If He Did it Before, He'll Do it Again

As we draw nearer to the end of our time here in Louisville, it has felt great to realize that, amidst the chaos that is our everyday routine and the times of frustration from lack of seeing God working, we are having to find replacements for us when we leave. And, honestly, I didn't trust that the Lord would provide anyone to replace us since we're near the end now. But in spite of my faithlessness I never stopped praying for someone to come after me, specifically, to love the Somali woman I have grown to love. 

Not only has He provided someone that can teach her English (much better than I because she's an actual ESL teacher) but she is also, we believe, a follower of Christ. Words cannot describe how elated I have felt since that moment I found out about her. I pray that she is able to show Christ's love as I have (prayerfully) showed this family that I will hold in my heart. Not only that, but He has also provided a couple willing to work with a family we just recently got connected with. 

The Lord is so faithful and I'm so ashamed to say that I often forget about it. But in His word He proves His faithfulness over and over again. And He will continue to prove it until the end of times.

-P52 Louisville

When I'm Weak, He is Strong

At the beginning of the summer, during orientation specifically, we were warned that this mission we have dedicated the next two months of our lives to would be difficult. I’m sure all of us understood this and nodded our heads in agreement. But it wasn’t until we got to our destinations and started our ministry that we fully understood what this meant. 

Recently, a good bit of our team has felt as if we weren’t doing what we came here to do and that we’d lost focus and motivation from not seeing much fruit. These are some of the exact things that we were warned about and are praying to not fall victim to again. Making connections and building relationships has been difficult, but I believe it’s because we’ve been relying on our own strength instead of that of our Heavenly Father. God’s Word tells us that He is our strength. We just have to have faith that He will provide us a way to carry out what He has planned for us this summer.

Pray that we will stay focused on our task.

Pray that we won't allow ourselves to become discouraged by what may appear to human eyes as a lack of fruit. We can't see God's overall plan.

Perseverance

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. - James 1:2-4

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. - Philippians 3:12-14

And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right. - 2 Thessalonians 3:13

Pray for team members to press on, to persevere through the power of the the Holy Spirit, and to not grow weary as they serve our great God.

Team of the Day

P52 Louisville

Country of the Day

United States

God's Love

Jesus says in Luke 6:32, “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.”

Two weeks ago, we were graced with a team of college students from Georgia who easily blended in with us and loved the children we were serving as if they’d known them their entire lives. It’s so amazing to see the love that God has for us poured out onto others. Seeing fellow believers fully committed to the people and the purpose of your mission is such an encouraging thing to experience. Even more so when they are humble while doing it. I thank God for the opportunity to fellowship and serve with those students. I believe it was the interaction we needed.

-Louisville P52 Team

Rain, Rain, Go Away

This morning started off like any other morning at Refuge here in Louisville, Kentucky. The team was getting ready for breakfast and our weekly meeting. All was well. Then things took a turn.

We planned on rain coming this afternoon, but plans A-D went awry anyway. My faithful student that I meet with every week for ESL was not able to meet but my partner and I didn’t find out until we were at her apartment. We went prayer walking and played outside with children at a local apartment complex since we weren’t able to do ESL. Until it started pouring down in the middle of an amazing jumping rope session. Nikki and Jasmine were planning on teaching their Somali Bantu friend to drive today, but not in the rain. 

Thank the Lord for watering the Earth, but oh how does it change our plans for the day.

Just this morning, our supervisor was reading Matthew 10 to us and reminding us that we will face many things during our time here that will discourage us. Even our quiet time today was talking about how God is always working even when we can’t see it. It’s so amazing to see and realize just how much the Lord encourages us before we even face our trials. We just have to be listening to him. We also need to have faith that God knows what He's doing and, "all things work together for good to them that love God..."

The Remaining

Just over a year ago there was a tragic car accident in Louisville involving a train and a car full of Nepali teens. All but one of the passengers passed away. K, the survivor, is known by a youth director here at Refuge. Last week, it was brought to our attention that K, who had recently hospitalized, had professed to follow Christ. Upon hearing this, Micah and Caleb agreed to go visit him in the hospital and answer all the questions he had about Jesus. His first question (I'm sure you're curious to know): How powerful is Jesus? It's just so amazing to be able to talk to those that are so curious and new to their faith. I pray to be like K, still able to wonder and be astounded by the glory and beauty that is Christ.

God Opens Doors, Just Ask

It is now going on our third week here in Louisville, Kentucky and we still don't really know what it is that the Lord has planned for us this summer. But that doesn't mean that we don't pray for Him to show us His works. This past week we have seen Him move in more ways than one.

Nikki and Jasmine have had the pleasure of meeting a Bantu Somali college student named Asli. She is a 20-year old Muslim mother of three children and will be moving to Utah this coming Friday. Of course my teammates were urgent to tell her the gospel!

Thank the Lord that, on Thursday, they got that opportunity. Asli was requesting someone to teach her to drive before she moves away. Nikki and Jasmine gladly answered her request and also shared the greatness of God with her through the gospel. She had many questions regarding about what we believe about eternity and was very open during the conversation. Please join us in praising Jesus for this wonderful experience that my team was able to experience.

Meet the Team: P52 Louisville

Meet the team serving in Louisville, Kentucky this summer! These students are interning at Refuge Louisville to serve the local refugees.

Nikki is our team leader and graduate from the University of Georgia, spent last summer serving refugees in Nashville, Tennessee. She is so excited to see what she can learn from the Lord this time while serving in Louisville.

Micah, a recent high school graduate and Kentucky native, is dipping his toe into short-term missions to see if this is what the Lord is calling him to do long-term.

Jessica (me) is a psychology major and Spanish minor at Clayton State University. I have only been on one other missions trip that was all summer long and loved it. I am really looking forward to how the Lord will grow me this summer.

Caleb, a chemistry major at Auburn Montgomery, desires to play a part in fulfilling God's command of the Great Commission. Getting the opportunity to serve those that have been cast out of their own homes is just the beginning.

Jasmine is a sociology major at Auburn Montgomery. This girl has a lot of love and laughs to give to those that meet her. This is Jasmine's first missions trip and she is ecstatic about serving the Lord all summer long.



From left to right: Nikki, Micah, Jessica, Caleb and Jasmine

Broken Communities

The Refuge center in South Louisville is surrounded by communities filled with refugees from all over the world. Prayer walking is such a necessity for our team this summer. Please join us in praying for our communities and families.