Our director Matt talked with the adults Wednesday night and Sunday morning while Sarah, Rachel, and I worked with the children. We talked about John 21:15-25, where Jesus tells Peter to follow him. Growing up, all I usually got from this was that Jesus wanted Peter to build and care for the church. Matt focused more on verse 21 and 22, which I don't think most people do. After the whole mess of Peter betraying Jesus three times, then Peter being offended Jesus asked him so many times if he loved him, AND Jesus is speaking to Peter AFTER he rose from the dead, Peter wants to make sure things are fair and is concerned about what John is going to have to go through. Why do we care so much about other people's mission? We may be burdened with a much more difficult calling than others, but it's not going to help matters if we're constantly comparing circumstances or judging others. God tells us to be obedient.
Thursday we had a social/cocktail-type party at a restaurant owned by one of the church members. While we mingled I got to know two people. One lady I talked to had been married to her husband 54 years when he died last September. They dated through high school and college and then both became teachers, driving to and from work together every day of their lives. She said she's only been able to talk about it the last couple months. As you can imagine, she could really use a prayer when you have a moment. Then I met a man who should not have been standing there talking to me. A couple years ago he got sepsis which caused all of these other problems. He had seizures; he had strokes; he had open heart surgery; he had toes amputated; you name it. Doctors told him there was nothing more they could do; it was over. He said the most comforting thing through the ordeal was knowing all the people, all over praying for him. When it gets that bad, you know God's the only reason he can stand and talk to me. The cool thing is he's a chaplain in an Intensive Care Unit. He says he wouldn't trade the experience away because now when people tell him, "you don't understand," he can say, "but I do." It's so amazing when you get to see how God uses the heartaches in your life for His glory. I love so SO much that these two opened up to me, a complete stranger, because I got to see another glimpse of MY God in action. When you get a chance, also praise God for what He's done in this man's life!
After some mingling Matt spoke on malaria. The point of the evening was to raise awareness and funds on bed nets, something I'll be passing out to families in Uganda in November. What I love about SafeWorldNexus is we'll be going about things differently than I would ever go about them. I would think we need to get as many nets as we can, just drop them from planes. The project is to end malaria, so that's the fastest way to do it right? No.... It turns out the culture in Uganda (um... a lot of the world) is very different from here. What happens when organizations do mass distributions is people will use the nets for fishing or even wedding gowns. At SafeWorld we get to go door to door and hand deliver mosquito nets. We're invited into the homes of families. There's no quota or time limit. We can get to know people. The village chiefs now know SafeWorld and respect Matt, so they come along! Having your own village chief tell you the importance of the net makes all the difference. Then we take a picture of the family and mark their GPS coordinates. If you donate a family's net ( just $10 ), you will eventually receive this information. Then, if you ever go on a trip with us, you just tell Matt you'd like to meet your family and he'll take you there. I am so blessed to be working for an organization that reminds me people>projects.
Jesus didn't tell Peter, "then go feed as many sheep as you can." He just said to feed HIS sheep. I am so thankful for the tangible experience I'm gaining in organizing events and communication, however the most valuable thing I'm getting from this internship is (it's corny, but...) the reshaping of my mind. If you would like to donate a net to a family go here. Then select "Net:Worth" in the dropdown menu. Maybe I'll get to meet your family in a couple months!
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is- his good, pleasing and perfect will.
-Romans 12:2
sweet. I love hearing your viewpoint of the experiences you're having as an intern.
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