Sweet Surrender

Türkiye was so sweet.

It started out with some hard things being exposed by the light, which turned into me receiving deliverance (in the bathroom in the basement of our hostel) from past lies the enemy had been using to tie me down. Three hours later my soul felt a freedom I’ve never experienced and I could feel the Holy Spirit’s peace alive in me!

My deliverance is a whole story (love to tell you all about it if you care to know, reach out) but I think the bottom line for me here is that you can only be loved as much as you are known. True deliverance takes your willingness to bring your heart before the Lord. To walk through vulnerability with people you trust in order to allow the Holy Spirit to walk you through inner healing. It’s an incredible feeling/experience that I encourage you all to ask God about.

Anyways, TÜRKIYE … I very much came in with a heavy heart and left with a heart filled with peace! It started with my deliverance with the Lord and continued as my squad went to our ministry locations.

My team was in Biga, Türkiye and ministry there was different. It wasn’t structured or packed with one thing after another which was not what I expected. I wanted to be told what to do and where to go by a ministry. I wanted to serve God with all my heart, and all the sudden I’m in this city that has one small (walk in closet sized) church with 13 members and no staff that actually live there. I was given no schedule or duties other than to help with church every week. It was kind of stressful because we’re there to serve and do ministry and yet we have no structure as to what that’s supposed to look like. So what do you do? Good question. I immediately asked God.

He faithfully answered and challenged me in surrendering my idea of what ministry should look like and gave me a rest in trusting that I can hear and listen to His voice and obey. That was my ministry, listening and obeying God’s plan for each day. So weekdays were dedicated to ATLing (ask the Lord) which is intentionally spending time asking the Lord what He wants us to do each day. Sometimes the Lord would ask us to go out and share His word and pray over people. Sometimes He would ask us to just spend the day ministering to Him. Sometimes it was spending time together as a team building and encouraging one another in our faith. Other times it was going out, making friends and personally sharing the gospel on a one on one basis, all the time the Lord would ask us to be willing and open!! God truly outdid Himself here! I saw Him move in the stillness and the rest, as well as the intentionality we devoted to really connecting to people to share the Good News.

In this we also partnered with a growing church. Here we were able to organize an English club that took place every week. Any and all people were welcomed here, really we were just there to talk with them. A lot of people don’t know English in Turkey but really desire to, so the English class was a good way to bring many different people into one safe space to just talk. After meeting the youth of the church, the Lord really put it on my heart to start a Discipleship class for them. A lot of them were very new believers that were seeking community and discipleship. With the church being very new they didn’t even have a pastor that lived in the area there to disciple them (something we lifted up in prayer a lot during our time) so my team kind of took on the responsibility of a shepherd for these kids, and it was cool to see the Lord move! The youth we’re so thirsty for the Word. It was so fun to gather around the table and answer all their questions! We talked about practical ways of developing our faith, strengthening our intimacy with the Lord, learning how to pray and how to share our faith with others. It was a beautiful time full of testimonies, teachings, and fellowship. At the end of our time one of the boys that was coming to both the English club and discipleship nights gave His whole life to Jesus!! It was incredible and I can’t stop celebrating and thanking God for His grace every time I think about it!!

We shared the Good News so much and let me tell you the harvest in Türkiye is ripe and so many young people are searching for Truth apart from the religion that the enemy has used to ensnare and trap people in lies! Many of the people we met with and intentionally shared the gospel with had been ministered to by the last World Race team that came, and many had questions and are so close to receiving His everlasting life forever. It’s just so incredible, the free gift we are given, and all we are asked to do is share and God does the rest. He softens the heart, and waters the seed. In the process He’s so merciful so gentle, kind, and loving. I’m in awe and completely blessed to be a part of planting seeds for the coming harvest!!

My team and I were blessed beyond measure in Türkiye! We were blessed by the people, by each other and by our ministry.

It was a time of practicing surrender and in that the Lord taught me to operate in a place of receiving His rest and peace! It changed my life and is still changing the way that I approach doing ministry with or without a schedule.

I’m walking in a whole new level of trust and abiding in and with the Lord! So thankful for my time in Türkiye, so beyond thankful for the ways the Lord showed up for me personally, for my team and for others we meet.

Ahhh the sweetness in true surrender, it’s truly beyond anything that can be explained, but thank the Lamb I get to experience it and live in it.

No striving … just abiding.