This week was the first time my squad got to do ministry, and it was an amazing time.
We were staying at a Native American base near Macon, Mississippi. The history there was so interesting, and I wish I would have spent more time asking about it. I did learn a little bit though. Native Americans are very loyal to their history and family, it’s very admirable. A lot of them will stay in the same town their family line is from, especially if they have family that is still alive there. We got to visit a cemetery that is just dedicated to the Choctaw tribe and the families of the chiefs. It was a small and seemingly “sacred” ground. There was a sense of family surrounding the place, which was really interesting.
For ministry, my squad was split up into two different groups. The other group went to a church about an hour away to help with restoring damage from a flood. My group helped a local church with a few different things. We had some people restoring broken windows, cleaning out a closet, adding new tiles to a bathroom, renovating a trailer that will turn into a youth ministry area (tearing down a wall and moldy ceiling panels putting up new drywall), and then repainting the nursery, the pastor’s office, and the outside of the trailer. I personally helped with tearing down the inside of the trailer and then painting the office.
We split up the work at this church over two days, and the first day was when I got to do all of the manual labor in the trailer. I felt like I had a sense of purpose and that I was actually doing something to help when I was doing that. However, a lot of the second day I spent putting painters tape on bookshelves. This seemed like a huge shift, and it was easy to give into the thought of “this is pointless”. One of the things that I have been really looking forward to is physically helping people in need while on the field. I can’t wait to do the labor for them that they can’t do by themselves. So, I felt great when I was moving heavy stuff, tearing down a wall, and pulling down moldy ceiling, but I felt useless and wanted to feel annoyed when I was “just taping shelves.” Thankfully, I was reminded that it doesn’t matter what task I’m doing as long as I’m doing it as a worship unto the Lord. And honestly, I spent more time praying when I was putting down tape than when I was doing something that in my eyes was more helpful and “ministry-like.” God also helped me remember that I was helping the team that was going to be painting the next day, so I wasn’t doing something that was pointless and was of no help.
So, I didn’t have this crazy encounter with the Lord this week, but that’s okay. He still showed me something, and I was able to worship Him through my services. I also had some great times with Him during my personal bible time I finished Romans and started 1 Corinthians this week, and here are some of the verses that stood out the most:
• “and he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand”- Rom 14:4
• “so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s”- Rom 14:8
• “(our Lord Jesus Christ,) who will sustain you to the end”- 1 Cor 1:8
• I liked this one especially because we are eternal, and therefore there is no end to Him sustaining us
• “for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body”- 1 Cor 6:20
My squad also got to spend a lot of time in prayer towards the end of the week. One of the other squads was doing their domestic ministry in North Carolina, and the house they were in got hit by a mudslide due to the hurricane. Thankfully, due to God’s protection, everyone made it out and only one girl got injured. However, a lot of them ended up losing almost everything except for the clothes on their back, including passports, their gear, and clothing. My squad spent hours one day just covering them in prayer, and I think it showed us how praying can draw us together, but also how much power there is in prayer. Within about 24 hours of asking for support, they raised $30,000 that will go towards replacing all that had been lost. The Lord was really working and providing (per usual).
Anyways, that’s all I really have from this week. I do have some prayer requests though:
• the people of Macon, Mississippi- that area has a lot of people who are looking for jobs, but there aren’t many job opportunities available. So if you could pray that the Lord would provide them with way to make money so that they can continue to support their families
• K squad- this group of people just went through something that was probably really traumatic for a lot of them, so pray for peace and that they would all continue to draw close to the Lord though the hard and scary times. Also, that the process of replacing everything would be smooth and fast
• my squad launches in a week for Malaysia, so prayers for nerves, smooth travels, and lost of rest and refreshment before going into ministry
Thanks for reading and continue to support me through prayer! I really appreciate it. If you feel a pull to help me raise the last 14% I need, you can click this link and it’ll send you to my fundraising page.
Love you guys so much!
~Gabi
