Don't Wait Another Minute! by Karen

October 29, 2022

Don't Wait Another Minute! by Karen

There are a whole host of reasons why we write blogs, one of which is to encourage others to seek opportunities that could help them grow in their faith.

How do we grow in faith?

According to Miriam-Webster, faith is synonymous with trust, confidence, and certainty. So, one could rightly conclude that we grow in faith when we trust the Lord; when we are certain that His ways are bigger and better than our own; and we place our confidence in Him instead of ourselves.

All that sounds good, but what does it actually mean in practice?

Well, in this season of life, it means teaching the folks in our town how to speak English.

How could teaching English help someone grow in his/her faith?

In every place that we've served, the locals have begged us to offer English classes, but I've always refused because "we didn't leave our entire life behind to teach people the difference between 'a' and 'an'!" I shamelessly declared that we had more important things to be doing. I insisted that we spend our time searching for those in most need of Christ's love, not helping overachievers "get ahead" in life. As I type, I'm feeling embarrassed by my pridefulness and arrogance. I've desired to serve the Lord, that's true, but it seems that I've preferred to serve Him in the ways that I thought were best. I can now see that I was so busy looking for the people that I thought we should be serving that I overlooked the ones that the Lord had delivered to our doorstep.

I'm not exactly sure why we agreed to teach English here in Costa Rica, but I'm glad we did because it has quickly become a favorite ministry. Our class is helping folks gain skills that could help them secure better jobs in the future; it's also teaching us to trust the Lord - which means we're growing in our faith. By surrendering to His holy will we've seen (yet again) that His ways are exponentially better than our ways, and we're being reminded of the importance of placing our trust in Jesus and not ourselves.

Is there something that you've been invited to do over and over again?

Could it be that the Lord is inviting you to grow in your faith in ways that you

just aren't able to see or understand?

If so, I encourage you to prayerfully consider saying "yes" so that you can capitalize on the opportunity to grow in your faith. We know that the Lord desires our hearts, and it seems that He's always looking for ways to help us take that next step closer. For us, it's been an English class. What could it be for you?

Following are some pictures of our classes these last six months. It's been such a blessing to get to know the people that have come and we look forward to all that the Lord will do inside the relationships being formed. I pray that you feel encouraged by all the smiling faces and trust that the Lord's plan for your life is infinitely better than anything you could come up with on your own. God bless, Karen