Needs...

I am feeling pretty anxious when I think that 48 days from today I will be back on a plane and headed to Lesotho for another 6 months. I am so excited to see the children and staff, run on the playground with the older kids, snuggle with a baby for an afternoon, and sit and chat with staff members at BG. But the thought of having to start saying goodbye to people I love and will miss here is pretty hard. God has blessed me with great people in my life and you all make it hard to say goodbye to.

A few of you have been asking me, other than personal support, what are some needs that you have. I decided to be bold and make 3 requests on the blog. If anyone would like to help either by providing the whole gift or part of it, please email me at christina.terpstra@gmail.com.

Need 1
I need a place to store my car from January 6 to July 2. Does anyone have extra space in a garage, barn or building where I could park it? I will have storage insurance on it?

Need 2
I would love to have the book "There is a Monster at the End of This Book." It is a children's story by Sesame Street about Grover. Silly request I know, but I will use it for devotions with teams as well as with the staff and children

Need 3
This one is a big one, but it will hopefully bless not only me, but other volunteers as well. Currently BG has a 12 string guitar, that someone donated. It is a great guitar, but not one that you can just pick up and play. I would love to have a 6 string guitar at BG that I could use with the staff, children and other volunteers. This guitar would stay at BG, so that other volunteers could use it. I can purchase one in South Africa, so that I won't have to travel with it to Lesotho. The cost of the guitar in South Africa is $400.

Like I said, if you would like to help with any of these needs, please send me an email.

Reputation

How many of us had our parents say, "Remember who you are" as you left the house? Reputation is a big thing. We all want to be known for doing great things. I don't think any of us want to be known for always making mistakes or for always coming in last place. We want to do great things.

Christians are no different. How many of us want to do big things for the Kingdom of God? How many of us are okay if we are known to only serve ourselves and the things that are inwardly focused? How many of us praise God on Sunday, but live differently the rest of the week? I don't think many of us want to be known as people who only did things that made themselves feel good and only served out of guilt instead of a deeper desire to fully embrace the life that God wants us to have. But how many of us do the later instead of the former?

A lot of people look at my life and say that I am inspirational or radical or that they look up to me. I am going to be pretty honest here, I don't feel like any of those things and believe me, no one should ever look up to me. When I read about the disciples who dropped their nets and followed Jesus without saying goodbye to their family, that is radical. When I read about the many times Paul was imprisoned for sharing the gospel, and yet still praised God because of it, I see someone who is radical. The truth is, I am human. I mess up. I sin. I am not inspirational. At the end of the day, I pray that I am obedient to what God calls me to do. I pray that I embrace the story that God has written for me, not because I want to be known as great, but because I want others to know the Great I AM. That my friends is not radical, it is being obedient to what God calls us to do. He wants us to reach out to the poor, the widow, the orphan. He wants us to serve our neighbor, and love them no matter what their life looks like. "Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40). Loving others is how God wants us to live. It is the reputation He wants us to have.

I saw a picture last week that hurt my heart. This photo was a map of the world and instead of the name of each country, it contained the countries reputation.

 

If you zoom in and see Lesotho, there is one word...MORTALITY. Lesotho is known for death. Lesotho is known for people living short lives. Extreme poverty paired with extreme disease is the reputation of Lesotho. My heart sank. Yes Lesotho does have those and thus is full of morality, but to me Lesotho has so much more. Lesotho has people who will kill their best animal for dinner, knowing someone special is coming to their house. Lesotho is full of people who embrace the life God has for them and live it with joy and celebration. Lesotho is full of children who want what every child wants, to play, have fun and be loved.

 

When we see ourselves as the world sees us, it can be very eye opening. To live your life with the world's reputation is hard. I don't want to be known as someone who is on stage speaking and raising money. I want to be known as a child of the King of kings who was obedient to Him. After a presentation, I don't want others to remember me, but to instead walk away knowing they were in the presence of God. I desire to know Him more, so that He can be more fully known.

 

So many of us (me included) measure ourselves, our worth and our reputation against someone else. We desire the life someone else has, the things they have, the family they have. We measure our self worth against the human flesh. I am so guilty of this!!! As David Platt said, "We need to return with urgency to a biblical gospel, because the cost of not doing so is great for our lives, our families, our churches and the world around us." If we continue to measure ourselves against others, instead of what the gospel says, we will never measure up. We will always think our lives are not worthy of doing anything great. But if we look at our life purely based upon the Word of God, we will see that the Great I AM calls us HIS. If Lesotho only looks at what the world thinks of them, they will only see morality. But if they see themselves as God sees them, they will see life.

 

Friends, I want you all to know, that I desire to do the will of God. I want to be known as His. I want my reputation to become invisible so that He can become the most visible thing ever. Please join me in prayer for our hearts to align with God's heart and then act on what He asks you to do. Please join me in praying that we as His children will only base our reputation on what He thinks of us.

 

If any of you are reading this and want to know more about the Great I AM and the plan and purpose He has for your life, please email me at christina.terpstra@gmail.com.