I have no idea what day it is.
Spiritual Update
These past couple ofweeks, God has dramatically transformed my way of living. As I dive into further revelation of the significance of Christ crucified, I am utterly captivated by the importance of the God who is.
In many ways, training camp was a blur. Our schedule was packed with activities and I often found myself tired, and recently, very sick! However, camp has pushed me to a point of fixation on living for Jesus rather than living against the world. We are not passive. We are actively pursuing Jesus in every single action of the day. I cannot explain the joy that this brings; I am literally living in the state of being for which I was created.
The word that encapsulates my experiences this past month is surrender. God submerged Himself into a place in my heart where I was harboring anxieties that I did not think I was ready to let go, and by His grace, I feel completely free from them. My desire is that I would want to give my whole life for Him. A passage I have been meditating on in relation to this is Philippians 3:
“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.”
Truly, everything else pales in comparison to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus. Please pray that this would continue to soak in my heart, as I have a long road ahead of me that requires dependence on this knowledge.
Practical Update
After wrapping up training camp, we spent a week working with Adventures Relief in Black Mountain, North Carolina. We worked to restore homes that suffered devastating damages from Hurricane Helene last year. My team of 6 had the privilege of working with our skill leader Troy to help repairMarissa’s house. Working at Marissa’s house was such a blessing. We mainly focused on repairing drywall with mudding and sanding. In addition, Carter (my squad leader) and I decided to spend the last day cleaning out trash around Marissa’s camper vans, which the family was living out of.
The most touching aspect of this ministry was not making Marissa’s house look nicer, but the relationships that were formed. My team not only shared our testimonies with each other, but we also got to know Marissa along the way. She and her kids stopped by the base for dinner, and we listened to a poem that Marissa wrote a few days after the hurricane if I remember correctly. What a privilege to not only help physically but also to represent and preach a hope and resurrection that is eternal!
As of now, we are back in Gainesville, Georgia for a debrief week to reflect and be poured into as we approach our travel day to Swaziland on Saturday, October 4.
I am looking forward to being humbled in new ways. In many aspects, my fleshly comfort is about to be stripped away for 8 months. Please pray that my squad would grow in dependence on the Lord and that God would be our portion; pray that we would be overflowing with the abundant joy of the Lord.
Godspeed,
Ezra
PHOTOS!
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