Proverbs 21:2
It has been a very long time since we have updated our blog and once again I find myself apologizing to you all. A couple of people have told me lately that "forgiveness is always on the horizon", so I pray that you feel the same way :)
2008 for G.O. Ministries, Inc., was an incredible year. Everything from the number of people (868) that came down to do short term missions to the enormous amount of people that received medicine at our medical clinics to the thousands of kids that participated in sports camps and on and on and on. We were so blessed to meet such a large number of Believers that make up the Body of Christ and serve all over the globe. In saying all of that, there was one thing that God really taught us through out the year, "all a man's ways seem right to him, but the LORD weighs the heart." There were many moments this past year where we (Audrey and I) felt like we were at the top of our game and doing ministry in such powerful ways because so many people were involved. But then one day we were led to the verse in Proverbs and began to ask ourselves...."if the Lord is weighing our heart, what would the result be?"
So many times we get so caught up in the "what" that we forget about the "how" of our activities. There aren't many things easier in the Dominican Republic than grabbing a few basketballs, going to the court and inviting kids to play. Before you know, you have started a camp that then leads to a league. At the end of 6 weeks, the kids had a blast and learned a great deal about basketball. But is that it? Was that really all we were hoping to accomplish? We felt like we did a good thing; our ways seemed right. But after a while we began to wonder, are we fulfilling God's desires or are we simply creating activities that take up time and make it look like we're expanding the Kingdom. Well, our hearts were weighed and it was time for a change.
God has taught us so much this past year about how important it is to seek His guidance before we take every step. Often times we get so comfortable with our own decisions that we just leave Him out of the whole process. Time and time again, His results proved far more amazing than anything we could ever produce. When it came time for God to examine our hearts, I'm afraid He wasn't seeing much of Himself. Please pray that we continue to seek Him before we move forward.
Especially during Christmas, as Believers, our hearts are softened to the needs of people who are without. So we spend time serving meals at a soup kitchen or delivering blankets to homeless people and really reach out to different communities. The prayer that we lift up today is that as we continue to reach out, that we don't just do it because we're supposed to, but that we learn to love the people we are serving. That we take time to get to know them and invest in their lives. It is a powerful thing to be able to provide a physical need for someone, but the rewards are eternal when we take the time to provide spiritual food in the lives of those around us. When our hearts aim to please man, we'll be disappointed, but if our hearts' desire is for God, He will move mountains.
Please pray that God continues to challenge us on the mission field to not only provide activities for the people we work with, but also do our job as Believers, to lift up the Gospel and allow the Word of God to transform us all. Allow Him to lead, because if we are people after His own heart, when it comes time for Him to weigh ours, He'll be pleased.
Much love,
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Will and Audrey
Below are a couple of pictures of Miguel from Hato del Yaque. God really taught us a lot through a few hours spent with this kid as all he wanted to do was sit, play and hug. In a day filled with activities that we were supposed to be involved in, God revealed Himself to us through this little guy.
