The last few months have flown by as we’ve spent so much time preparing for all of our upcoming mission teams. I spent many, many, many hours over the last two months on phone calls, Google Meets and through emails sharing with teams the heart behind the ministry happening in North Carolina, Maine, Romania, Colombia, Costa Rica and right here in New Hampshire. It’s truly been a blessing to hear the anticipation, excitement, training sessions and fundraising that teams have been walking in as they get ready to step into the calling God has for them to go and serve all over the world.
Beyond that, I love the steadiness of the team I get to labor alongside. Our week starts with prayer over our individual lives and the mission field all around us. We meet throughout the week to touch base on projects and plans, updates from the field and to commune around our relationships with Jesus: where He is leading and growing each one of us. It keeps us grounded in unity, His word and His grace as we continue on in the mission He’s given us; to train up the next generation to be the leaders the world needs through mission and discipleship.
One truth I’m resting in is that the Kingdom of God is here on Earth. It is connected through the fellowship and communities of believers all over and it is here in America. Here in Manchester, it’s so potent it feels tangible. From church to church we’ve visited and partnered with, God is present in leading His congregations towards holiness and righteousness. He’s present in the community through the numerous programs and outreaches running day after day, week after week trying to reach the broken, the lost, the afflicted and the hurting.
We’ve had the privilege of hosting two teams in the last two months here that were activated in their faith to take mighty steps out of their comfort zones and into inviting others to experience God’s love. For me, these weeks gave me a deeper perspective of not just doing the works of Jesus through equipping or praying or feeding or clothing or listening to those in need but truly seeing and stepping into their brokenness with them to bring the comfort of God to His children no matter how uncomfortable their circumstances are.
You know the phrase, “put the shoe on the other foot” or “walk a mile in someone else’s shoes”? Surely to grow in understanding of others’ perspectives and circumstances, we must consider the world and this life from others’ points of view. But I’ve been learning to take this one step deeper, as Jesus did, by coming to Earth for our sake. He was not just looking to be on Earth to simply associate with us but actually to “take both of His shoes off” while being alongside us. He came humbly to walk amongst us in our brokenness and to offer up a new understanding – a heavenly perspective. He came to rewrite every wrong that sin and the flesh have caused us to experience. He stepped out of Heaven to show us His love at the deepest level, to be right here with us when we experience grief, loss, abandonment, rejection, and broken-heartedness.
I’ve been growing in what it means to “take my shoes off” too in ministry and in life. He’s unveiling my eyes to not just see where others are at but to attempt to feel what they feel and to understand their brokenness in my heart. I’m learning to let go of all premonitions and ideas of where they could be coming from and truly walk alongside them, if even for a moment. We must ask core questions that lead beyond the surface of circumstance and into the heart of someone else’s brokenness.
One night we were walking down the street handing out food, clothing, backpacks, hygiene kits and other goods those living on the streets may need, when my heart was drawn to a woman receiving from our line of carts. My friend suggested we go and pray with her but in that moment she left the line to go to her place of seclusion, blankets on the open park field, alone, abandoned. We almost left the park without giving her what she truly needed; comfort that she was seen, that though physically alone, spiritually she wasn’t abandoned by the Father in Heaven who loves her. I couldn’t leave there without taking on the opportunity to share the only comfort I had to offer so I asked my friend, will you go with me to pray for her. We stepped outside of our comfort zones, out of the herd we were walking with, leaving the 99 to go to the one. We asked her for her name and I asked her what’s the hardest part of being out here, and though physically she wasn’t too thrilled about spending a night without a bed, what broke her was sharing that her family has abandoned her. Her son didn’t call on Mother’s Day (the day before), her other loved ones didn’t come to her rescue when she found herself here on the streets. She was broken and in tears over the loneliness she was now experiencing. My heart broke, too. Especially that in this moment there was nothing more I could tangibly offer her that we hadn’t already given. There wasn’t a single physically thing we could give that would fill THIS void, THIS painful feeling of loss, grief, abandonment and deep loneliness. So we offered her all we had. A prayer of comfort, for restoration, for a warm and safe place to lay her head, for her family to come quickly and for the God who loves her to embrace her in a tangible way, just like He says He will in His Word. He says He will never leave her or forsake her, He will be there in the darkest valley and the highest mountain top, He comforts those who mourn and collects every tear. He binds up the wounds of the brokenhearted and rights every wrong through the love and death-defying blood of Jesus.
So whether in ministry or in life, I’m encouraged and challenged to take off my shoes, to not only see people for the man or woman God has created them to be, seeking to understand the walk they’ve been on but to look for what they need and offer them the only truly fulfilling thing I have to offer – the love and encouragement of God that lives within me, the kind words the Holy Spirit wants to bring and the truth that the enemy always wants us to forget. We are known, we are seen, we are loved, we are comforted, we are able to find peace, we are strengthened, we are cared for, we are never abandoned or forsaken, we were bought at the price of Jesus’ body and blood on the cross and we are always able to jump into the loving arms of God.
I hope these notes of what I’ve been walking through will spur you on to not just see brokenness in the world and be hit by it but to look for opportunities to step into the brokenness of others and bring what you have to offer to them, whether it be a prayer, a smile, a dollar, an encouragement or a scripture, it will make a difference far greater than you will ever understand.
Prayer Requests:
- Further opportunities to bring the love of God and encouragement to those around me.
- Later on in June I will spend a week with a women’s mission team in Maine. My prayer is that their ministry would be not only an encouragement to all we encounter throughout the week but that the testimonies of Jesus in their lives would stir the hearts of those who need to be reminded of His love for them.
- For June, we are sending out 50 mission teams all over the world! How amazing! Join us in praying for safety, travel, and the testimony of Jesus to be transformative in the lives of those who hear it in each place.
- Lastly, Would you consider partnering with me in what God is doing in the mission field? A monthly contribution ($5, $10, $15, $25 or more) will make a huge impact for God’s kingdom on earth. Click here to start giving today!
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