First of all, I just want to say that Jeff usually writes our blogs and does a wonderful job. He is much better at writing than I am and enjoys keeping up with our blog. However, I (Tascha) have been feeling like God wants me to share how He is working in my life during this time of Homeland Ministry Assignment. While this time has sent me on a roller coaster of emotions, God is teaching me so much. Yes, there are many good days where I am so excited about what God has called us to do in Kenya, and I am often encouraged by friends, family, and even people we do not know by their kind words and actions. There are also the hard days, where I start to feel overwhelmed by all that we have going on, discouraged when we are not seeing the progress we would like, or even frustrated by how long the process takes. God is definitely using this time to work in my life, and I want to share with you a couple of things He has been teaching me lately.
1. Faith- God is teaching me to fully trust and rely on Him. Sure, leaving everything and everyone we know and moving to Kenya requires a lot of faith. Surprisingly though, that is not what I am struggling with. I would love to hop on a plane today and fly on over to Kenya. It is the day to day things, the details, that I am having trouble trusting God for. When I look at our ministry account, I find myself thinking, “How in the world are we ever going to raise all that money?” When Jeff and I need to take off yet another week of work for speaking or training I worry, “How long until one of us has to quit our job? How will we pay the bills?” However, time and time again God has shown up and provided for all of our needs. He is teaching me that instead of worrying about these details, I should trust Him for direction and provision. I have heard it said that God does not call the equipped, but instead He equips the called. I believe this to be true, so I know that He will prepare us in all ways for the mission field. I also need to trust God’s perfect timing. Which leads me to the next way that He is working on me!
2. Patience- This is another area in my life that I am currently struggling with. God has blessed me with a good deal of patience when it comes to children. Being a teacher and constantly being around children requires this patience. However, when it comes to other things, honestly I am not the most patient person. I have the type of personality where I like to get stuff done and make things happen. I do not like to sit around and wait for everything to work itself out. So, I start to get impatient with the amount of time it is taking us to complete our Bible courses we are enrolled in, or the fact that our support is not rolling in. I have a hard time waiting to hear back from churches that show interest in our ministry, or waiting for individuals to respond to newsletters, emails, calls, or messages. I want so badly to get to Africa, that I sometimes lose sight of the fact that God has us here in the U.S. right now for a purpose. I don’t want to miss out on all that He wants us to do here and now, while we are waiting for His timing to move to Africa.
These are just a couple of the ways that God is working in my life so far during HMA. I came across this verse and it has been an encouragement to me. I pray that it will be to you as well.
Hebrews 6:10-12
“God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.” G
Prayer requests:
- Pray that God would continue to move people to get involved in our ministry.
- Pray for the people of Kenya and the missionaries already serving there.
- Pray for Jeff and me as we will be the camp missionaries at Mt. Hope Bible Camp in Ohio July 21-27.
