Be proud of who you are
What a simple yet powerful saying, right? Be proud... of who YOU are. Many people, including myself, don't really appreciate ourselves. We say we're not good enough for whoever we are aiming our eyes to, we say we aren't pretty enough, skinny enough, perfect enough, we ask who would want us for our past?. Who would want to be with us because of the family problems we've been in? We have too many imperfections and we are just never good enough. I can attest to the fact that I have felt it all. And lemme tell ya... God is beyond great. Who should we aim our eyes to? GOD. Who says we are beautiful, both inside and outside? GOD. Who says we are perfect just the way we are? GOD. Who forgets the past and focuses not on family problems but on our own problems and trying to conquer them with unending love? GOD.
It's beautiful to be able to see and be a part of God's unending love. Seeing how He works through each and every one of our lives. Separately and individually. With patience. But with His patience we must have patience as well. This week we have two more mission teams- both from Michigan. I love to see how even though most of the teams come from the same state- or states right next to each other- they each have different stories and different things to contribute to our community. The amount of stories I heard today was beyond incredible. Each one touched my heart. Each one made me realize how fortunate I am to be where I am today. To be able to overcome the trials and tribulations that God has put me through and to be able to be carried by His love.
One such story was with Tonette. Like I said in previous blogs.. she is called Hell Raiser- and she lives by her name proudly! I had given her my spoon ring which she absolutely loved. Later last week one of the guys from my team wore a cross necklace and Tonette wanted it. I told her I that I would find her one towards the end of the week, and she got upset. I told her to be patient though! So the end of the week comes and still no cross necklace. I wasn't able to find one. I was going home that week and figured I could get her a nice one she would really appreciate. But of course I see her before the end of the week is up. She had been looking for that cross necklace day after day and when she saw me she wasn't happy. She probably thought I was another typical "Christian" who gave false promises and never carried them out. Or someone who wouldn't go through with their word. It broke my heart thinking about that. I don't want to be that to somebody- especially someone who has gone through so much her as Tonette. She wanted that cross necklace to "protect her from the evil spirits at night" and when she saw that I couldn't help her I understood why she was upset- I was just another disappointment to her. I let her be and promised myself I would find her one.
Come today I took 2 of my groups to the top of the hill and saw her. She saw me and pulled me aside and I told her I had something for her. I showed her the necklace and she became a small girl. I put it on her and from then on she showed everyone her new necklace. She made sure that every person that walked by the spot talked to me or if not, she introduced them to me. She took care of me and said God bless you. She also gave me a hugee hug and a kiss :) This probably made my week. I knew that through this I was able to show that Christians aren't just there to make false promises- we are there to show our love through our actions as well as through our words. I pray that I can continue to get closer to her and help her know that she should be proud of who she is because God loves her. I pray that one day she can see the love God has for her and that this cross necklace can be a step towards that path.
Please continue to pray for our mission teams as they're doing a GREAT job so far! I am excited to see what God has in store for us next!
P.S: shout out to my past mission teams! From Tennessee, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio - I MISS YOU and y'all are awesome and helped inspire me ten times more! You will all have a special home here in Atlanta, Georgia so keep in touch :)
Jenny Sample
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