For the past couple of months, I’ve been asking the Lord to give me a passion to share the Gospel with those who are lost. Though I grew up in the church I never felt like I had sufficient training in the Word of God to share with those who knew nothing about the Bible. I always told myself that I didn’t have the gift of evangelism so therefore I never had to share with others about Jesus. Silly, I know. Yet I feel like many in the church feel that exact way. We may not be gifted evangelists like Billy Graham or Greg Laurie but we all have the responsibility of sharing our faith with those around us. We’ve been called ambassadors for the Lord. People who He has given the responsibility to tell others about Him but many times we don’t live life in that way. In my life, I was saying that my fear of sharing my faith, the uncertainty of not knowing the answers, was more important than the soul of a person. How completely selfish I was and at times still am.

The crazy part is that once I started to pray that the Lord would give me people to share the Gospel with, He did! Not only did He place specific people at specific times in my life, He also opened the doors for me to work at Voice of Refugees. I went from being too scared to share the Gospel, to trying to incorporate the Gospel in every Bible lesson that I gave to Muslim children. How good is our God! I’ve learned a couple of things this summer that I would like to share with you.

1. 1. God does not call us to the easy things. Every day it was a battle to go teach. I had some difficult students that literally kept me praying every second I was with them. Yet because they were so misbehaved, I developed a sweet relationship with their mothers that wouldn’t have developed if I didn’t have them constantly in my classroom. I also learned firsthand that God is with me in the difficult times, guiding my every step.
   2. God equips us for the work that He has called us to.  Every college class I took, every Sunday school class I’ve taught, every VBS I participated in, etc was all for a reason and a purpose. To equip me for this summer and for the many adventures that are to come. Nothing is in vain. The Lord wastes nothing.
   3. Prayer changes things. Teaching this summer led me to a point where I didn’t think I was going to make it through the day. In every moment that I was overwhelmed, I took it to the Lord. It was in those moments of taking it all to the Lord that He granted me peace and grace. I prayed for the Bible lessons to be received well and they were. I prayed that the kids would learn how to pray and they did. I even had a Muslim child volunteer to pray for the snack!!
   4. I need to be willing to be used. I could have said no to this opportunity. I knew it was going to be a challenge and that it was all going to be new to me. Yet, I asked the Lord to use me in any way that He wanted. I was willing and because I stepped out and said ‘Here am I, Send me’ the Lord used me. He wasn’t going to force me to do anything but in walking through the doors that He so wonderfully opened, I was extremely blessed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Apart from working with the kids, I was also able to develop amazing relationships with some of the mothers. I had a goal to speak to the parents as much as I could, in order to build relationships with them. I loved on every mother that walked through my classroom door. The relationships I built with the mothers was one of my favorite parts! I spent a day at the beach with them, which was an amazing time. I was also able to spend an afternoon with them at a park. I even had one lady remove her hijab (head covering) to show me her hair. That moment was HUGE and I was blown away!  These women, are seeking for family and friendship. I was told over and over again that they feel like they are all alone and they simply want someone to talk to. The Lord loves these women so much and I pray that one day they will run towards Jesus and away from Islam.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the second to last day, I shared with the kids about Jesus and what He did for us in order to take away our sins. I didn’t know how my Muslim students were going to take it or if they were even going to listen but as I spoke, each child listened and I pray that seeds were planted. I continually pray that the Lord would place more Christians in their lives who would continue to water the seeds that were planted. I pray that each and every student in my class would become a Warrior for the Lord!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I learned so much this summer and I stand in awe of God’s goodness and faithfulness through it all! Stay tuned for next month’s newsletter as there is going to be some BIG exciting news shared!

God Bless You!

If you would like to volunteer at Voice of Refugees, please let me know. The missions field is in our backyard, it’s your turn to step out and reach the nations for His Glory.