The Insurance Agent
I just spent two and a half hours with a health insurance agent in her office. That's partly because I know nothing about insurance and had a thousand questions for her. It's partly because I was on "Africa time", meaning I had no where to be and really didn't care that I took over two hours of her time. Neither did she. I had blocked off the entire morning to the task of applying for health insurance, and maybe the Lord prompted me to do that just for her. That's the main reason it took so long - we kept talking about Africa. She was so interested in what I was doing spending my third year in a "dangerous place" with "poor quality health coverage" according to a map she pulled up. "It's not everyday that I get a case a interesting as yours!" she kept saying.
Our conversation quickly turned spiritual, which is one of the perks to being a missionary. The spiritual doors are opened quickly when all someone has to ask is "what do you do?"
Next to being in Africa, my favorite thing in the world is talking about it. One reason I love coming back to the United States is the opportunity to share and report what God is doing in Burkina Faso.
What is amazing is that our great Global God is constantly at work in the entire world from the tiniest islands to the deepest jungles to the driest deserts to the biggest cities. And we wouldn't know about it if people didn't tell us. I am so honored to get to be one of those reporters, one of God's messengers from west Africa. I want everyone to know how God is advancing his kingdom, growing his church, and transforming his people in Burkina Faso, and sometimes the even includes the insurance lady.
Over the next few weeks, I have invitations to share at churches, various kinds of small groups, a college class, a supporters dinner, coffee dates, elders and committee meetings. These are all planned, and I honestly enjoy each and every one of them. But what I possibly enjoy even more are the unplanned sharings - like the insurance lady, the AAA agent, or the friend of a friend that I bump into at Starbucks.
The thing is - I can't help it. God deserves so much praise and thanks for what he has done in and around and through me this year, that I don't have enough. I feel like I need to recruit as many people as possible to give thanks with me so that the Lord can receive what he deserves.
What would happen if we all talked about Jesus that way? What if we were so excited and thankful for what he is doing in our lives that we just wanted to tell the world...or at least the waitress or mailman? You never know what God is doing in their lives and how your spark of passion and boldness might be just what they need.
Pray for me, that I don't just talk about Africa, but that I talk about Jesus. And I will pray for you, too, that you can be a witness in your home, workplace, and areas of influence. May the Holy Spirit fill us with a passion to proclaim his name, and may he receive the ceaseless praise that he deserves.
Our conversation quickly turned spiritual, which is one of the perks to being a missionary. The spiritual doors are opened quickly when all someone has to ask is "what do you do?"
Next to being in Africa, my favorite thing in the world is talking about it. One reason I love coming back to the United States is the opportunity to share and report what God is doing in Burkina Faso.
What is amazing is that our great Global God is constantly at work in the entire world from the tiniest islands to the deepest jungles to the driest deserts to the biggest cities. And we wouldn't know about it if people didn't tell us. I am so honored to get to be one of those reporters, one of God's messengers from west Africa. I want everyone to know how God is advancing his kingdom, growing his church, and transforming his people in Burkina Faso, and sometimes the even includes the insurance lady.
Over the next few weeks, I have invitations to share at churches, various kinds of small groups, a college class, a supporters dinner, coffee dates, elders and committee meetings. These are all planned, and I honestly enjoy each and every one of them. But what I possibly enjoy even more are the unplanned sharings - like the insurance lady, the AAA agent, or the friend of a friend that I bump into at Starbucks.
The thing is - I can't help it. God deserves so much praise and thanks for what he has done in and around and through me this year, that I don't have enough. I feel like I need to recruit as many people as possible to give thanks with me so that the Lord can receive what he deserves.
What would happen if we all talked about Jesus that way? What if we were so excited and thankful for what he is doing in our lives that we just wanted to tell the world...or at least the waitress or mailman? You never know what God is doing in their lives and how your spark of passion and boldness might be just what they need.
Pray for me, that I don't just talk about Africa, but that I talk about Jesus. And I will pray for you, too, that you can be a witness in your home, workplace, and areas of influence. May the Holy Spirit fill us with a passion to proclaim his name, and may he receive the ceaseless praise that he deserves.
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