I haven’t sat down to post a blog in far too long. The past month has been a whirlwind! I’ve got quite a few stories I wish I could tell right now. But, I don’t want to bombard you all at once. So, I guess I’ll go story by story.
I’ve lived in the Dominican Republic for just over three weeks now. I am currently sitting by the pool on our base, under the stars, watching the cars from the highway pass by as I type out these words. To say it’s been a smooth transition from Costa Rica to the DR would be a lie. My last few weeks in Costa Rica were rough. I was trying to grieve all the goodbyes. All the relationships it felt like I had just built. The people I had come to love so deeply. Yet, there was this place, with these people that I know I love so deeply, just waiting for me. It felt like I was leaving a piece of my heart, just to pick back up another piece. Which was just a really hard thing to process. I became really unmotivated to do much of anything.
Then, there was my last week of costa rica, aka debrief. A time to rest and reflect on all that happened during our time in Costa. The Lord showed up through so much intentionality. He brought me through this level of freedom I had never experienced. Revealing to me even more the heart He has for me. Showing me a bigger picture of simple things He had already been walking me through. I was so ready for all that the Lord had instore for the DR.
Then I arrived here, and unmotivation started to kick back in. My days begin to fill up completely. Leaving for ministry at 8:30 in the morning, not being home until 4:30 in the afternoon. Spending my afternoons working in the coffee shop, cooking dinner for the squad, or cleaning something.
Our ministry here is amazing! We work with local pastors and meet with people in their communities. We build relationships and share the goodness of the Father. It’s my favorite ministry in the world, but can leave you exhausted. I felt like I had all these stories to tell, but no time to tell them. We do have two off days every week. One day is typically spent relaxing by the beach, and the other resting on the base. Yet, I couldn’t find the energy in me to write out all these stories. It started becoming a theme within my whole squad. Extreme exhaustion. All of us unmotivated, or feeling uninterested in things that should make us excited. Feeling tired and beaten down from nothing. That’s when we realized it wasn’t about long days anymore, but spiritual warfare.
My sweet teammate, Gretchen, had the conviction of doing an overnight 12 hour prayer burn. Once again, I wasn’t feeling interested in it. I personally didn’ feel the conviction to be apart of it, and was honestly just too tired to join in for all of it. So I decided the night of the prayer burn that I was going to go to sleep. I set my alarm for 4:30 am, and if I felt up to it by the time my alarm went off, I’d join. But, as I was falling asleep I asked the Lord to wake me up in the middle of the night if He really wanted me to join. Then at 2:23am I wake up really needing to go to the bathroom (which never happens to me by the way). So I get up and go. That’s when I was reminded of my prayer. So I fight back and forth with my half awake mind, wondering if it was really the Lord waking me up. Eventually I found the energy in me to walk to the church where the prayer burn was happening. Spending the rest of the night in fellowship, worshipping, and praying for various things.
Long story short, ever since that night I have felt rested and so motivated. I’m ready to share the stories of what God is doing in the world, and in my life. Ministry is still tiring, but in the way that you can look back on the day and know that you did something worthy of good rest. The best kind of tiring if you ask me. It took me waking up at 2:30 am and staying awake the entire day to find real rest. It made me realize even more how the Lord is the only true place of rest! Take care of your body, get physical rest. But, you should also know that spiritual rest is just as important. Spend time with the Father. Give him more than an hour on Sundays, or 10 minutes in the morning, or praying before each meal! Find your strength in Him! See how it changes your motivation!
Yeah, Thank you Abba. I can’t wait to share with you all the beautiful stories God has been writing. The Lord is good, and He is moving! Hallelujah!!!
Until next time,
Sydney!<3
So glad you are experiencing God’s love and goodness in your life. We are praying for you and can’t wait to see you. Stay safe and enjoy your journey. Love and hugs. See you soon. Meme ??
ah syd this is such a good reminder !! we don’t prioritize physical rest nearly enough and spiritual rest is even more important for our physical/mental/spiritual health !
Awe, love this so much! And love you so much!! ??
so proud of you!!! abba is so faithful to give us exactly what we need. te amo mucho & so does He
It’s been a amazing to hear the stories coming out of the prayer burn, even the SQL’s made mention of the changes it brought to them personally and the squad. The Lord moved and it’s exciting to hear of the revival. Thanks for the share!