Wednesdays are incredibly long for me. I have a meeting with all the “outback” people at 7 AM (it’s been a while since I went to 6:30 Early Morning Prayers…) and then I go until after 8 with various activities and bible studies. So here’s a little spiel on what goes down….
7 AM – a time of prayer and regrouping for the people who work outside. You really get to know people when they are just waking up, and I can name at least three people who are “just waking up” regularly for this meeting. I hope to wake up earlier as a rule anyway and eventually wean myself off coffee for early mornings, but it currently gives me the initial boost to get going.
8 AM – all the volunteers and staffers who are able gather in the front room with the people we are helping that morning for a quick devotion in English, followed (normally) with a Spanish translation, prayer and heading to the “office” area of the Mission where we gather to pray and give reports over our various church plants and celebrate birthdays. (I love it!!!)
9:30 AM – I head to an apartment complex to teach ESL at ten. Last week, it went horribly. I wasn’t very well prepared, it was scatterbrained, and I was terrified that the students wouldn’t return today. I called my best friend to tell her that I didn’t know how to do it. But this week, I mentioned it twice for prayer, had a lesson planned out, and it went well! Granted, the class was only four today, but still! I left the clubhouse praising God that He had allowed me to be open to Him using me. I told Ms. Tillie later that it wasn’t a question of really doing the ESL class because I knew that was important. It was more that i didn’t feel competent, which I am. She has the saying “God doesn’t call the equipped. He equips the called” on her desk, and seeing that reminds me that apart from God, I can do NOTHING! Which was definitely relevant for today.
11:30 AM i head to the office of this apartment complex for bible study. These women (and some men) have been faithful members of this church for years. They truly thrive on the community they receive out there, and it’s a wonderful picture of the way God intended the church to work. I love hearing and seeing these people laugh and cry together. After this bible study, it’s lunch time, and meals are another way to get to know people.
At around one, i return to the mission to work some more out back. And then at around 3 or 3:30 I head back to the apartments for afterschool which is full of laughs. Today it was rainy, so we stayed inside and played monopoly. no one really won because it was time to go and already two of the four players gave up. Directly after that, I lead a bible study for the youth. They’re the age of my nephew and so funny to watch. Currently, we’re studying the sermon on the mount. Such a wonderful group! I truly enjoy hanging out with them! After that is prayer time with those at the lunch bible study, and then I head off to another apartment complex to help with the Children’s bible study (which happened to be over Esther tonight and I LOVE that story!!!!!!!!) By the time this is all over it’s at least 8 PM and I’m exhausted. But you know, i think I look forward to Wednesdays a lot because I am able to pour out to so many people!!
Prayer Requests!!!
- always pray that I would be a willing vessel for Yeshua to use! I want so much for these many people that i see daily to know Him as their Savior!
- Guidance when it comes to ESL- I want it to be a gateway to teach the gospel to them! Today we talked about families, and i really think it helped to open the doors for that relationship to be built!
- And pray for the people in these three apartment complexes that I’m ministering in, that the Gospel would be shared and that seeds would grow to bear fruit. I love each complex deeply!
Anyways, tha’s all for now. I think I’m gonna go crash and possibly sleep :)
blessings to you all!