Well,
my first week at MMS has come to a close and I can only reflect on the positive
things that have been happening in my life. My mom and I have this deal where I
text her with a positive from every day. It makes me reflect on the day and see
the good in even the little things that happen in my life. With my first week,
I have been doing little things, but they have all been so that we can prepare
for the coming school year. We have had two different groups at MMS and have had
two more join us. One of the groups came to bless us with a check from the
money they had raised at VBS. Even though I am an intern, these groups have
blessed me. They have been doing the tasks that may seem little or even daunting,
but are appreciated when they are done.
On Monday, I was able to meet with
several people and make up a little bit of a plan. I have a little more of an
idea of what I will be doing when I am here. Like I have said before, I am
going to be doing a variety of tasks. One of the things that I will be doing is
working with the child sponsorship program. I am unsure of what that looks like
right now, but I am excited to be a part of that. I will be working with the
toddlers, working in the school, and doing playground duty. This is a small
list of what I am going to be doing once everyone returns. I will know more
once everyone returns back to campus.
As many know, I will be “home” in August,
but I’m really in Lincoln for the week. I will be taking my intensive class. It
is a class that is 3 credits, but I take it all in one week. I am truly excited
to be taking the class, but I am bummed that I will have to leave MMS for a
week and a half. The class is for my spiritual formation minor that I just
picked up last spring semester. The children come back August 8th
and I’m leaving the day before to come home for class. I will be excited to
come back to more people on campus and being able to build more relationships.
It may seem like I’m not doing much right
now, but I feel that God is moving within me already. Some know that I am a
type of person that I need to know what I am doing or at least have an idea of
what plans are. That really hasn’t been the case here and I have been trying to
get used to it. During the summer time, everything is really laid back. The one
thing that is set in stone for my schedule is that I’m helping some girls with
summer school. This looks different every day, but they are working on math and
reading. It’s a two-hour slot that we work with them and help them improve in
those subjects.
Today, we were able to have church in the
chapel. It was amazing to be able to worship in there. The other awesome thing
was that I could feel God challenging me with some different things. As
Christians, we are called to be all in and not to be lukewarm with our faith.
Either we are going to fully follow what God has called us to do or we are
going to halfway follow Him. At times it may seem like I’m following God fully,
but I need to be honest. There are definitely times where I question what God
is calling me to do. Questions of “Are you sure this is what I’m supposed to
do?” “God, I’m not sure this is what I should be doing?” “But God, I want to be
comfortable!” “God, I don’t want to leave my family and friends.” In Genesis
12, God calls Abraham to leave the place that he knows to a place where he will
become a great nation. I’m sure that Abraham had some questions and I’m sure he
was scared, but he did what God had called him to do. From today’s messages, I
want to be able to jump into situations where I’m sure I won’t be comfortable
or I won’t want do it, but full heartedly say, “Yes, Lord I will follow you.”
Being transparent to people can be hard
and it can be challenging, but it can be rewarding if you allow it to be.
Sometimes I struggle with allowing others to see my heart or even what I am
truly feeling. I know that I’m not the only one that struggles with this, but
there are people that are willing to help you overcome this. Here is me being
transparent for a minute. The week before I left, I was having all kinds of
emotions. Anywhere from excitement to nervousness to being scared. Now that I
am at Mountain Mission School, I am absolutely in love with the place and the
ministry they are doing. A side note, as my mom and I talked about where I was
going to do my internship, she kept telling me that I needed to look into MMS.
I agreed that I would and I had been in prayer about it. I can remember my mom
telling me several times that I may realize once I’m down there that it wasn’t
the place for me. I had been praying about my internship and whether or not He
would take me overseas. I have seen oversea mission work and I felt that it was
time to see what stateside missions looked like. I knew before I even stepped
foot on Mountain Mission campus, I knew that God was calling me to this
beautiful place. A place where you can feel God’s presence and you know that
the people that serve here are filled with His love.
As I close up this blog, I have one last
thing to say. There is a song that I have heard multiple times and the first
time I heard it was when I was in high school. I probably sang it in high
school, but never really listened to the words or even meant what I was
singing. How many times do you just sing the song to sing it? Or do you truly
mean the words that are coming out of your mouth? The song is “My Desire” by
Jeremy Camp; it has been speaking to me in the last couple weeks. The whole
song really gets me, but this is the part that I want to share with you. “This
is my desire. This is my return. This is my desire to be used by you. You want
to be real. You want to be emptied inside. And I know my heart is to feel you
near. And I know my life. It’s to do your will.”
I want to be “all in” with my faith and
not lukewarm. I challenge you to decide what you want to be doing with your
life. Are you going to live it lukewarm or are you going to say “I’m all in
God.” Are you going to make up excuses for the next time God calls you to do
something or are you going to say, “Yes Lord, I will follow you!” I know what I
will be saying.
Blessings,
Ally
"My Desire" Jeremy Camp
