From Trainee to Trainer

The picture above I took from my seat in a conference room in EFCA's National Office (NATO) in Minneapolis last week.  The people in the picture are my dear friends and fellow missionaries who just like me are called by God to serve Him in full time ministry.  They are all gathered for what I attended in December 2011 called Ministry Partnership Development Training.

As you can see, I'm not one of the attendants sitting in the first set of tables.  This time I took my place in the second round of tables reserved for trainers.  Yep, NATO asked if I could come up and share with my fellow missionaries all God taught me through my quest for ministry partners and how did God use me to find those ministry partners.

I fully recognize that without God I would not have been invited to do that. It was ALL GOD who brought about 100% in 4 months and 10 days.  I truly give Him ALL glory, honor, and praise!  I can't tell you how blessed I was to encourage my friends that God does have their ministry partners out there and that He is working even when we don't see Him at work.

The verse I have shared in this note is one that the LORD revealed to me during my MPD quest.  The question that I shared with the group was...

What do you do between inviting people to pray about joining your ministry team and the visible evidence of God at work?

There were multiple times when I felt discouraged due to lack of fruit from my quest but that doesn't mean God wasn't at work.  I remember when my health insurance increased to an amount I wasn't expecting, I freaked out and became upset. But then within a week God provided someone to counteract that difference and gave more than needed.  I remember saying "Of course God...you had it taken care of this whole time." I asked for forgiveness for my freak out session and told my trainees to respond better than me when this stuff happens to them.

So I encourage you...there WILL be periods of darkness, no light, when we think God has forgotten us and isn't listening or doing anything...remember, this is when He calls us to TRUST Him and rely on Him! Keep being diligently obedient to His will and don't be discouraged when you don't see the visible evidence of God at work...because why?  He is ALWAYS working!  Trust Him.