This may be the last time I get to talk to you... Short I know. BUT! I thank all of you for allowing me to have this experience.
Bible verse is first today and it comes from Psalm 18
Psalm 18: 2
"The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold."
God has been good and has provided me with many things this week including: Guidance, Wisdom, Healing, and Love.
STORY:
Yesterday we visited the house of Chris. Chris is one of our Ghanaian teaching partners. while we were there he served us with lunch. Lunch of course was a doughy ball of banku and a half a fish staring at me. It was the best I've ever had. We had it with a bean soup that tasted like lasagna.
Later, Christ handed out gifts and we relaxed for a while. Here's what makes the story valid. I snuck out back and sat on a plastic lawn chair and thought a while. The scene was beautiful! There was a breeze, the area we were at had minimal litter, and there were amazing clouds guilded with palm leaves. That's when God opened my mind and said... "Travis, this isn't for you. You are called to be a revolutionary, and that is in Utah. You are called to have revolutionary love! That can happen in Utah." I realized that, Sure, This place is beautiful but it doesn't suit me. I thought, "Where can I help most?" and it's right where God had me.
Utah is my Ireland.
If you know the story of Saint Patrick, He was taken to Ireland as a child and raised among a Multi-diety culture and eventually ran away. After studying for quite some time he went back to the people of ireland and you probably know most of the three leaf clover story.
I feel that I've been captive in my mission field the whole time but God has used this mission to teach me and then retourn me to that place.
Many people here have thier African name and their Christian name. My english name is Travis and my new christian name is Patrick (Seeing as Patrick is not in the bible it's not legitimate but it's good enough for me)
God has given me a gift today and it is the gift of being tounge tied. I want to say many deep and profound things to show off how much I'm learning and doing in Africa but I'm befuddled. I know that I've learned these things, and I know that I'm falling deeper in love with God every day, so I'll just let you see the difference in my life when I get back.
I want to say one last thing before I go.
Teaching these children has been one of the most difficult and testing things that I've ever done mentally and nearly as much physically (heat, dehydration, sickness). Many of our classes ages range from 14-21 and I'm supposed keep their attention and keep them involved in the lesson.
I ask God "Lord, how am I making a difference in these kids lives? Am I really helping them to build good character? Have any of them truly given their lives to Jesus and to You?" and he answered me through Cheryll (our american team leader). I tossed some of these questions her way and she pretty much told me... "Well Travis, you never know, but you have to do what your called to do!" Cheryll has been a teacher/bus driver for nearly 30 years, and she told me that you can never truly know if you've made a difference but you leave that to God and just DO what he asks you to DO.
Frustrating, but an area that I'm giving to The Lord.
Ok, Thanks for following me and my journey to Africa. I will try to post again before I come home and maybe once when I'm there for the hind sight aspect but till then, only God knows.
May God grant you a vision for the future, and may you be wise enough to follow it.
Amen
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
hey, travis, vince wallace here. marian wallace's son. am in GA right now, and mom showed me your blog. so good to hear your story, and see how God is working in your life and the lives of others there. yes, it is very true you may never know what kind of impact you have on those around you, but make no mistake that you do have a profound impact on them. i used to teach high school. 10 years after i quit, a former student found me via myspace and said " i don't know if you ever knew this, but the only reason i stayed in school was because of the way you taught. you were the reason i didn't drop out." WOW! we never know what one little thing we do or say offhandedly will affect someone else's life forever. now you mentioned revolutionary love. Listen to what I just wrote today: "God is calling us, his body, his kingdom, his priesthood, his people, to repentance. He is calling us to restoration. He is calling us to Unity. He is calling us to rise above the status quo of our human way of living to a revolution of Love." Do you think God is doing something? Oh, yes!
Blessings to you man as you seek His face.
Hey Travis,
buddy, wow, youve really been doing some growing up- I cant believe everything youre writing and experiencing in far away Africa! You sound just like a man after god`s own heart, its amazing! I can still remember the kid youve been when I stayed with you 01/02. You were great, but so much younger and I think less focused. So its sooo cool to see how God has taught you so much in these last years..
And it is like you are saying: It can help so much to step out of the comfort zone, to go away from home, just to find out that this is the exact place where one is meant to be after all. I do believe that you, your faith, God through you, can make a huge difference in Utah. This State, as any other state but this one especially, just needs people who know what they believe, why they believe and who it is they believe in. And who let Jesus act through them, so they dont preach at people, but show them Gods amazing love. You go for it, little brother!
Have very special last days and a save trip home to the States! And enjoy the days you get to stay with Gisele. Make sure to give her some hugs from me as well, oh and check out Andrew for me ;-) I bet hes as great as Gisele says he is, so you for sure will have a good time. Well, I hope to talk to you again some time and visiting you guys again in the not so very far away future is on my list of things I want to do.
But until then, may Christ guard you and keep you save and sound in spirit, body and soul.
Much love to you,
your German sis` Hannah
Post a Comment