Well in about 7 hours, I will have been here in "Norn Iron" for 12 weeks! It's really hard to believe I've been here this long. The countdown can officially be counted on 2 hands. It's truly been a blessing to come here and serve! God really has been teaching me a lot while I'm here. I realize that in my first blog I said the same thing. Here's some details of what I've been learning:
1. God makes our weakness strong. I've grown up hearing this my whole life, but until now I didn't truly see what that meant. Ask those that are close to me, and they will tell you I'm not very fond of manual labor. It would be one of the things I enjoy the least. Of course, by enjoy the least, I really mean despise. When I was preparing to come over here, I knew that I would be doing some DIY teams. We've been going into homes of vulnerable people, that can't afford to have someone come paint or do their gardening, and showing them that we care about them. These teams have become one of my highlights of being here. Last blog I told you about Linda, whose home we worked on for a bit. She has consistently been coming to the guitar lessons I'm providing over here. She's not a Christian, but I have been training her and several others how to lead in worship. She's been coming to the church on Tuesday nights being exposed to the lyrics in the songs and others that go to the church. She's been building a relationship with several people there.
There's another lady, Kathy, who used to be a model. She is now in her mid 50's, and has had nothing to do with church for a long time. When we first started working on her house, she didn't really care much for building a relationship with us. The last few times of being at her house, she really started to warm up to us. The last day we were at her house, she told us that our time there was the highlight of the past few years of her life! (she had just gone and celebrated her birthday with her friends a few days prior) I believe I had mentioned this in the last blog as well. The youth from my church in Birmingham, Alabama came over for a week. I was in charge of a team that week. We went back to Kathy's house to paint her hall. We were only there a couple of days, and those that came also heard that she had nothing to do with the church. Christine, who I have been working with all summer, and myself went back to do a quick tidy up at Kathy's a couple days later. She told us that she hoped to see us soon... MAYBE EVEN IN CHURCH! Praise God for his faithfulness!Keep in mind, this is the stuff I normally hate to do. That's not all God has been teaching me though!
2. I got the opportunity to preach. This was my first time to preach! I was extremely nervous! I planned for quite a while! It finally got time for me to get up and preach. I got up there and all I could think the whole time I was up there was, "Is this really happening?" My first 2 pages of notes, I had originally timed to take about 15 minutes. By the time I had finished up with the second page, I was about 5 minutes into my sermon. For those that don't know, the Titanic was built about 20 minutes from the church in Belfast. Let's just say at that time, I felt that ship sinking much quicker than the titanic! I looked down, stopped for a minute, whispered a quick prayer and took a breath. I finally decided to shove my notes out of the way. The shaking became more controllable at that point. Sill very present, but better. As I got away from the notes, I could sense the words I prepared become more of God's words. I had to look back at my notes here and there for pointers, but God has just taught me to trust Him.
What i learned is despite my best efforts, God was able to be the mouthpiece. Only a select few will get this, "but it's like a vacuum"... Preaching wouldn't be my gift, but I think if I was asked to preach again, I would do it. This isn't me giving permission to ask me! Since then, I've noticed me being more bold in other areas where I let fear get in the way.
I'm only scratching at the surface at the things that God is doing here, but if I went on much longer, you'd fall asleep. I'll be back in 10 days, so if you want to hear more about my trip, feel free to come up to me and ask me about it. Trust me, I'll be more than willing to share what God has been doing here.
I'm very excited about getting back and being with friends and family, and going back to Oak
Mountain, but I am really going to miss this place. I've built many relationships that will be missed. At least I live where technology allows me to communicate with them easily.
My point in coming on this short-term mission is because I believe that God has been calling me to do full-time missions. I believe God has been confirming that. There is the possibility of me coming back here as a full-time missionary. I have a lot of praying to do. I'm giving it at least a couple months before I make any decision, just so I can see if it's just excitement or if God really wants me here.
Thank you so much for your prayer and support! I am grateful for that and encouragement from many of you! God has blessed me to have such great friends and family that have been a part of my serving here.
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper and not to harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11
Josh
