I learned a long time ago never to make a decision without first checking out all my options. After researching the ministry I found in Texas, I realized I needed to go to Waco to check it out. Seeing is believing and it is very hard to make a decision without seeing it, experiencing a taste of what could be, and seeking God's will during the process. This trip was unlike any trip I had ever taken before.
For the first time ever, I rented a car to use at my destination. Typically, I travel to see family and friends who do not mind being my airport taxi. This trip would not be feasible without me having a car to use regularly. I got my cute little car and thoroughly enjoyed buzzing around in it. I named him Rich Allen James, R. Allen James for short. He was a pearl white Nissan Versa and I loved him!
I was able to stay at a cute, little one bedroom cottage that was just beautiful. It was quiet and peaceful to just sit in the cottage and read a book in between my agenda. I think my favorite part about the cottage is there was a built-in desk in the bedroom that had art supplies in it. It was a huge treasure to find! I had fun creating some projects in my journaling Bible.
The first night, I was able to check out the discipleship school. This was important because I was actually considering moving to Texas to go to the discipleship school in August. It was interesting and very neat to see the students actively engaging in discussion. It was also really amazing to see the body of Christ surround someone who was hurting and sharing with the body the need for accountability. It is something you don't see very often in churches, let alone other arenas. This was very encouraging to my heart.
The next day I was able to check out a couple ministries the church is in charge of. The first was a women's recovery center and it was amazing. I was very impressed with the fact this church not only acknowledged that recovery was necessary, but they also found a way to help those caught in addition to overcome it. They didn't just add another program to their activities, they developed a ministry to reach addicts right in the thick of their struggles. I don't think I have ever heard of a church that had done this before. I was so encouraged by this because all too often churches toss programs at problems or refuse to acknowledge the heart of the struggles addicts face day in and day out. I was able to go to this ministry a couple times during my week long visit in Waco and it was one of my highlights.
The other ministry I checked out was a reading mentorship program in a local elementary school. This was really neat because the students were mostly bilingual and struggled with reading out loud. It was amazing to see these kids trying so hard to improve their reading skills and be vulnerable while a trustworthy adult was investing in them. It was a beautiful thing a majority of adults miss out on.It was also really cool to see a church invested in the public school system so that it could be successful, instead of doing the opposite and only supporting alternatives to public school education.
This church also had a special church service for the homeless that included giving a meal to those who came. The meal this night was breakfast. I talked to 3 people who told me this was typically their only meal for their entire week and they'd ration it out throughout the week. It just hit me how unreal poverty and homelessness is still in America and how little most churches do about it. I believe doing little to nothing is completely against what God expects of His children. As Christians, we should be out in the depths of the pain and suffering restoring life, hope, and joy to those who are poor, needy, hurting, homeless, orphaned, widowed, or lacking in any other way. This service was so amazing to me. I was able to be a part of the prayer team and prayed for four individuals who came forward to ask for prayer. It was an absolutely beautiful service to partake in.
The rest of the trip was spent meeting up with a variety of ladies who were in my age and stage, who were or had been a part of the discipleship school previously. It was so much fun to meet and connect with other gals who loved the Lord and who were intentional about living out their faith in their every day lives. I have noticed all too often that this is a rarity amongst single, Christian women today.
The biggest thing that God did this week was confirm to me that I needed to follow His will for me and not be afraid. He confirmed for me over and over again during the week that this was His dream for me. It was very true: His dreams for me were greater and higher than what I was thinking.
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