Lent

"First, listen to your heart. It's there that Jesus speaks most intimately to you. Praying is first and foremost listening to Jesus, who dwells in the very depths of your heart. He doesn't shout. He doesn't thrust himself upon you. His voice is an unassuming voice, very nearly a whisper, the voice of a gentle lover. Whatever you do with your life, go on listening to the voice of Jesus in your heart. This listening must be an active and very attentive listening, for in our restless and noisy world God's so loving voice is easily drowned out. You need to set aside some time every day for this active listening to God, if only for ten minutes. Ten minutes each day for Jesus alone can bring a radical change in your life."

That is from the book I am reading for Lent, Show Me the Way by Henri Nouwen. I realize some of you may not be familiar with Lent. I grew up attending a Baptist church and we didn't celebrate Lent or follow the church calendar. In recent years though, I have come recognize the special emphasis occasions like Lent and Advent place on "holidays" like Christmas and Easter. They help me focus on the true meaning and prepare my heart during these special seasons. Lent is the 40 days before Easter and starts on Ash Wednesday, which this year was last Wednesday, February 22nd. There are a number of resources, devotionals, or Bible reading plans available (youversion.com has a popular and free one) that I would encourage you to check out.

"You'll find it isn't easy to to be still for ten minutes at a time. You'll discover straightaway that many other voices, voices that are very noisy and distracting, voices which do not come from God, demand your attention. But if you stick to your daily prayer time, then slowly but surely you'll come to hear the gentle voice of love and will long more and more listen to it."

A Time of Renewal

Praying Together

The first week of February I was blessed to be able to attend the annual Renewal Conference held by WorldVenture. This is time for missionaries currently back in the US and home office staff to come together. It is held at a hotel in the Denver area, which of course this time of year means winter weather. Thankfully my arrival went smoothly and in fact the first couple of days were beautiful and perfect for a quick walk around the building during breaks. The end of the week though we started to hear about the incoming blizzard arriving the day I had planned to leave. Thankfully, my flight was cancelled fairly early on and I was able to rebook for the following day without a problem.

So Renewal Conference starts with two days of prayer. I have mentioned before that this emphasis on prayer is one of the integral reasons I have chosen to serve with WorldVenture. For those that haven't participated in something like that, it might sound pretty boring. It's not! The time is completely open-ended but led by a man with a lot of experience doing this. Everyone is welcome to share favorite Bible verses, start a song that we can join in with, or pray aloud. As themes appear (ex. trusting in the Lord) the leader suggests we focus on that topic for awhile. It is amazing as the Lord softens your heart (lots of tears from lots of people that first day), the joy there is in praising Him continually for hours, and the prayers for encouragement right where you needed it.

For me there were two very special moments that occurred during the prayer summit. At one point it was recognized that there were two different groups in the room, one who had many years of experience serving as missionaries and others who were just starting out. So those less than 40 years old were asked to stand in the middle of the room and those above 40 stood around us and laid their hands on us and prayer aloud. Because they have walked this path before us their prayers were incredibly powerful and filled with wisdom of the joys and trials we have and will experience. The second special moment was chance to pray with Paul and Becky Geary, who lead the team of missionaries serving at Bethesda Hospital. We were able to bring very specific requests concerning the ministries and people of the hospital and nursing school to the Lord. Paul leaves this week to spend a couple of weeks in Indonesia and there are several issues currently happening. They plan to return this summer to serve at Bethesda with their youngest son, Karl, leaving three older kids here in the US.

Other special moments were the chance to spend some time with several of the "units" that were appointed at the same time. We went through interviews and two weeks of training together, so have become good friends. It is encouraging to spend time together as we walk similar journeys. One of the families has already left for Africa and we were blessed to send one off during the conference. She will be doing Bible translation in Asia. Another one hopes to leave the end of this month for Cambodia. Hopefully in the future the three of us, all single women and serving in Asia, will be able to enjoy some fellowship together on the other side of the world.

Following the days of prayer, we spent two days being updated on what is happening around the world, updates on missions, and what is happening at the home office in Colorado. The final morning was spent sharing testimonies, including several from the new Journey Corps program participants and Communion.

One of those sharing that final morning said, it was like a week spent with my peers, which really felt true to me as well. When one serves as a missionary you find yourself living between two cultures, in a role that many are not familiar with, and frequently speaking a language that many don't know. During this week it was not unusual to hear people praying and worshiping the Lord in many different languages and very knowledgeably discussing the best airports around the world. One evening we also had several of the experienced single women missionaries and several of us who are starting out sit together for dinner and had the chance to listen to their stories and wisdom. From the practical of how to politely refuse a marriage proposal from a national (telling them your father doesn't need goats, chickens or whatever and refusing to cook their favorite foods seem to have been favorites) to how to deal with those days when it is hard to be single and the importance of creating a home for yourself no matter where you are. Hearing their experiences was a blessing and incredibly valuable.     

It was a week full of tears and laughter and sometimes laughing until I cried. I returned feeling refreshed and renewed in this journey the Lord has me on.

Breakfast with several friends from my appointee group