adventurescga-blogs Apr 10, 2008 8:00 PM

Losing Life

This is a blog taken from my good buddy Matt's page.  He has been on the World Race since January and is currently headed to Africa.  Matt i...

Subscribe


This is a blog taken from my good buddy Matt's page.  He has been on the World Race since January and is currently headed to Africa.  Matt is a fantastic writer and paints such a good picture of what life on the race is like with his words.  I share these with you because even though I am in the States, learning how to book flights and email in Spanish, my heart is out there with them.  These stories spur me on and confirm God's call on my life for this season.  I hope it encourages you.

"The LORD gives and the LORD takes away, but blessed be the
name of the LORD."

Someone died today. 
It was rather unexpected and it just happened to be the first thing on
our journey that took me by surprise.  We've
each seen a lot and experienced a lot in the last few days but none of it
caught me off guard.  I was expecting
things out of the ordinary to occur but it's not every day that, well, I'm
inches from God taking a life away.

We were in Tambo de Mora and a woman walked up to us and
asked us to come pray for her sister because she was sick.  We didn't argue and told her that we would go
but as soon as we started heading that direction we heard screams and saw
everyone running. 

Her sister died.

I don't know about you, but I've never been somewhere that
there's a massive language barrier and  I
have no idea how to give solace during death. 
We had a team inside the house praying and there were several more of us
outside praying also.  The screams from
daughters, sisters, family members, friends - they're still ringing in my head.  The helplessness I felt is still echoing in
the hallows of my being.  I ran out of
words to pray but my heart continued to ache for these people.  Not only had they just lost everything they
owned in an earthquake, including family members, but then another one is taken
away.  What's worst is - there almost
appears to be no hope. 

If it wasn't for Christ I think that it would all be
hopeless.

And this woman's life wasn't the only one that was lost
today.  I lost my own.  I've thought that I was such a badass because
nothing surprised me yet on this journey. 
I've had a black chicken stare me down during my devotionals, I've been
white-water rafting, I've sat cramped in a taxi too small for six people, I've
actually filled my stomach on very little food, I've taken one bucket shower,
and it wasn't until today that God smacked me. 
Better yet, it wasn't until today that I've finally felt numb, that I've
finally recognized God taking a part of me for Him.

"Our hearts must break before our hands can move."  I was having such a hard time feeling.  Now I'm not. 
It's really humbling to have your heart not only break for someone else,
but for your heart to break for yourself. 
I honestly don't know how to handle it. 
It's tough reality to face.  God's
breaking me.  God's ruining me and I
wouldn't want it any other way.

I can't wait to be wrecked even more.  I'm being stripped of myself to become more
like Him.  God's transforming me into an
image of His son - one with skin on for others.

So God took two lives today. 
Mine and another.  And I wouldn't
want to experience death any other way.

Amen.

Comments


Comment created and will be displayed once approved.

Related Blogs

The Cry of Bangkok

The Cry of Bangkok

Many people ask me why I have chosen to come on board with AIM and the World Rac...

By adventurescga-blogs
Standing in the Gap

Standing in the Gap

Our July '08 Racers are currently in Vietnam, and the Lord has begun to reve...

By adventurescga-blogs
Stories from the Race: Moving an Orphange

Stories from the Race: Moving an Orphange

Below is a video from one of our July 2008 Race teams.  They spent a f...

By adventurescga-blogs

Related Races (3)

Gap Year | 9 Months | August 2026

Gap Year | 9 Months | August 2026

Kyrgyzstan | Alumni | January 2027

Kyrgyzstan | Alumni | January 2027

Latin America | Semesters | January 2027

Latin America | Semesters | January 2027

Next article

Right Where I Belong

AI Generated Content

Here's a suggested caption you can copy and tweak.

Get the most talked about stories directly in your inbox