Sitting down to write a blog is one of the hardest things to
get started on. I know that if I get started and I hear the tapping of the keys
I won’t want to stop. It will become just another rambling of what has been
going on- which I do want to share with you what is going on. I also want
purpose. I want to have some big truth or experience God has allowed in my
life. When there is so much going on it is hard to sit down and write about
these things. But I promise to be disciplined in this post and do my best to
share with you all the necessary details and leave the unnecessary out. I
cannot even believe that it has been a month since I last wrote on my blog.
Like I said I always have good intentions of sharing what’s going on. That is
where Facebook comes in handy on the fly quick photo updates- a small window
into what my day looks like. Or the best highlight. Seems like I have been
running in circles trying to complete the same handful of tasks and missing out
on sharing what God is doing in my own life. My dad sent me an email last night
giving me a gentle nudge to write a blog and still I felt so reluctant. What is
my problem? J
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| Laughter is the best medicine. "Secca" meaning laugh |
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| Sandra, my partner in crime, and I starting to dig holes for the mud hut we are building. |
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| This is the original home that is about to cave in on the inside- we are rebuilding a new one. The owners of this home are elderly and we are working alongside the community members to rebuild and empower the community. |
This week has been challenging but our team has found unity through some mild challenges that we have been facing. Ministry is a funny thing: If used for the right reasons with the right heart it can encourage you and help grow your relationship with God but if not it can eat you up alive if you are not careful.
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| Sweet and sassy Joshua. This boy has my heart. <3 |
Last Saturday we dropped Porsche off at the airport and I
said goodbye for a couple of weeks to one of my biggest encouragers here on
ground. I knew with her leaving the devil was going to use everything he could
to distract me and think I had a bad week. But looking back I can honestly say
this week was a good week.
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| Betty and her brother Innocent in Zirobwe village. |
All of “my” kids are now going to good school and becoming
educated in places where they will be challenged but also have opportunities to
be bold in their faith. It is always hard for me to say goodbye to them, but I
know they are going to have incredible opportunities because of the education
they are getting. I feel like they are all spread out all over the country. In
every different direction so it Is not even like I can catch up with them on a
regular basis I have to wait for their specific visiting day and make sure that
I am within the right time limits and bring them gifts and things that are
within the guidelines the boarding school has set. Most kids in Secondary
schools go to a boarding school so they can have a more focused education.
I have said this multiple times without the realization of
how true it is. The Lord has blessed me with such a tender heart towards
children and has given me a motherly love. Many times these kids will tell me
that I am practically like their mom because I challenge them and encourage
them in ways that their own mother never would. It is a blessing and a curse. I
have so much more respect for my own mother now and know what it feels like to
be “the bad guy”
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| Empowered Leaders Academy (our school in the village) enjoying some praise and worship on Wednesday afternoon. |
This week we went through Psalm 136 and read about all of
the challenges that Moses went through- good and bad- and how God everlasting
steadfast love remained constant. Steadfast. It is the word that keeps coming
up in our family dynamic in Uganda and in Port Orchard. We got to put this
steadfast love into action this week by doing dishes, cooking, and fetching
water for one of the women in the village who was sick with malaria. Little did
we know that was what God had intended for our team.
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| Sandra and I cooking a matooke. They may look like bananas, but they are most definitely not. They leave a sticky residue on your hands and you have to scrub them with a grocery bag and soap. Learning how to cook like a Ugandan everyday. |
Last week we had a young pastor’s daughter accept Christ
into her life after listening to a message about hope from our team. What a
cool experience it was to be a part of that follow-up and tell her parents
about the decision she had made to surrender her life to Christ.
These are just a few of the highlights from the week. If I
were to write them all they would exceed the word limit on this blog and you
would be exhausted emotionally and mentally….I know I am just trying to think
of them.
I know I have said this before but being here full time has
its challenges. In my job here- I am constantly learning new things about the
culture and I am mediating the in between for both sides of volunteers and
staff. I am not alone in this. But sometimes I can feel completely alone here.
How weird is that?
I have been reading the book ‘The Best Yes’ by Lysa T. and
she says, “A woman who lives with the
stress of an overwhelmed schedule will often ache with the sadness of an
underwhelmed soul”
I love the truth in this.
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| Primary school New Brainstorm listening to one of the inter-
national staff sharing about faith and life and how it applies to their lives.
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Sometimes I really struggle with the ability to say No! to
the tasks that are at hand and it always results in feeling like I am
completely overwhelmed in my scheduling. I don’t have time to go to a program I
used to go to or I am fighting with every deadline. I want to give every yes my
best and follow through. I also want to be seeking God wholeheartedly with him
at the focus and spend my days in worship rather than stress. Having an
overwhelmed schedule almost always leads to burnout.
Burnout; what is it? Where
does it come from?
Often
times for me it comes when I am irritable, when I have a lack of enthusiasm, loss
of confidence, feeling of mistreatment, and just no energy.
How do you avoid burnout in
ministry and how does scripture help?
1. Completely
depend on God: Our
dependency on God is fully up to our responsibility. We need to be seeking him
first in all situations. In every season. We can’t find contentment in anything
by ourselves- they come from God alone.
Hebrews
13:5-6 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you
have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can
confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to
me?”
2. Learn to say
no: Sometimes you need to say no. You
cannot give yourself to every project, every after school activity, and every
small group. It is absolutely impossible to accomplish. Don’t even try. God can
use us best when we are giving all of ourselves to fewer things.
Psalm 34:17-20 When the righteous cry for
help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their
troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves
the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones; not
one of them is broken.
3. Exercise,
eat right, and get some sleep: I seriously
think people do not understand the simple importance of these three areas. If
you can get these under control you will be smooth sailing. You won’t need that
Venti vanilla Chai tea latte (You have no idea how good that sounds
right now) to get your day going. With the right balance your body will release
natural endorphins to make you a happier person. If you know me well enough-
you know that I need all three of these things.
1
Corinthians 3:16-17 Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's
Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him.
For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.
4. Balance work
and your personal life: You need to
find areas outside of work (Especially if you are involved in ministry) to have
fellowship. To connect with people and just act like a normal person. Cultivate
and have deep intentional relationships with people in and out of work. If your
work friends are your ministry friends- find a way to separate your
conversation. Set up strict guardrails to protect you from getting into a
routine of only work. It is so much easier said than done.
James
1:12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has
stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to
those who love him.
5. Create time
to get away: Spend time and money on yourself
every once in a while. Take time to be refreshed and do spend time with your
family. Be intentional with this time and use it to rededicate specific areas
of your life in prayer. Search scripture for the things that are overwhelming
you and spend time in complete silence and wait for the Lord.
Matthew
6:6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your
Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
6. Have fun: It is so important to remember to keep Christ
the center of every activity. Ministry is fun. Really fun.
James
4:14 Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you
are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.
These are just a few important
tips to help keep from burning out and if you are not careful you will get
burned. Find ways to be used by God, even when you are tired. Even when it
feels like you are not useful God can still take an un-extraordinary person and
do something extraordinary with them. He
sure has with me.
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| My partners in crime from left to right: Kelly, me, Lydia, Jeremy, and Robbie |
