And now these three remain… 1 Corinthians 13:13
Let me be a beacon of hope for the travelers of the darkness
Let me light the path to harbors of rest
Where guidance along the rocky shore provides a kinship to its maker
Let its favor also provide relief from treacherous waters
For the mirroring coast is a vivid pretense of what life could be
And when my glow starts to dim, let my strength feed from natural light
So that my warmth may continue to be a safe haven for the lost
Some of you may already know that I have been selected to go on a short term mission trip to Kenya this summer. Ever since I graduated from college in 2010, my heart’s been yearning to go out and do God’s work. This opportunity arose last year when I attended a young adult small group at the Dream Center, which is a part of Seacoast Church in Charleston, SC. There was a panel of young adults sharing about their experiences and service all of over the world. While listening to each of them speak, I could feel my heart wanting to burst out of my chest. I just knew that God was leading me to do more with my life and this trip to Africa was my first step. So that night, I decided to sign up for my first mission trip.
The mission is the first two weeks in July and is affiliated with the Bread of Life Mission (BOL), a non-profit group that focuses on reaching the unreached by sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, enhancing discipleship in communities and showing compassion by serving people in need. BOL is currently serving four different people groups/areas in Africa: the Maasai, Pokot, Turkana, and Toposa. I will be serving in Turkana with about ten other people, spreading God’s love by continuing to build the community and ministering to its people.
God has opened this door for me and I plan to experience every aspect of the journey. But before I can walk through that door, I will need to prepare myself spiritually, physically, relationally and financially. The total amount of money that I need to raise is $3,500. This pays for travel, food and accommodations. Any amount would make a huge impact to my trip and would be such a blessing. If you feel lead to donate to my trip, please click here and then click on “support.” You can donate as a guest and select my name, Emily Steele, for the team member that you would like to support.
If you are unable to donate at this time, I completely understand. In that case, I just ask for your prayers as I step out on faith to reach heights I never knew existed. I am so excited to see God’s work and to experience His presence unlike ever before. I know that He is good and He will provide for you and for me and for the beautiful people that I will meet in Kenya. I can’t wait to share the experience with you through testimony, pictures and videos when I get back. I love you all so much and I am so grateful to have support and love from all of you in whatever form that may be.
In closing I want to share a word that God lead me to recently while praying about my trip, Psalm 34:
“I will extol the Lord at all times, his praise will always be on my lips. I will glory in the Lord, let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together. I sought the Lord and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant, their faces are never covered with shame. This poor man called and the lord heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him and he delivers them. Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. Fear the Lord, you his holy people, for those who fear him lack nothing. Lions may grow weak and hungry but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Whoever of you loves life and desire to see many good days, keep you tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil to blot out their name from the earth. The righteous cry out and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all; he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken. Evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned. The Lord will rescue his servants; no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.”
Thank you for your time to read this and thank you in advance for any donation or prayer that you send my way. Thank you also for being a blessing to me as friends and family in Christ!
To learn more about Bread of Life Missions, please click here.
He made us to be like water
Our bodies as hydrants of love
Designed to dwell on a diluted sphere
Which consequently is as wet in form
He created us to be strong enough to hold ships
Yet feeble enough to slip through cracks
To constantly keep flowing
And to hydrate others in drought
When our fruit becomes tasteless and bland
Or our flesh needs to be dampened
We drink of His lubricating word
And soak in His quenching perspiration
With each sprinkle our souls are baptized and moistened
And a great flood destroys all unholy land
We are wiped clean to start anew
To be His replenishing well for the thirsty
Michelle Williams once said in an interview that she wanted to “be like water, to slip through fingers but also hold up ships.” This quote conveys such imagery that it got me thinking about how complex water is and the different forms it takes. Think about it’s significance to our well being and existence. It’s crazy that God created us and created our world simply around a liquid.
In the Bible, God usually used water to cleanse or to baptize people and things that were unholy. So, what if God made us to be like water? To be the solvent that breaks the unrighteousness in each other or the chemical that causes reactions that change the world? Or what if we are meant to be the rain that washes away the mess the darkness leaves behind and furthermore, creates grow in earthly living?
Curious to Your plans
I will forge ahead nearsighted
Arm lengths will touch each trespasser
Protecting the gifts You instilled
The zigzagged path bears interruption
Causing lapses of certainty
Yet my thirst has no end
Unclear to its intensity
I crave Your purpose to emerge
Solidify this fervent longing
And create farsighted perspective
For I am a daughter of Your light
And Your image is to be fruitful
I was unblinded by Your grace
And to this I will bring sight
Rather a grain of sand than a snowflake
With fleeting attributes that are absorbed and lose shape
A sandy shore gives guidance to uninterrupted tides
It’s never destroyed yet is subject to being carried away
In and out with the ebb and flow
East or west with hurricane winds
The drift creates for future uncertainty of place
But it is the nonexistence of time and the immorality that pains
The latter is candid and sincerely frank
Pulled slowly south by gravity and quenching in taste
The frozen precipitation piles piece by piece
And it’s inevitable evanescence goes undoubted because of faith
Rather a grain of sand than a snowflake
But furthermore breaths will come to an end
Let the circumference be minuscule and existence significant
As long as the pursuit is made
My Faith, My Hope, My Love 