“…The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you…”
22 May 2012 3 Comments
Hey friends, Emma here! This is going to be my first real blog entry for the summer and I’m not exactly sure how good at it I’m going to be, so bear with me…:)
I leave for Global Journey training in ten days and in exactly two weeks my team will be boarding a plane to China!! Crazy!! It was back in December when I accepted the spot on the Global Journey team but it feels like it was only yesterday. The time between then and now has flown past! But really, God has done so much in the span of 5 months, including raising nearly $7500, delivering me through my freshman year of college, and revealing to me more of His greatness and love. Just a few minutes ago, I was sitting here at Mozart’s (my favorite spot in Austin, right along the lake!), sipping my iced coffee, and thinking about the adventure I have ahead. The Lord then nudged me to take out my Bible and flip to Deuteronomy 31, which was the passage that the sermon this past Sunday was preached on at FEFC so it was fresh on my mind. Even though I just recently heard a sermon on it though, God wanted me to take a second glance at it. At this point in Deuteronomy, Moses is growing old (for one hundred and twenty years, “old” seems like an understatement!) and God has told him that he will not enter the promised land. Instead, Joshua has been chosen to lead the Israelites into the land God has promised them. At this moment, Moses is basically handing his leadership over to Joshua and confirming what God has spoken. This is what Moses says to Joshua:
“Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the Lord swore to their forefathers to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” (verses 7-8)
I think God led me back to this passage today to show me something about what it means to go on mission overseas. The first thing I see is that Joshua has a task, something to accomplish while he is in leadership: to lead the people across the Jordan and to divide the land among the people. He has a purpose, a mission. It’s like Paul writes in Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” God sends us on mission with a specific purpose in mind and certain work that we must do. He already sees the fruit that will come on the other side because of our labor and our obedience.
The second (and I think the coolest!) thing that I see from this passage about mission is that God goes before us and with us. Earlier in Deuteronomy 31, Moses says to Joshua, “The Lord your God himself will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you will take possession of their land” (verse 3). What I take away from this is the reality that God is already working in Hong Kong, in New Delhi, in Gulu, in Nice, and in San Pedro Sula. He is already there!! He is already hard at work preparing for our arrival, working in the hearts of the people we will meet and the organizations we will partner with. What He has planned for these places and these people is so much bigger than us and our trip, and we are only a small part of what He is already doing and will continue to do long after we leave. For Joshua and the Israelites, God was preparing the way for them by destroying opposing nations. For us, God is preparing the way as well, perhaps by softening people’s hearts to the gospel message or by strengthening the influence of the ministries in the communities or by creating work and projects that need to be done. I have no clue how He’s already working, but He is! Because He has gone ahead of us. And in the same way, He also goes with us, which gives us the ability to “be strong and courageous” and not afraid or discouraged. Even when something we’re doing appears fruitless or requires lots of energy, God is with us and He will establish the works of our hands and use it to further His kingdom and His glory.
These are just a couple tidbits of truth God has been revealing to me as the countdown to Global Journey continues, and it fills me with rejoicing and strength to be hearing from His heart! My prayer is that I will find the time each day to sit down and ask Him what He has to show me in preparation and that I will be receptive and sensitive to His Spirit at all times. Thank you for reading and I will be posting again soon!
Support Letter
17 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
Hello blog world! For my first post on my Global Journey blog, I’ve copy and pasted my support letter below which includes details about the trip, instructions on how to donate financially, and how to be a part of my prayer team. Enjoy and I will post again soon!
Howdy friends! I hope this letter finds you doing well! I’m writing to let you know about an amazing opportunity that the Lord has provided for me to participate in this coming June and July. It’s called Global Journey, which is the mission branch of Hope for Life Ministry. Hope for Life Ministry was founded by Christian Counselor and Speaker Steve Leavitt, and the mission of Hope for Life Ministry is to bring hope, joy, and peace, through Christ, to a hurting and confused world. Global Journey is an 8 week around-the-world tour where a team of 6-10 college students travel to 5 different countries, spending 10 days in each place. In each country, my team will be exposed to different kinds of mission work, will partner with and assist long-term missionaries, and will serve and learn from people who live in cultures very different than our own. Many of you supported me in 2010 when I went to Chincha, Peru and remember how God placed an intense love for the nations in my heart. Since then, that love has grown and matured and this is the next step for me to learn more about mission work and hopefully will contain further guidance and challenges in my walk with Jesus. I have not yet been told which of the two Global Journey teams I’ll be placed on, so I don’t have specifics about where I’ll be sent, but I know the first stop on the tour is East Asia where one team will be smuggling Bibles and the other will be evangelizing. The second stop is outside of Dehli, India, where we will be living in an orphanage and ministering to orphans. The third stop is Africa, either to Uganda where one team will work at Lulwanda’s Children’s Home, which is a home for kids who lost parents to AIDS. The other team will probably be going to Rwanda or Malawi and the work will be evangelistic in nature. The fourth stop is Europe, where one team will be sent to France and the other to either Slovenia or Romania, both to work with church planting ministries. And the final stop is Latin America. These spots are still to be determined, but Honduras, Haiti, and Panama are options right now. This stop will most likely include some street ministry and will be very evangelistically focused.
As excited as I am to travel to far corners of the world, make new friends, experience different cultures, and gain experience in mission work, my heart behind this trip is so much greater than those things. My entire motivation behind this journey is to know Christ deeper, and then from that place of intimacy with Him, proclaim His gospel in these far away places. This summer as I travel the world and encounter new people, many of them will not know the gospel and my main goal is to share this message of love and redemption as I serve and meet their physical needs in the name of Jesus.
As I have prepared for this trip and will continue to prepare in the coming months, I increasingly realize that trips like these cannot be accomplished alone. I need God’s provision displayed in the support of those around me in order to make this a reality. I have two pressing needs at this point in the process, and those are a prayer team and a financial support team. I would like to create a prayer team to whom I can email specific prayer requests as the trip preparations come along and as I’m on the trip itself. If you’re interested in this, please contact me and I will add you to the list! As for my financial need, it totals at $7500, which is a number that seems unattainable and intimidating sometimes when I look at it, but I am convinced of my God’s faithfulness in this endeavor. I’m going to be working hard to raise these funds by getting a job in the spring semester, selling some of my personal belongings, and living under a budget. I would love it if you would consider partnering with me in this journey! If you’d like to give financially, I have enclosed a response card and pre-addressed envelope, which invites you to share in this ministry. Any amount is greatly appreciated. Please make checks payable to Global Journey. You may write my name in the memo section of the check. Make sure to include the enclosed card, which will provide Global Journey with all necessary information. You can also give online at www.globaljourney.org and make sure to put my name in the “purpose” section. In turn, you will receive a receipt. They request that all donations be received by June. All gifts are tax deductible and Hope for Life Ministry is a 501c3 organization.
Thank you so much for considering my need! I hope to talk to each of you individually at some point about my trip! I will be keeping a blog as I travel and plan to update it at least once a week so that all my supporters and friends can see how God is moving, how your money is being used, and how your prayers are being answered. If you have any questions at all about support raising, the gospel, or Global Journey, please do not hesitate to contact me!
“Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.” Ephesians 6:19-20
Yours in Christ,
Emma Ragland
(512) 963-3032
