Falling Down and Facing Grace...

At the beginning of last week, four eager college interns arrived in the Czech Republic to spend three to six weeks working with our team. This was a comfort to me as at the end of last week we said to good-bye to short-term, but soon-to-be career, missionary Jen. It was sad for her to leave but we all know that God is already working out the details for her return. The interns are four really solid and passionate girls who are so excited to be serving the Lord here and extremely willing to do whatever needs to be done. I know that God has huge plans for them here and for their personal lives. I am looking forward to getting to know them better and working with them while they are here.

Emily, Alex, Brittany, and Katie

The week has been super busy with activities, ministries, and orientation sessions filling up our days. Though the girls brought a positive energy and excitement to the team, I have personally struggled with the strength and the motivation just to get through each day. My prayers since I first arrived in March have continually been for God to grow me, stretch me, and use me in any way possible during my time here. I did not want to let this opportunity go by without doing all I can for the work of the Lord to see His Glory revealed. And as God is always faithful He has answered these prayers and begun working in my heart and my life. Unfortunately, this means that on several occasions I have fallen flat on my face in complete and utter failure. No one likes to fail, and especially a competitive person such as myself. I like to do things in the best possible way and I like to succeed at what I do. However, I don't always live up to my own expectations. These are prime opportunities for the devil to slip in and whisper doubt in our ears and cause us to slip further away. As much I wanted to fight against this, it was easier to give in. And we all know that many times the easier road is the one most traveled. As much as I strive to be the best, I can never reach that accolade because partly my focus is on the wrong goal. It is not my goal to please people, to please the team or the workers around me necessarily. This ministry is not about me and the work that I do here. It is about God and the people here getting the chance to hear about His saving grace. God is certainly testing me and though I fall, He has never left me and continues to pick me up every day. I am so thankful for a Sovereign God that understands when we don't reach the bar and shows us grace at our most undeserving moments. After a group devotion this morning, I was reminded that pleasing God will in turn please those around us who are working towards the same goal. As it has been most famously spoken, "He must increase, but I must decrease."

"I want to hid in You
The Way, the Life, the Truth
So I can disappear
And love is all there is to see
Coming out of me
And You become clear
As I disappear."

-Bebo Norman