In the Loving Arms of a Loving Father

I’ve had this blog done for over a month now. Well, at least some of it has been done. I wanted to share a sweet story from my time at our squad debrief at the end of Kenya, but the Lord has been telling me for weeks that it’s not time yet. I’ve been procrastinating posting about the rest of our time in Kenya, hoping that I’d get to share it. I didn’t feel peace about it until I had the opportunity to share the story at church last Sunday. I titled this blog In the Loving Arms of a Loving Father because on September 21st I got baptized, and that’s the story I get to tell.

In the Loving Arms of a Loving Father: This story begins all the way back at our training camp in January. During a revival night, numerous squad members got baptized. Joy filled me as I watched them come to life, but a part of me longed to experience it too. I understand that baptism is not something one participates in solely because others are doing it; therefore, I continued to observe. We left the United States and began our race in Thailand. Throughout the last nine months I would occasionally remember revival night. The urge to become baptized kept coming back, yet I couldn’t find peace about it. Flash forward to our squad debrief at Diani Beach in Kenya. We spent six days there. In our schedule, there was time set aside for sunrise baptisms one morning. Three of my squadmates had already chosen to be baptized, but I had no intention of doing so. On the evening of Friday, September 19th, our squad was worshipping on our porch by the beach. I kept hearing the word baptism. I doubted whether this voice was coming from the Lord or from my desires. I ignored it. Right after worship, as I was cleaning dishes, Abby walked over to me and asked if I would like to be the worship coordinator for our team in Uganda. Without any hesitation I said, “Yes!” At this point I knew the voice that I heard during worship was from the Lord. I immediately turned to Abby and said I also have a question: “Will you baptize me on Sunday?” With tears streaming down her face, she excitedly said, “Yes, I’d love to!” On Sunday in the early morning with four of my other squadmates, I got baptized. I got to share this testimony last Sunday, and as I was preparing for it, the Lord brought Luke 12:7 to my mind. Luke 12:7 says, “Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.” The hairs on our heads are exceedingly fine, yet the Lord is aware of each and every one. Abby’s question about me becoming worship coordinator was a small but significant detail. The Lord knew I needed that question because I needed the confidence that I was hearing His voice so I could be baptized. The second part of Luke 12:7 talks about how the Lord values the sparrows. If the Lord values the sparrows, how much more does He value me as His daughter? He values me enough to ensure that if it’s in his plan, he’ll do anything to lead me there. He used Abby and a worship session to help me decide on getting baptized. This decision was the best one I could have made since embarking on this mission trip. The memory of being submerged in the ocean and then rising, feeling the Lord’s comforting hug and hearing, “I am so proud of you,” stays with me vividly. I truly am in awe of what the Lord has done in the past nine months. I find great gratitude in being held by a loving Father, even when I question His voice. 

Kenya: I’ve been in Uganda since September 23rd, so it’s time to tell you all about the last few weeks of my time in Kenya. Our last week of ministry, we went to three different schools and shared the gospel, sang worship songs, and did several interactive skits with the kids. We went to the school that all the girls go to. It was really sweet to see their faces light up when they saw us. We got many hugs from them. Since the principal is Muslim, it was a big deal that we shared the gospel with over 500 students. I love moments like this. On Sunday we went to two different churches, sang worship songs, and gave words of encouragement. The following week we didn’t have any ministry. We spent lots of time in the ward, watched multiple movies, and packed for our travel day to Mombasa. On our last night with the girls, we ate dinner all together and gave them notes of encouragement. We left New Dawn African Girl and took a 16-hour bus ride to Mombasa to meet with the rest of our squad for a few days. After a 16-hour bus ride, we rested on our first day in Mombasa. The following day Ella and I went to the mall and got our nails done. In the evening we had a virtual parent vision trip. Our parents got on a Zoom call, and we introduced the teams, shared testimonies with them about our time on the race, and sang worship songs. Amanda gave an incredible message about the gospel, and we finished the night with communion. We got up the next morning and got to go to a resort that had a lovely pool and access to the beach. It was AWESOME!! Thereafter, we had another rest day, which was good. The following day we packed to head to Diani Beach for our squad debrief. It was so refreshing to be on the beach. We left for Uganda on September 22nd at 4:30 am and safely arrived after 30 hours of traveling by train and bus! 

A week from today we leave to go back to the United States! I’ll share about my time in Uganda in the coming weeks. Thanks for being patient with my blogging.

With love,

Lillie