God's Timing

Waiting on God…Trusting He has a plan…believing that His timing is best. These are all things that I have been thinking about a lot lately….sometimes in frustration and sometimes in praise of God. Recently, I have been reflecting quite a bit on God’s timing throughout this past year of my life, especially with things since I have been in South Africa.

A year ago, I never thought I would quit teaching and move to South Africa. But, God placed on my heart the desire to pursue missions and to seek out what it means to live that life. So, I quit my job with nothing in the works and with enough money to live for a couple of months. God continued to provide for me with subbing jobs and the money kept stretching just long enough. I never would have heard about NieuCommunities/CRM had I not been invited to go on a missions retreat by friends. The amazing part is that I had previously prayed that God would bring me a job or at least a firm direction by the end of October…the retreat was the end of October! By that time I was finally ready to put my own agenda aside to fully pursue missions and do whatever God wanted. Little did I know at the time that I would be going to South Africa for a year! But, God made it clear to me that this was where I needed to be, and He made it all possible for me to make it here within 2 months of hearing about the trip. God’s timing…amazing!

Shortly after arriving in South Africa we started the listening posture. I started to become frustrated with the idea of finding where I wanted to serve. I didn’t know where to begin and I really wanted to hear from God. I so badly wanted to feel needed here, and I wanted to feel like I was being used by God to further His Kingdom. We spent a long time visiting ministries and waiting to hear from God. As soon as I walked into the Lerato House I knew it was where God wanted me. Instantly all my anxieties about finding the right ministry vanished. I felt so much peace and it was awesome to know that I had waited to hear from God and not just picked a ministry that seemed ok. By finding the Lerato House, I was also reminded of my passion to see the end of Human Trafficking. I had heard about it in the Fall of 2006 at my church and knew I wanted to be apart of the movement. But, I didn’t know how that would ever come about. Since being here though, it is all starting to come together! Working at the Lerato House gives me a chance to walk through life with girls who are affected by trafficking, prostitution, drugs, or other abusive situations. I am also (hopefully!!!) going to talk with and learn from a woman here who is involved with the trafficking movement full time. (She works for the ministry that the Lerato House is based out of). This will give me the chance to learn more about the advocacy side of trafficking as well! Our Lord is an amazing weaver of lives!!! God’s timing…amazing!!

We are about to be in our last week of the submerging posture…I can’t believe it! Time is really flying by. You may remember that I spent a few days out in the township living with a family there and submerging into the culture. Well, for this next week, we had the assignment of finding our own place to submerge and making the connections ourselves. At first, I was very frustrated because, at the time, I hadn’t been able to get started at the Lerato House, and thought my submerging experience would be pointless. But, yesterday, Laura (another apprentice who will be working at the Lerato House) and I had a meeting with the social worker and outreach coordinator at the Lerato House. We FINALLY set a schedule with them and will even get to stay with them next week from Tuesday-Thursday! So, we will get to see the daily lives of the girls and get to spend concentrated time with them. I think it will be a great time of building the foundations of our relationships with them. I am very excited for it! God’s timing…amazing!!!

Laura and I will be leading devotions on Monday evenings…doing homework and hanging on Tuesday evenings…doing outreach on Wednesday morning/afternoons…and street outreach on Wednesday nights. We went on the first outreach with them last night. There is a group of about 3-4 women (and one guy who drives them…for the past 7 years!!!) who go out and meet with women who are caught up in the vicious cycle of prostitution. They bring them coffee/tea/cold drinks and just talk with them for a bit. They tell them about the Lerato House at some point, but they don’t press the matter. They just go out and build relationships with them, don’t judge them, and trust that God will move in His amazing way. It takes a long time to build up the relationships enough for the girls to open up to them, but they go out every Wednesday and consistently meet with the women. It is an amazing ministry and I feel so blessed to be apart of it and to have the chance to minister to these women. It’s also really cool to know that the young women/girls we will be working with at the Lerato house have been saved from that lifestyle (most of them anyway…not all) and that the street outreach really works…even if I don’t see the fruits of it in all the times I go. God’s timing…amazing!!!!

So, in all these examples of God’s amazing timing, how can I still doubt? How can I still wonder if things will work out? How can I still worry about “tomorrow”? How come I can’t just trust that God will make all things workout in His perfect timing, in His perfect way, and in the way that will be best for me? I don’t know! But what I do know is that God never leaves me throughout my times of doubt, frustration, and worry. He is still right here working things out and moving in my life. He is still guiding me and loving me and watching over me. I am thankful for a faithful Father, a perfect Planner, and merciful, gracious God. I challenge you to look back on a certain amount of time in your life. Do you see times in which God has moved or worked things out in His perfect timing? You might be surprised to find all the areas in which He has moved…even in times when you were frustrated, anxious, or even angry. Look for Him. Trust Him.

Prayer requests:

--that I would trust God’s timing

--that I would be able to truly connect with the girls at the Lerato House and any women I meet during the outreach times

--that my agenda would be put aside and I would allow God to direct my steps

--that we would have a cover of safety during our outreach times

Thanks in advance for the prayers! As always…pass any requests along to me as well!!

Much love,

manda :)