Post Meeting Thoughts

So we just had our Friday morning intern meeting, and unlike last year we began a new tradition where a staff member has the opportunity to share something he or she either thinks is very important for us to hear, or is something that they wished they had known as a youth. So this morning one of my favorite staff members, Juan Porto, presented on seeing God’s plan and leadership, and something he said just struck me upside the head. At some point he said that we shouldn’t pursue leadership, but rather we should let our passions bring us to it, and develop into leadership. Why did this strike me so oddly? I have been pursuing and practicing my leadership gifts for the past two years pretty intensely, but at the last worship service at college I felt like God was telling me two things, 1) Don’t focus on leadership at all for the summer and 2) seek out the orphan child. At that point I was kind of confused about both and what exactly they would look like, but now it just seems so clear…so much of my leadership has been in things in which I am not truly passionate about, and it is just so clear in how difficult it is to stay motivated to lead. I know that God brought me those opportunities to learn a lot, but my direction seems so clear now that I really do need to pursue my passions, and be much more careful about just doing things because they are leadership opportunities.

Another thing that I felt God speak to me this morning came after Greg and I talked about our day at Manantial de Amor yesterday, and how he ended up going back later that day (from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.) to finish up some concrete work that the mason failed to finish even though he said he would. Greg mentioned how one of the boys that he was close with seemed to REALLY appreciate the fact that Greg came back to actually follow through and kept giving him back rubs and things to encourage him. Take a second to think about how many times these orphans are promised something and it never comes to fruition and how much it breaks their hearts. Just think about the way we can minister to their hearts by finishing strong for these children and how much love it speaks. A verse that has been in the back of my head for the past couple of weeks comes to mind. Luke 8:15 says “But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.” Notice how this verse implies that we must persevere to produce a crop, not that it just comes to fruition while we sit and watch. After listening to Greg’s thoughts and reflecting on this verse I thought about my day, and I was instantly drawn to a moment at the very end of the day where I was one of the last people cleaning up, and this child came running up to me to offer me some very cold and refreshing coke. It didn’t strike me until later that this little boy ran all the way from a birthday party the group members were throwing to come show his appreciation by offering coke…I’m sure that he, too felt so loved that we took the time to finish what we set out to do.

So those two things God spoke to me awhile ago seem so clear to me. Right now I just want to minister to these children’s hearts by loving them in every possible way I can, especially by standing firm, giving everything I have and finishing strong each and every day. Each and every little act of love we do for these orphans is a step to renewing their hearts and ushering in the healing that God has planned for them. I feel so free to be able to step back and just act within my passion, and wait to see the leadership God will usher in. I can only hope that that principle will transition back to the states with me in 7 weeks.