And..., we made it.
Three days ago my team arrived in Jerusalem and it's so sweet to be back. This is the most times I've ever come back to a place and I feel really blessed to be back here again and soak it all in. This is my third time here and it feels like I've come back home. There was such a sense of freedom and release as we walked in our hotel (and maybe that's because my team is no longer a team and we're back together as a whole school so my responsibilities aren't the same...) and... I seriously just can't explain the joy I have right now.
We had team presentations yesterday and it was crazy to hear stories of healing (seriously crazy healings. blind and mutes seeing and speaking.) and of revival and hearing about what God is doing all over the world. God is big. So, so big. I've been reminded of how stellar my outreach team was and I feel like a proud parent or something because I look at them and what God has been teaching them and the revelations of his love and calling and destiny that they've gotten and am so stoked about what is going to happen in their lives.
We wrapped up our outreach in Cambodia on 12 July and walked away knowing what the verse that says in our weakness is when he is strong means as well as in Philippians 4:12-13 where it says, I've learned the secret to being content and I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. That was one of the hardest times of my life and one of the best times of my life. I basically spent the entire time in Cambodia not sleeping and would long for the sun to come up so I could get out of bed. I was up hours before anyone else on the team but I wouldn't trade that for anything because the time I spent with the Lord was so, so sweet. He was so present and so real and even in the midst of the spiritual battle that was going on, he was walking beside me every step of the way and breaking me of my independence and teaching me to rely on him.
From there we headed to Pattaya, Thailand and were faced on our first day with the reality of the sex trade and what life is like for thousands of women living in that city. There are literally bars everywhere you walk, western tourists everywhere, and and overwhelming sense of darkness everywhere. Our hearts were broken for these women as we went into bars and talked with them and saw people just like us trying to provide for the families. A lot of the women come from the villages of northern Thailand thinking they'll be able to earn lots of money for their families and provide for kids, parents, and grandparents. Most of them never get the life they're seeking after though and get left used and abused my loads of men.
God really gave us a heart for individuals here and seeing people the way he sees them as unique and individual and as people who have a name and a story and aren't just another person we meet but truly a child of the Most High King. That's a cool revelation to have but what sucked is when he told us to have that same heart for the men we saw there and the lesson we learned was to not just limit God to always sending YOU to someone but also sharing life with the people he sent TO you. Our girls had a couple opportunities to talk with the guys who were there for the "normal reasons" and had their hearts broken and their eyes open to the hopelessness of the world. Again.
I'd say the story of our outreach is a sense of continual brokenness, a continual pouring out, a continual lesson in dying to self.
It was awesome. Not something I'd trade for the whole world.
You guys!!!! Please acknowledge/know/remember/trust that God is good. Despite our circumstances, despite what other people might say, God is mighty to save and the same power that raised Christ from the dead is living inside each of us.
The world is big, sin is big, there's a lot of darkness in the world (and I know at least for a few of you guys, life seems quite dark right now) but God is BIGGER than the darkness and the book of Psalms says that to him, there is no darkness for darkness is as light to him. On outreach we learned to see the light in the midst of the darkness and to focus on the light instead of the dark because the light will always be brighter. It's easy to get overwhelmed by the darkness around us but we need to seek the light, reflect the light, and shine brighter than the stars.
God works for the good of those who LOVE HIM. Dream big. Love hard.
Grace and peace to you guys.
with love from jerusalem,
-kim
things to pray for: a good time of debrief/processing for the school. my team as they go home and back to "the real world". traveling mercies as i make my way back to the states. direction for what's next.
ps: i keep getting asked when i'm coming home. right now it's looking like 2 october. between now and then i'll be in switzerland and the uk so let me know if you guys are free (or to my fellow americans, if you're in those places... look me up.) love you guys!
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