Giles and I have had the privilege and blessing to visit with many different folks about our ministry in Kenya throughout the past few months.  During these visits, we share stories about how we have experienced God in our lives. We know that God placed these particular stories on our hearts to bless, encourage, and minister to others. Time and time again, we have witnessed how God has used these stories to connect us more intimately with those who desire to partner with us in ministry. Also, we have found that others really want to share their stories with us as well– to express what God is teaching them on their journeys, challenges they face in fulfilling Christ’s mandate to “go and make disciples of all nations,” and aspirations of how they may better reflect the Kingdom and draw closer to the Lord. As I mentioned in my last post, we can say without any hesitation that God is using this season to bless us personally as we minister to old friends and new friends.  Our everyday mission of living out the Gospel to those around us has been refined and repurposed to not only prepare us for the mission field overseas but also to cause like hearts to re-examine and redefine their part in God’s bigger story.  There is no greater blessing than building or deepening relationships through the shared experience of serving and loving God.

Recently, God orchestrated a specific blessing to encourage us personally.

One of the stories that Giles recounts in our ministry visits concerns his salvation experience, the moment when he truly came to know Christ with his heart and not just his intellect. He was on a weekend men’s retreat, alone in the woods with his thoughts and praying to the Lord when he heard Him audibly say, “You are mine.” That experience prompted a total transformation in Giles.  He put off the old self and put on his new identity in Christ. His transformation was so complete that the following Sunday at church when Giles was on the platform singing in our church choir, several of our friends did not recognize him.  His entire countenance had changed. 

Several weeks ago, I was perusing the Bible app on my phone to find a particular verse to include in a letter to a friend, and I came across a passage that I had bookmarked many months earlier:  Isaiah 43:1.  I opened it and read these words: “But now, this is what the Lord says– he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel:  ‘Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.'”

God pointed me back to that passage to show us that the words He had spoken over Giles that day in the woods were ancient words. “You are mine.”  It was such a tender encouragement from our Father nearly a decade after He first spoke those words into Giles’ life. Our deepest desire is to see other lives transformed by God’s love, that through Christ’s redemption they may be reconciled to the Father who created them and calls them by name as His own.