Pressing onwards and upwards in His strength

3 hours in, we experienced the first
of 2 trailer punctures, not realizing
the tire had blown, therefore riding
11 k's on the rim & hub

          This last Tuesday, the team launched on our South Sudan mission. Finances weren't all in place, but we felt God calling us to go. Then once we were about 4 hours out, we got a call that the finances had just arrived in to fully support the 1 vehicle going. What an answer to prayer! The Lord has shown us again and again His sovereignty throughout, His perfect plan, forcing us more and more to become dependent of His holy calling and timing, and showing us our severe inadequacy and dire need for Him!

          We've had to get our visas and documents sorted out in Pretoria, and as such have been stationed here for a couple days before continuing north. The car ride has again provided extremely good time to read, think and pray; and i was recently able to download a good audio file of the ESV New Testament which is ideal for the car as the bumps on the road make things a little more difficult to read. We've also been listening to some of Ravi Zacharias's sermons, so full of good material!

          One thing I've been struggling through, especially within the last few days, is preparing to preach to the people God puts us in contact with on this trip. I feel so inadequate when I think, for instance in preaching about suffering, how much more they already have a grasp of maintaining joy throughout heavy persecution, something I would still greatly struggle with and haven't experienced nearly to the extent they have. I feel that there is still so very much to learn and apply to my own life before I can even think of talking to others about some of those issues. But at the same time, I then feel convicted that I have become like Moses, reluctant to follow God's calling to go, creating lots of excuses as to why I am not fit. Please pray that throughout this entire trip, I would be able to answer God's calling to go, in a way that i remain of broken and humbled spirit. I become so prideful so fast; so please pray that God would continue to keep me in a position where i can learn more about Him each day, never putting myself in a position above those I minister to, judging myself by judging them. Pray for wisdom for the team, that the Lord would guide our words and use us as vessels to carry the message He wills; and may His Glory dwell in our land!