Days are literally flying by and I'm finding myself only 21 days away from boarding that plane on my way to the most beautiful city in the world, Tokyo, Japan. It's been a crazy journey this year as God has been preparing me for this summer as well as satan has been persistently attacking. For a long time, I let satan attack and attack and I didn't fight back. I found myself very depressed at times and very spiritually unhealthy. I wasn't having a quiet time, and I rarely prayed. I realized that I had put up a wall between me and my savior. I also just put on a "christian" mask. I acted like everything was just peachy, but inside I was hurting. What hurt the most was that I knew I was so far away from God yet I did nothing about it. I just kept letting the world and satan persuade me. It took a very open and honest talk with my accountability partner to wake me up. She saw past my charade and she loved me enough to tell me the truth. Even though it hurt and it was embarrassing to tell her everything i was struggling with, it was the thing i needed to get back on track. I realized that I have to be translucent about my life so that I can be a godly leader. She started to hold me accountable with my actions and thoughts, and she made sure that I was having my hang-out time with God that I so desperately needed. God was very evident in my life at this time. I would stay up late at night and talk to him and get into my Bible. He showed me that he had always been there for me just waiting for me to get my life back on track.
Satan's attacks are constantly a struggle. But God is pulling me out of the deep pit that I dug trying to run away from him and to the world. I tried to run to what made me feel better and find out that worldly things only please you for such a short time. The everlasting love and joy only comes from your relationship with Christ. And just like the Lifehouse skit that we did last Sunday at church, we have to fight against the worldly struggles that easily bring us down. We have to charge that mountain and begin that long, upward climb to meet Jesus.
Our Heavenly Father has been so gracious this year with my finances as well as my family's. My whole family is going on a mission trip this summer as well and the cost for both our trips together is ALOT of money. God has been so incredibly generous it's just overwhelming. In the beginning when I first started to fundraise I didn't think I was going to get it all. I was stressing out and getting anxious as my deadlines were coming up. Then I realized that that God was going to provide for me if I would just trust in him and stop stressing. So, I gave it up to him and within weeks everything just came together so quickly. It was very eye-opening that God handles everything and he is in control. All we have to do is trust him.
PLEASE keep praying as God prepares me for a crazy summer in Japan. Pray that I will gain humility and I won't let my leadership role get to my head.
I don't know why God chose me to be used in Tokyo, but I'm sooo thankful that he did. He has given me such a strong love and passion for the beautiful people of Japan. My heart aches because of satan's grip on the country and the darkness that has enveloped it. Although God's ancient work is very evident in some of Tokyo, But there is just so much lostness just waiting to be rescued. Walking down the streets in Tokyo, you can just see the sadness in Japanese faces. They so long for the everlasting joy that that only god can bring them, they just don't know where to find it.
I know that God has some amazing plans for the city. His plans are marvelous and I'm so excited to see what he has in store. Every time that I think about Tokyo I sing this song in my head : "For greater things have yet to come, and greater things have still to be done in this city..." God has some HUGE plans, I can just feel it.
Please pray for my fellow interns. The college interns are already spreading the story of Christ in Japan as we speak. Just lift them up in your prayers and pray that as a team we can all come together and unite. Unity is vital. We have to have a strong foundation that satan will never penetrate.
One of my favorite Bible characters is Paul. In Philippians it tells about how Paul literally suffered for Christ. He was beaten countlessly and thrown into jail for speaking about his savior. But NOTHING ever stopped him. He never got scared and ran away. He came so close to death so many times, but God mercifully saved him. God had a big purpose for Paul's life. He had big plans to use Paul for his glory. Paul totally understood this. He writes "to live is Christ and to die is gain." (Philippians 1:21) He took every single opportunity to spread God's word because he understood that God was using him to bring himself glory. I think that Paul's story should be an inspiration to our JSI team. Actually it should also be an inspiration to everyone. We should constantly be reaching out to lost people and telling them the story of the one true God. Let's face it: How much do you really have to HATE a person to not tell them about Christ? Why are we so afraid of rejection? Why can't we just get past our fears and do what Paul did. If we would just humble ourselves and allow God to work in us, he will radically use us to bring him the glory he so deserves. For the bottom line of my existence is to BRING GOD GLORY!
Until next time, thanks for reading!
