Hey Friends & Family!
I have survived World Race training camp! These three weeks have been full of the joy of the Lord and the testing of my faith! I have learned so much about God and how He loves us- HE IS SO GOOD!
I cannot claim to fully understand the depths of God’s love because it is truly unfathomable, but more and more of it has been revealed to me over the past few weeks. The joy of my salvation has been consistently restored, and even in the most spiritually dry and exhausting moments, the ever-present love of God has rested in my soul.
Prior to the Wo
rld Race and even during the first week of training camp, the pressure to be a perfect missionary girl was almost suffocating. I was plagued with comparison and was constantly measuring my words and actions to a standard of perfectionin unhealthy way. I felt entirely unworthy of the opportunities I had been blessed with, but quickly the pridefulness of my beliefs about my purpose and identity was revealed.
1) There is no way I can be worthy of my salvation so believing I am unworthy is to say there is something I ca
n do to earn God’s grace (THERE ISN’T).
2) My identity is in who Jesus says I am- a daughter of the King- not in what I do.
3) As servants of God and missionaries, we are only a part of God’s plan for reaching the nations not THE plan.
God is far more jealous for the hearts of the lost than we are and God has been after every nation, every tribe, and every tongue since the beginning. Isaiah 66:18-20 says that “And I, because of what they have planned and done, am about to come and gather the people of all nations and languages, and they will come and see my glory. I will set a sign among them, and I will send some of those who survive to the nations—to Tarshish, to the Libyans and Lydians (famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece, and to the distant islands that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory among the nations. And they will bring all your people, from all the nations, to my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the Lord—on horses, in chariots and wagons, and on mules and camels.” Isaiah prophesied that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ would be the salvation plan for EVERY nation and we get to partner in that plan.
God used imperfect people and even disobedient people to do His will. Abraham became impatient waiting on God’s promise and took matters in his own hands and God still made him a father of nations. David, despite his adultery, was allowed to be in the lineage of Jesus. Jonah was outright disobedient, and God still saved the sinful city of Nineveh. God is not just sending us to the nations; He is going with us into the nations who are hungry for the gracious love of God. There is so much comfort from knowing that God has taken the salvation of His people upon himself and he is only asking me to partner with him. How cool is that?!
Updates
Monday morning we leave for Black Mountain, NC for a week of domestic ministry! We will be providing manual labor for Excel College, loving the kiddos at the local orphanage, and helping out a boys camp! I am so excited to finally be on the field loving and serving and in just two weeks we will be launching to Guatemala! Please be praying for safe travels and for our domestic mission to be glorifying to God! Also, sickness is still lingering over my team, so please continue to pray for them to be restored to health! Thank you so much for your love support and prayers!
Grace & Peace,
Maggie Claire Richardson
“The Lord bless you and keep you;The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace” Numbers 6:24-26
