to share my heart at a cell group last night. We do about 3-4 cell groups a week. Normally I am able to go to 2 due to the late schedule and Brooklyn's bed time. The cell groups are small and VERY intimate. They are held at a church member's house in the village. It's always humbling to walk into the small living room filled with people. Their smiles and their love for God is powerful and nearly leaves me speechless every time! (Posted a vid on my facebook)

I talked to them about the importance of a prayer Life--a time to connect with God, a time to look towards Him in every circumstance, a time to focus on His ability and what He wants you to do with your life. During my time with them, I shared my testimony of what God has done for me on this trip as I gave more time to my prayer life. It seemed fit to share with all of you...

You see coming on this trip was incredibly hard for me. In fact, I was miserable the first 3 weeks. Life here is radically different and seemingly hard. BUT a miracle happened in my life in early January that changed me forever. I was at the end of my rope and knew that I would not make it if I did not snap out of it and start to focus on God's ability in me and not my own. Out of desperation I devoted much more of my time to prayer. This prayer time looked differant each day. Sometimes I would just thank God for all He HAS given me, sometimes I would pray and speak God's Word, sometimes I would pray for friends and family, and sometimes I would pray for this island and these pastors. Either way, I committed myself to have more of 'me and God-time.' I was counting on the promise of Matthew 7:7 to WORK!!

The scripture that says  "He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him" came to life in me. Within days I noticed that I was starting to love my life here. I was finding unspeakable joy, constant peace, compassion and love was filling my heart. I can only explain it as a miracle because it was. The more focus I put on God and His strength the less focused I was on the natural hurdles here. I noticed more and more each day how amazing my life here is and that I should not take a single moment for granted. 

During my time of connecting with God He showed me that our family being here was His PERFECT WILL. He told me that He had called us here and that we were in the right place at the right time. He reminded me of all of the favor that had surrounded this trip: Every bill paid here, every bill paid at home, above and beyond finances, a great hotel room, safety, protection, favor with the hotel staff, favor on the plane, packed services, etc. As soon as I got my eyes off of myself and my eyes on Him, I could finally see clearly that the truth was that everything about this trip was PERFECT. I simply needed to embrace what God was trying to do here!!

There truly is no better place to be than in God's perfect will for your life. Its where joy, peace, and love bubble out and you can't seem to have anything but a smile on your face--no matter what things look like around you! A miracle happened for me in His perfect will. I am so glad I had friends and family who encouraged me in those times to keep my eyes on Him...because it worked, will continue to work, and can do the same for you! 

 I  am humbled and thank God everyday that Brandon braved pursuing his desire to come here. That desire was from God and it has drawn our family into His perfect will where miracles are happening. I am eager to see what more God possibly wants to do here in the 6 weeks remaining and I cant wait to tell all of you, our faithful and supportive friends and family, ALL about it!