Challenged to Examine My Life

As the reality of having just finished our last CI settles in I find myself asking, where has the time gone? It seems as though we were just at the airport in Singapore welcoming teammates as they arrived. This trip has been a reminder of how short life is and how I must maximize my time serving the Lord. I have been encouraged by the ministry the team has had here in Bandung through CI, a visit to an orphanage, and the Youth to Youth ministry. The kids are hungry and searching for Truth and we have had the opportunity to share with them the hope that is within us as 1 Peter 3:15 instructs. An Auntie at CI shared with one of the teachers, I have never seen this boy smile as much as he has this week since before his parents left him, pray this boy's joy is not momentary but lasting because of the lessons he has heard through out the week and Christ changing his life. This week God brought a large number of the kids from a local orphanage, this gave us the opportunity to share with these kids that God makes no mistakes in our design and plan for our lives. The teachers love for the kids was very evident as they had intentional conversations with the kids in their small group teams, creating a platform for the kids to open up and share their struggles and hear the Gospel.

- The "judges" that encouraged the kids to do their best at parent presentation -

Today the kids learned about what it means to follow Christ, how much do they love Him, are they ready to give up everything? I'm always challenged to examine my life when I watch the skits about the Rich Young Ruler in Matthew, who wanted Christ as a add on to his life but was not willing to give up everything to follow Christ. God calls us to follow Him and He also calls us to obey Him even in difficult times. We also watched a skit of Nehemiah, a man who was willing to obey Christ and do the hard things in life, by building back the Jerusalem wall and enduring persecution. Christ was everything to Nehemiah and that's what motivated Him to obey Christ.

- The awesome Bandung student assistants -

This week has been significant in the lives of the kids and in the lives us the team. We are so grateful to the Lord for the past four weeks of ministry in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Please pray for us as we finish out these last few days together as a team. The Lord has united us as a team and is drawing us closer to Him, the CI's are over and we only have a few more days to pour into the lives of the team members, pray the Lord will lead us and we will make the most of our time.

Elizabeth Shoemaker

Staff Member from USA

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