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| I'm pretty sure that there are more selfies taken during at sea muster drills than any other time. |
What a blessing it is to be back on this ship, amongst such
beautiful people! Last week, we capped off our field service by attending a
white South African Methodist church; praying over the community and those who
are doing God’s work here; completing a few final jobs; and receiving our field
practice evaluations. One of my biggest takeaways from the field practice was
better understanding the concept of one body, many parts. 1 Corinthians tells
us that believers are one body made up of many parts, and that every part is
absolutely necessary. We shouldn’t discount our contribution to the Kingdom
just because it’s not the most visible or exciting. “Now you are the body of
Christ, and each one of you is a part of it” (12:27). During the field practice
I saw many different parts of the body at work – dieticians, labourers,
artists, prayer warriors, teachers, nurses, etc. And every part was so
necessary to do the work that God had set before us. I think I sometimes have a
tendency to think that someone isn’t ‘pulling their weight’ or doing their
share, but I saw people who were obedient to God to the point of sitting in a
room and waiting on His timing. And they were in the exact right place to pray
at specific moments, to stand in the gap for others, to make a difference
through prayer and encouragement. They were in precisely the right place for
God to use them in that moment. I was really blown away by that.
I was also blessed to hear a few analogies from Stephan that
really got me thinking. At one point he told me I was like an elephant storming
through a conversation, making people tremble. I really had to stop and
consider that. It’s never my intention to be that way, but that is how I come
across. How can I change that? Whenever my loudness or boldness is brought up,
I always struggle with my response. Do I try and actively talk less? I’ve tried
many times, I don’t often succeed and that leads to frustration. But during my
evaluation, Stephan gave me another analogy that really shed a lot of light on
this for me. He said that I’m like a wild horse, and God is the jockey who is
teaching me when to go and when to wait. It’s not that I have to change who I
am – I’m not called to be a mouse. I just need to learn to have discernment
about when God wants me to use my passionate fire and when He wants me to wait.
Often I use it in the wrong moments and I burn those around me. God made me
this way for a reason, I just need to listen to the Holy Spirit to know when to
use it for His glory. Definitely a work in progress!
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| As we're about to sail out of the port, the captain announces: We are about to enter the break water, prepare for it to get much rougher (or something along those lines). |
Arriving on the ship was amazing. Getting to see everyone,
see the ship again, get settled in. It’s been fun to watch my fellow onboarders
experience the ship for the first time. It’s a little strange not seeing certain
people, people that I am so used to seeing on the ship, but there are lots of
new friends to be made. On Sunday, some of us went to a white Pentecostal style
church in Durban and it was amazing. I forgot what country I was in – it could
have been anywhere. It’s so neat to see that people worship in different, and
similar ways, all over the world. We are all united by our love for Him. Sunday
evening we also decided to organize our own small service and gathered to sing,
read His word and pray. We even had a mini sermon from one of our own.
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| Tiff and I getting ready to host our first media team together. |
It was neat to get to explore Durban a little before
sailing. On Saturday, we went to the beach in the afternoon, walked around a
bit and ate on the beachfront. There is something about skyscrapers next to
beaches that blows me away. It’s so cool to see mankind’s creation looking out at God’s creation. And then, yesterday, we set sail! It’s been SO FUN. I
absolutely love it. The ship is rocking back and forth, the view is ocean for
days, and this morning I saw whales! What a moment – standing on the top deck,
watching the whales, heart bubbling with joy and praising God for His goodness.
We have a few more days of this beauty until we get to Cape Town. I think I
could sail forever (tonight/tomorrow is supposed to be much rougher, so we’ll
see how I feel after that).
We went straight to work, with lots of meetings and
discussions about the upcoming field service. Tiffany and I already got to host
a member of the media on Friday in Durban. We managed to arrange a last minute
visit for an online journalist, which was neat because it gave Tiffany a more
hands on idea of what we do. And I was happy to be back at it, after spending
so much time learning. The lady brought a girl in high school who was doing a
work experience day and she was amazed by everything we do. She said she would
tell everyone at her school about it. Those are my favourite reactions. I feel
so blessed to have this job – I get to spend my days telling people about how
amazing this ship and the people on it are! I’m also really excited to see the Comms team in action once we get to Benin. Our team leader, Michele, has set a very
encouraging and positive tone for our team, one of embracing our mistakes, leaning
on each other and focusing on Jesus.
I’ve been chugging through books lately and I recently
finished a book written by a former Israeli Ambassador. I wanted to share a few
of the things she said because they really resonated with how I feel:
Immersion heightens
sensitivity and allows understanding, which enables action.
Feeling comfortable
everywhere means never being fully at home anywhere.
It is a blessing to
feel good in all places, sad to leave a small piece of you in each, a challenge
to remain just you.
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| Blessed to have Caitlyn back to serve the whole field service! |
That last one really put into words something that I’ve been
feeling for a long time. I think God has blessed me with the ability to feel
good in all places, but that doesn’t mean it’s not sad to leave, or that I’m not
changed by each place I go to. On the plane ride to London, I was overwhelmed
with this sense that I wouldn’t be going home for a long time. That was really
hard, but God also gave me a sense of peace about it. Last Sunday, when we were
praying with some YWAMers, one of them spoke words of knowledge over me, which
affirmed that feeling that I’d had. He said he could see me stepping out in
boldness, traveling and blazing a path for others. He said that I’ve already
done crazy things for God and will continue to do so. I’ve heard variations of
this from many people and it was very encouraging to hear it from someone who
knew nothing about me, who was sharing what God had shown Him. I just pray that
I can continue to humbly walk this path with God, getting my strength from Him
and trusting that His ways are good!
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
~ Hebrews 1:3
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| A view of the beautiful Durban beachfront. |
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