It’s been two weeks in Birmingham now and every step has been one of faith. I’ve questioned the Lord and His plan for my life every day I have been here and each and every time He responds with confirmation that I am exactly where I need to be. For example, last week I was getting really nervous that I wouldn’t be able to find a part time job while I was here for 3 months before I left for Uganda. So I went out one day to look for jobs and the 2nd place I went to hired me on the spot, without any “in-restaurant” experience I might add, and with the knowledge that I would be leaving in three months for Africa for three months. It was as if the Lord put a silver platter right in front of my nose waiting for me to get a whiff of it.
Not only has God been providing answers to my many doubts and questions, but He has surrounded me with people who love me and that I’m able to love. I’ve had the opportunity to spend some quality time getting to know the staff of Sozo and we just had a retreat this past weekend for all of the summer interns who are going to Uganda. We went up to SIFAT (Servants in Faith and Technology) where they take the knowledge they have and the knowledge of leaders from third world countries and have conferences and seminars that teach these leaders to provide for their communities using very basic and easily accessible resources. For example, they teach them how to use clay that they live on to build an oven that they can cook with. It was really awesome to learn about the connections they are making with people across the world and see how they deeply care about this world and the nations of it. We spent a lot of time doing team building and leadership exercises. It was a great opportunity to see each aspect of our soon to be team and have the chance to bond with one another.
Besides that life is good. I'm trying desperately to stay in touch with my friends and students from back home in Wilmington as well as with my family. I miss them a lot, but trust that if the Lord wants us to meet again, we will. I've been blessed tremendously with an amazing family, friend group, and group of students that I can love on and I'm beyond thankful for them. I pray daily for them as they continue life without me and fully believe that the Lord is doing incredible works in their lives.
It's a little different right now because the Sozo staff is in North Carolina, ironically, for a dinner fundraiser in Winston Salem. I couldn't go because of my new job at Chili's, but this has given me a premium opportunity to be impacted by the Lord with the One Word He has given me for the year, stillness. I've been able to be still and truly hear the Lord speaking into me and my life. I hope and pray that I'm able to be truly impacted by this word as this year progresses and I'm thankful the Lord has already given me opportunities to practice it. Thank you Father.
I look forward to the coming month ahead of planning and preparation for our journey. We've been spending a lot of time getting things together, but as of right now we are working from the home of Suzanne who is one of the founders of Sozo. She is married with a daughter still in high school and it's starting to get a little tough for 8 to 10 people to be working out of her dining room with her family there as well. All that to say we are desperately looking for an office building so that is something we are praying about. We are actually looking in to moving into a former Bahama Breeze (restaurant) building. It's full of open deck space that would be perfect for concert venues and fundraisers as well as opening a coffee shop to raise funds for our homes. We are still praying through it and awaiting the Lord's provision for this area of Sozo. I hope this informed you all a little bit as to what is going on in Birmingham. Thank you for your prayers. I love you all.
No comments:
Post a Comment