Dear friends and family,
Thank you for following me along this journey God is leading me on. As many of you know I returned to Canada in August after filling in for teachers at Sakeji for a year and a half. Sakeji felt like home, and I didn’t want to leave. I have been praying about serving at Sakeji as a full time worker for quite awhile. I have lived serving here ever since I first came in 2010. After much prayer and guidance I knew I needed to return to Canada. God showed me in His word that I needed to talk to my assembly and not try to stay on my own (1 Timothy 4:14 "Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership"). When missionaries go out to full time work it is with the support of their assemblies. God doesn’t have us do the work on our own as that would lead to a false reliance of self. That I could do the job in my own strength. God continues to show me it is through His strength and the people He puts in my life who lead me toward Him and His will that I am able to complete the missions He gives me.
I returned home with a great sense of peace knowing this is where God needed me right now. I was back in time to help out at Joy Bible Camp where I have been going for years. I went with some small roles that would give me time to help in different ways through the week. When I arrived, I was told there was a counsellor missing and could I fill in for the night until she arrived the next day. The next day came and the counsellor did not. I was asked to fill in for her for the rest of the week. The small roles I had were given to someone else which she filled in a big way. I had so much fun being a counsellor again. I hadn’t done that at Joy since 2017 so I felt a lot older. I was paired with an amazing co-counsellor and we were the oldest team there. Hoorah for experience! haha She also “happened” to have spent some time in Zambia when she was younger. It’s so cool how God brought us together.
Through the summer I helped with our assembly’s VBS, stayed with Mom while Dad was helping family out West with the harvest, and hung out with friends. I spent just over a week visiting Nanny in Saskatchewan. She had just moved into a nursing home and Mom and I got to help her set up her new apartment. We enjoyed home cooked meals every night and driving into Estevan to do some shopping. While out West I got to visit some friends in Manitoba. I got to spend the afternoon with Heidi Hanna who I travelled and lived with for 7 months in Zambia in 2022. Unfortunately her dad was stung by a bee or wasp and ended up in emergency, but God had that under control. The restaurant we had lunch at was right across the street from a hospital. God had each person there who needed to be there to deal with it.
One of the most special things was being able to say goodbye to Grandpa. His Parkinson's had been getting worse, and he was going downhill quickly. I got to see him a few more times before he went to be with HIs Lord. He was a special man who was always one of my biggest supporters. A quiet, strong prayer warrior who loved his corny jokes and Tim Hortans coffee. He is greatly missed, but I am so glad he got to go home and be with His Saviour.
During this time at home I had been meeting with the elders of my assembly to discuss returning to Sakeji. After much prayer and consideration I will be returning to Sakeji Mission School as a full time commended worker for as long as God will have me there. I will be the grade 2 homeroom teacher as well as taking on many other responsibilities around the school. While I have so much more to learn, God is willing to use me right where I am in my journey with Him.
When I first came to Sakeji, I was young and inexperienced but eager to serve God. I was unsure of how my mission trip was going to go. I had never travelled by myself. Through a story I was reading of a young girl who was moving far from all she knew, God gave me comfort. "Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared" Exodus 23:20. I held on to that promise for myself, too. Ever since that first visit I have had a desire to go back. I wanted to make sure it was not my desire alone but that it was from God. I prayed He would take away the desire if it was not from Him and to guide me to His will. As I prayed this over and over the desired to serve at Sakeji stayed. Psalm 37:4 says, "Delight yourself in the LORD, and He shall bring it to pass." Verse 5 continues to say, "Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. A few years ago my cousin served God by fighting cancer and continually turned to God throughout his illness. A woman in my assembly asked me to pass on a verse to him which I did via Messenger. The note stayed in my Bible. The verse became my anchor. "But indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth" Exodus 9:16.
I have learned that even though I have grown in experience I still have so much more to learn. I am thankful to know that God wants to use me as I grow. 1 Timothy 4:12-16 says it best: "Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you." Being an example of Christ to others is a great responsibility which I do not take lightly but at the same time know I can only do so in His strength.
If you have any questions feel free to reach out. You can email me at blondeviolet@gmail.com.
Thank you so much for your prayers and support as I make this transition back to the Lord's work at Sakeji Mission School.
Your sister in Christ,
Yolanda
Praise points:
- travel companions from Lusaka to Sakeji
- safe travels for all
- work permit has been approved
- safe arrival at Sakeji
Prayer points
- three of our suitcases to be transported from Lusaka at another time
- one suitcase did not make it to Lusaka and I am trying to track it down
- term 1 has a delayed start across the country (January 29) because of the number of cholera cases has increased
- 8 grade 2 students I will be teaching (3 girls, 5 boys)
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