Dear friends,
I hope that everyone had a blessed Christmas. I pray that the joy and knowledge that God provided a way for us to know Him was revealed to you in a new and fresh way. What a great God we serve! He is faithful beyond words.
It has now been six months since I first set out on this adventure. I can't believe I am already half way through my time here. It's crazy. As I look back at these past six months, I can see how God worked in incredible ways. He has been changing my life in every way. My view of the world has expanded hugely, and my view of Him and of how He desires me to live has changed drastically. The main thing He has been teaching me is that it is NOT about me. At all. It never has been and never will be. My life is completely and entirely existent to bring glory to His name. I used to think I knew it all. In high school I had the belief that I knew pretty much everything so I really didn't need to listen to others. I wanted to think that I had arrived, but God has blown apart everything I ever thought that I knew. Recently, God has been humbling me in drastic ways and also in small things. It's hard and painful, but very necessary! I want to be used by Him to do great things for His Kingdom, but I will never be able to until my life is completely absent of myself. I'm at a point where I accept that I know nothing and that I am nothing. Every day I have to struggle to get to a place of allowing God to increase and myself to decrease. It's a daily challenge, but one that is completely worth it. Only when I allow God to rule completely over my life will I be able to truly live. I want Christ to my cornerstone, God to be my King and the Spirit to be my guide. Oh that we would learn to live completely absent of self. If Christians around the world would get to a point where they chose to walk in humility no matter what the cost, the ways the body of Christ would reach the world and impact the Kingdom would be insane! It's all about the Holy, Majestic Creator of this world. Let's live our lives completely and sacrificially for Him in this new year!
After getting home from Kenya, we spent the next week doing Christmas parties at our various projects. It was a great time of spreading the joy of what Christmas truly means. In all, including Kenya, I was a part of 10 Christmas parties in a span of three weeks. I can honestly say I know the Christmas story very well now. It was so great to see the simplicity of how Christmas is celebrated here. Most people don't even do gifts or have Christmas trees. Honestly, it didn't really feel like Christmas. I enjoyed that. Without all of the distractions it was a lot easier to focus on the true meaning.
A week before Christmas, I fell really sick. It lasted for about three weeks. It was a rough time because I could barely get out of bed. Right when I thought I was better I would get just as bad as before. I had miss out on going to the village for the three days leading up the Christmas. Then after two weeks I thought I was completely better, and so we all left to go to a camp. It lasted five days and went over New Year's. When we got there I started feeling sick again and then that night I regressed to feeling worse than ever. I stayed, hoping I'd get better, but I didn't so I had to leave. It was all very frustrating. I felt useless and sick of being sick. However, I know that God was teaching me a lesson in humility. When I couldn't even get out of bed I had to rely on Him. I couldn't rely on myself at all. Even as I am almost completely better that is how I need to live every day, even when I have full strength. I went to the doctors a few times, but I never was able to really find out what I had. Praise God, though, that it turned out to not be malaria.
I love you all. I know that so many of you have been lifting me up in prayer, and I truly want to thank you for that. There are many times when I get very discouraged and it is such an encouragement to know people back home are praying for me.
"Now to Him who is able to do far more and abundantly than all that we as or think, according to the power at work in us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen."
God bless you all in this new year!
Craig
