Be Bold in Your Faith

I love following other blogs, one of my favorites is called "Savor his Goodness" by Caitlin Rose. I don't even know how I found it, but I love it! She is so faithful and profound and I love reading what she has to say. This post was from last week, but I loved it so I decided to share it. Hopefully you get as much out of it as I did!

A Lesson from the Older Folks: Be Bold in Your Faith

I have loved working with older adults for the past two months. If there's anything I've really admired about them, it's how bold so many of them are with their faith. The ones who love the Lord are not afraid to share it with anyone who will listen, living out Romans 1:6 ("For I am not ashamed of the Gospel.  For it is the power of God unto salvation for all believers, the Jew first, and the Greeks") 

These are just some of the things patients have said:

• "The Lord promised in his Word that He will never leave us or forsake us. He's always by our side, and there's a reason for everything, even if the only reason is to strengthen our relationship with Him."
• "I know I'm going to get better, but it will only be with the help of the Lord." 
• "I have been improving a little bit every single day, and I owe it all to the Lord." 
• "Every good thing comes from God." 
• When asking a 100+ year old the secret to living to 100: "I have put God first throughout my whole life, and in return he has been so good to me.  I wake up every morning and thank him for waking me up to see a new day and for helping me with everything I need to do." 
• There are frequent exclamations of "God is so good,"  "Praise the Lord," and "Thanks be to God!" 
• There are also frequent prayers: "Please Lord, just help me do this!"  And these prayers are said in a sincere way, not how some people exclaim things like "God help us all!" 

Picture source

I don't know whether it's because of their age and experiences or because of their culture, but these adults have no inhibitions about sharing their faith.  There are no worries about whether or not they're talking to people who don't believe in God, and they have no fears of rejection.  They share what's on their hearts, and they want everyone to see how good God is. 

So why am I so reserved and timid about sharing my faith?  I have no problem talking with my husband and close friends about it and sharing it on the Internet (I mean, duh, I have a blog), but why not in day to day conversations, even with people I don't know?   Is it an age thing or a personality thing? 

I guess part of it comes from worrying about imposing my faith on others who aren't believers and causing offense.  But is it really imposing or offensive to share where my joy comes from?  Sharing in a way that doesn't come off as you should believe this, but the way my patients go about doing it in showing how God is working in their lives.  

While I obviously can't bring up religion on fieldwork unless a patient starts the conversation,  I am trying to figure out how I can become more bold and fearless in sharing my faith.  I suppose a start could be bringing it up with strangers.  If a stranger congratulates me on my pregnancy, I could respond with something like "Thank you so much. God has truly blessed us!"  Other than that, I am giving it some thought as to how I can be more open.  

After all, we are all called to spread the Word.

"And he said to them 'Go forth to the whole world and preach the Gospel to every creature.' "

- Mark 16:15 

How do you go about sharing your faith with others?  Do you talk about your faith with strangers? Do you wait for someone else to bring it up before you talk about it?  

Two Years

Two years is a long time to leave your family and friends. Missionaries sacrifice so much to do so, and saying goodbye is always so hard. This song describes perfectly how a mother, a missionary girlfriend, and a missionary feel when they leave.
I know I will miss my family so much but I know that I'm spending 2 years without them so that I can help others spend an eternity with their families.
The second verse always brings tears to my eyes. My best friend Dalton Oakey is serving is mission in California right now. He has been gone just over 2 months, and saying goodbye was one of the hardest things I've ever done.
Pay close attention to the last verse for how I feel: "It's only a small thing when you look at eternity".

Her little boy has grown up so fast,
She looks back in awe at the time that has past.
Now, 18 years old and he's ready to go
To share his light and God's love with the world.

She'd always known that this day was ahead,
Now it's finally here and she just stares at his bed.
Where a few white shirts and long black coat
Sit in his suitcase with a letter she wrote, saying:

My best friend :)

Two years is a long time for me,
To be here without you
It's hard to believe
But I know it's the right thing.
And I'll miss you dearly.

Young girl, just 18 years old    
Wasn't quite ready to see her best friend go,
For 730 days she tried to hold them back,
But her tears gave way, saying:

Two years is a long time for me,
To be here without you
It's hard to believe
But I know it's the right thing.
And I'll miss you dearly.

Car pulls up, time is now,
To say goodbye for 2 years, they didn't know how
He got his bags, tears rush out.
With a heart full of love, he says:

Two years is the time for me
To give back for I owe each breathe that I breath
It's only a small thing,
When you look at eternity.

Do what the Peruvians Do

Well I have known for five days now that I am going to Peru for my mission. PERU! When I opened my call, I didn't even know exactly where Peru was or anything about it for that matter.

Here is Peru. Right in the center is the city of Huancayo. It is the 5th largest city in Peru. It is located in the Central Andes Mountains. And this is where I am going to be spending the next 18 months of my life. Some things I have learned about Peru:
Guinea Pigs are a big deal. In the city of Huaráz they have a Guinea Pig festival!! They dress them up and have contests and everything. Pretty exciting huh?? They also eat them! I am actually pretty excited about eating Guinea Pigs, it is a common dish there.
The weather in Huancayo is perfect. The average temperature is 57, and the yearly temperatures go from mid 20s to mid 80s. PERFECT! I can't wait.
There are two distinct seasons in Peru. The wet season and the dry season. Their summer months (November- April) are wet and rainy. And their winter (May-October) are really dry. That will be something to adjust to. Especially having Christmas in the summer time...
THERE ARE LLAMAS.
I will be taking a lot of cold showers, so in order to prepare myself for that, I have started taking cold showers. And surprisingly I like them.
There are really freaky bugs there....
The ancient Incas are front there along with their ancient city, Machu Picchu.
I can't wait to learn more, and to submerge myself in the culture and the language. Adios!