Come Alive – Day 19
January 27, 2012 by admin
Welcome to Come Alive: 21 Days. These entries are coinciding with our 3 week vision series that we are currently in and we pray they both challenge and encourage you. This post was written by Natalie, a member of the Frontline Prince William campus.
Months before our team was in Kenya I was beginning to see God move in my heart in a powerful way. I had recently moved to the Washington DC area and I was still transitioning from college life into the real world. I knew in college that every time they spoke of global missions either at church or at Campus Crusade for Christ on Thursday nights, I always felt interest in my heart. When I moved here I heard about the Frontline PW Kenya team that was being created I felt that interest overwhelming my heart again. The process of preparation was something that I really wasn’t prepared for but God prepared me for every step of the way. What I mean is, between February and our departure in late June, God softened my heart through some of the most difficult trials of my life, testing of my faith, and the process of transitioning into a new life in Northern Virginia. Throughout the process I realized that I wasn’t alone in this preparation to serve our God in a foreign country, God created friends to walk with me and show me that he’s going to take care of me through it all.
This mission trip to Kenya was more than an opportunity to serve others; it was a God designed experience for my heart to change. It was a chance to see what breaks God’s heart in this world. My life is forever changed and like God intended in Romans 12:2, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. He showed me the world at a new angle while softening my heart in the process.
One of experience that was particularly transforming for me was my new understanding of Revelation 7:9, “After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.” Before going to Africa I did not have a solid understanding of what it meant by “tribe.” I knew that there are different languages, and nations and people but the tribe thing just didn’t make sense to me. While in Africa we met people of different tribes and within these tribes the people spoke many languages. Their tribes were sacred pieces of their identity and who they were. I learned the meaning behind what God meant when he placed that word there in the Bible but I also realized that scripture says that one day a great multitude from every nation, tribe, people and language will be standing before his throne. Many of the people living in Africa don’t even have access to a Bible and even if they do, they may not be literate. How will they ever learn about God and his promises and then one day be with us followers there when we stand before his throne? I realized then how important it was for us to be there in Africa sharing the gospel with the people, just as it is important to share the gospel here with our neighbors in the United States.
- Natalie
To listen to the sermons from this series, please click here.
