“Summer time, and the livin’ is easy” - George Gershwin’s lullaby definition of summer. Volunteer time – also not found in a dictionary, but how many Christians define summer when they can use their vacations and/or breaks from school to be on mission with their Father, some close to home and others in faraway places! Some career missionaries might add another definition to summer: Hard work! Having so many volunteers a comin’ and a goin’ does affect our schedules, but most of the time we are very thankful for the additional workers in the harvest field!
During recent devotions, two verses became “living and active” (Hebrews 4:12) in a new way in my life. The first verse is found in John’s definition of our testimony of our Savior – “Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart” (1 John 5:10). I thought of the volunteers who arrive thinking that testifying was the job of the preachers among them. One teen volunteer recently said, “Sharing my testimony openly was not in my comfort zone before, but I’m glad that I was forced to do it and want to do it lots more!”
I shared the second verse in the 2011 PRAYER NUDGES FROM EAST AFRICA this week: “When volunteers on mission with God arrive in East Africa they are often focused on what they will teach or share with those they meet on their journey. When it is time to leave they are more likely to remember…” For the completion of this Prayer Nudge and my second verse, you need to go to the blog 2011 PRAYER NUDGES FROM EAST AFRICA or find me on Facebook.
Today's photos are of Jessie (our youngest) and Amy (her friend) who have had their own volunteer adventures in Kenya this summer. For more personal looks at how God works in and through the lives of volunteers, I asked Jessie them to answer: What have you learned during your summer volunteer trip to Kenya?
JESSIE: There are a few things in life which you can always be certain of, one of which is that no matter how much you already know, you’ll always learn something new, be it about yourself, your world, the people around you, or your God. Life’s lessons are best learned when approached with an open mind and often the best of the lessons are learned when acted upon by blind faith.
AMY: Some times when we are outside of our comfort zones is when we receive the greatest blessings. “There’s always room for one more person” is not the most comfortable philosophy for someone who is claustrophobic, but even being in a packed school room with no way to move can be a blessing!
PLUS – Comments the headmaster shared with Jack of the effects of volunteers at his school for refugee kids from a country where few are Christians: Attendance has been almost perfect since Amy and Jessie came as volunteers. Normally this is a real problem as education is not valued, especially for the girls. Parents have come to see if what their kids say is true about the Americans being at their school. They praise the school for the exposure EVEN though it is a Christians emphasis.
Thank you once again for the many ways you support us, which does include coming/sending volunteers our way, supporting us and others through the Cooperative Program and Lottie Moon, and most importantly, through your prayer support! BERT
* * * Problem with link to 2011 Prayer Nudges from East Africa? Go to: : http://easternafrica2011prayernudges.blogspot.com/
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