One thing I love about being a servant of God is that it doesn't matter who you are, if you make yourself available and are willing, He will use you to do amazing things for the good of His kingdom. I am proof of that.
When I think about where I have come from to where I am now, I cannot help but drop to my knees in gratitude for God's goodness to me. In 1996 I was in Year 9. I was a friendless little runt, bullied and without purpose. That was my low point.
I grew up in a Christian home, yet did not fully commit to God until I was 21. Once I did that, God started to show me His purpose for me: Music, Teaching, Kids, Compassion. The journey of the last seven years has been beyond my wildest dreams as I have submitted to God and am (hopefully) slowly growing to be more like Jesus.
I have spent the last two weeks travelling. Four countries: Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil. There has been a fair bit of sacrifice involved on my part, but I know that all I have is God's anyway, and nothing has been wasted.
The main goal has been to visit the children I sponsor with Compassion International and their families, but what amazes me is the number of other doors God opened for me and the opportunities that have popped up to share His love with others. He has used other people to bless me so much - hospitality, generosity, giving up their time to look after me, take me places and translate for me.
On Sunday I went to a Church in Fortaleza, Brazil, called Assembleia de Deus Planalto Aeroporto, and this week they were running a week-long seminar on the topic of "Families". Well, Wednesday night was Children's Night, and the Pastor asked me if I would like to come and share something with them. I immediately said yes, but in truth felt so inadequate and wrong for the job. These kids were going through things in their young lives that were unimaginable to me, what could I possibly offer them?
Straight away I felt like God cleared His throat impatiently and was about to remind me of some home truths. This wasn't about me, or what I could do. "Who are you sharing about?" God asked me. "Who are you representing?" That's right, the Lord and Creator of the Universe. God had chosen me to bring His love to these kids, and it wasn't about how I felt. He would give me the words and the strength.
Suitably chastised, I turned up on Wednesday night to a roomful of beautiful kids. The leaders up the front were talking and singing, and the kids seemed quite restless; talking to each other and moving around. I wondered how they would respond to me. Even though I had Debora there to translate for me, would they stay engaged?
Well, I had nothing to worry about. As soon as I went up the front, the room went stone dead quiet, as they all stared at this weird-looking stranger with big ears, more hair on his face than his head, and speaking a language they didn't understand.
I shared with the kids the story of Jesus and Peter walking on the water. I told them that what I love about the Bible is that God has put the stories in there to teach us a lesson. We can learn something and get wisdom from all the stories in the Bible.
Using my best teacher-storybook voice I launched into a dramatic retelling of the story (well, as best I could considering I had only one microphone that I had to put in Debora's face after every sentence).
I shared with them that the storm in the story represented the bad things that sometimes happen in our lives, and that while Peter had his eyes on Jesus he was okay, he was walking on the water. But when Peter took his eyes off Jesus, he began to sink. That represents the worry, fear and doubt we feel when bad things happen in our lives. I also shared that when Jesus rescued Peter, he didn't stop the storm straight away.
Some people believe that when we become a Christian, God will take all the bad stuff away and give us a perfect and happy life. That is completely untrue. Jesus says that in this world we will have trouble (John 16:33), but He will help us through the storm if we keep our eyes on Him and trust Him.
I also had a go at teaching them the song "My God Is So Big", complete with actions, which was a bit of fun.
After the night finished, many of them came up to me for a hug, or to have a photo taken with me. Being able to bless them in this way was profound and amazing. Because I was friendly and engaging, many of them also tried to talk to me, not fully grasping that I didn't understand a word they were saying. I just had to keep pointing to Debora and saying "talk to Debora", and "no fala Portuguese."
It was a privilege and an honour that God chose me to speak to these kids. It is heartbreaking and mind-blowing to imagine some of the things they have gone through and will go through in their lives, and I can only hope that God will use the words I spoke on His behalf to plant a seed of faith and hope for their future.
When I think about where I have come from to where I am now, I cannot help but drop to my knees in gratitude for God's goodness to me. In 1996 I was in Year 9. I was a friendless little runt, bullied and without purpose. That was my low point.
I grew up in a Christian home, yet did not fully commit to God until I was 21. Once I did that, God started to show me His purpose for me: Music, Teaching, Kids, Compassion. The journey of the last seven years has been beyond my wildest dreams as I have submitted to God and am (hopefully) slowly growing to be more like Jesus.
I have spent the last two weeks travelling. Four countries: Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil. There has been a fair bit of sacrifice involved on my part, but I know that all I have is God's anyway, and nothing has been wasted.
The main goal has been to visit the children I sponsor with Compassion International and their families, but what amazes me is the number of other doors God opened for me and the opportunities that have popped up to share His love with others. He has used other people to bless me so much - hospitality, generosity, giving up their time to look after me, take me places and translate for me.
On Sunday I went to a Church in Fortaleza, Brazil, called Assembleia de Deus Planalto Aeroporto, and this week they were running a week-long seminar on the topic of "Families". Well, Wednesday night was Children's Night, and the Pastor asked me if I would like to come and share something with them. I immediately said yes, but in truth felt so inadequate and wrong for the job. These kids were going through things in their young lives that were unimaginable to me, what could I possibly offer them?
Straight away I felt like God cleared His throat impatiently and was about to remind me of some home truths. This wasn't about me, or what I could do. "Who are you sharing about?" God asked me. "Who are you representing?" That's right, the Lord and Creator of the Universe. God had chosen me to bring His love to these kids, and it wasn't about how I felt. He would give me the words and the strength.
Suitably chastised, I turned up on Wednesday night to a roomful of beautiful kids. The leaders up the front were talking and singing, and the kids seemed quite restless; talking to each other and moving around. I wondered how they would respond to me. Even though I had Debora there to translate for me, would they stay engaged?
Well, I had nothing to worry about. As soon as I went up the front, the room went stone dead quiet, as they all stared at this weird-looking stranger with big ears, more hair on his face than his head, and speaking a language they didn't understand.
I shared with the kids the story of Jesus and Peter walking on the water. I told them that what I love about the Bible is that God has put the stories in there to teach us a lesson. We can learn something and get wisdom from all the stories in the Bible.
Using my best teacher-storybook voice I launched into a dramatic retelling of the story (well, as best I could considering I had only one microphone that I had to put in Debora's face after every sentence).
I shared with them that the storm in the story represented the bad things that sometimes happen in our lives, and that while Peter had his eyes on Jesus he was okay, he was walking on the water. But when Peter took his eyes off Jesus, he began to sink. That represents the worry, fear and doubt we feel when bad things happen in our lives. I also shared that when Jesus rescued Peter, he didn't stop the storm straight away.
Some people believe that when we become a Christian, God will take all the bad stuff away and give us a perfect and happy life. That is completely untrue. Jesus says that in this world we will have trouble (John 16:33), but He will help us through the storm if we keep our eyes on Him and trust Him.
I also had a go at teaching them the song "My God Is So Big", complete with actions, which was a bit of fun.
After the night finished, many of them came up to me for a hug, or to have a photo taken with me. Being able to bless them in this way was profound and amazing. Because I was friendly and engaging, many of them also tried to talk to me, not fully grasping that I didn't understand a word they were saying. I just had to keep pointing to Debora and saying "talk to Debora", and "no fala Portuguese."
It was a privilege and an honour that God chose me to speak to these kids. It is heartbreaking and mind-blowing to imagine some of the things they have gone through and will go through in their lives, and I can only hope that God will use the words I spoke on His behalf to plant a seed of faith and hope for their future.
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