Revolution Micronesia

So this summer, 5 of the 8 RevHI team members served in the Republic of the Marshall Islands in Micronesia. We left not really knowing what to expect and feeling very inadequate, but we knew that the Lord would equip and supply all that was needed to serve Him. It's so hard to find the words to express how amazing the experience really was. I learned so much about myself, and about the greatness of my God. I was humbled again and again, and learned the importance of absolute surrender; surrendering my will to His, giving Him complete control and relying fully on the power of the Holy Spirit to work in and through me. The culture, the customs, the people, the language, the lifestyles were so different from what I was used to, and, honestly,there were many times when I just wanted to go home. Living with and among the people, being unable to speak their language, and being so unfamiliar with their way of life was probably one of the most difficult aspects of my time there. I found myself relating to Moses alot, asking God to send someone else, having those feeling of inadequacy, and just not trusting Him with my weaknesses. I spent alot of time holding on to things that were keeping me from being used of God, and until I layed those at His feet, trusting that He would equip me, strengthen me, work through my weaknesses and inadequacies I was useless. Unlike Moses, I have no problem with speaking, I just can't speak Marshallese. The language barrier was extremely difficult for me, because I just wanted to communicate with them, I wanted to teach them God's Word, I wanted to share testimonies of how God has changed my life and how he has the power to do amazing things in their own lives, I wanted to confront them on certain issues and challenge them to live out their faith, I wanted to share with them the value and importance of love, and obedience, and surrender, but I couldn't, not through words. But God allowed me to see that the biggest impact I would have on the people there would not be through my words, but His and through my own life and example. The phrase "Actions speak louder than words" rang true all throughout the summer and challenged me to live out my faith in a way that I never had before. Where my words fail, His speak and have the power to transform and change lives. I have so many stories of how God worked this summer, and I am still amazed at how He chose to use me. My experience in the Marshall Islands was so much more than I ever expected it to be, and I am so thankful for the blessing of being able to be a part of His work. This following story is one that God used to show me how important it is to live what you believe and to love unconditionally....

My whole life I’ve had kind of this knack or tendency, so to speak, of somehow befriending a certain type of person. You know, that type that your parents always warn you to stay away from because of their potentially bad influence. The trouble makers, the ones with bad reps, irresponsible, treated as an outcast, and are always making bad choices. Yeah, I’m not exactly sure how I attract these types of people, because honestly, I’m the exact opposite. But without fail, I always acquire at least a few of these wherever I go. Well, over the summer, I made a couple of these friends in the Marshall Islands, and I praise God for how He used them in my life, and for the influence I was able to have on theirs’.
Nora ( name changed*) is 22 yrs. old. She has 3 children ranging from 1 to 6 yrs. old, each with a different father. She has quite the reputation around the community of Laura for being a “man stealer”. Seducing men who are single, in a relationship, or even married is no problem for her, and she has caused a great amount of problems with many families in the neighborhood. She’s known to often be seen around the area drinking with the guys, and on numerous occasions has been raped by them. She’s guarded, irresponsible, bitter, selfish, unkind, has no interest in spiritual things, nor any desire to change her ways, and because of this she is hated by almost every woman in Laura. This is the girl that for some strange reason wanted to be friends with me. I don’t know what I did or said to make her like me, but she was in need of a friend , someone who would love her regardless of her mistakes and bad decisions, but I could also tell she was in search of something more than just a friend.
One night she invited me to go to the beach with her the following day. This was before I knew anything about her; I’m not sure if knowing would’ve changed my mind, but I believe I would’ve been a bit hesitant. Her family is very active in The Salvation Army corps in Laura, and I noticed that she would attend every once in a while, but wasn’t involved at all. I’m sure a big reason for that was because she was treated very poorly by much of the congregation. I agreed to go with her the next day, but had no clue this little beach outing would soon cause lots of problems. So, after our morning kids’ program, I came back to the house I was staying in to change for the beach. There was a sudden knock on my door from my host mother who was there to drill me with questions about where I was going, who I was going with, when and why. When she found out I was going with Nora she immediately told me that I would not be going. “She is a bad girl,” she says. “She drinks alcohol with boys, and her family hates my family. You can’t go.” I was very confused, and remembered feeling like I was 14 again, being told by my mother that I couldn’t go somewhere with a specific person because they were “bad”. It’s one thing to when you’re 14, but at 21 I never expected to have someone tell me who I could and couldn’t hang out with. I understood her concern, but this girl was obviously someone who could use a positive influence. Something had definitely happened between her and this family that made them dislike each other so much, but I wasn’t about to ask. I finally persuaded her to let me go by telling her that I wanted to talk to her about Jesus and to be a good influence. Corny, I know, but it was true.
After that day, I continued hanging out with her and our friendship grew, but I also learned many shady things about her, and why my family treated her the way that they did. I found out that she was caught having an affair with my host sister’s husband and ended up getting pregnant. She ended up giving this baby away to a friend, because she wasn’t responsible enough to take care of him. I was caught in the middle of a modern day soap opera. The women loved to gossip about her, especially with me; I think in hopes that I would stop spending time with her. But, honestly, that made me even more burdened for her, and opened up the door for me to be an example of unconditional love to her and those who disliked her so much. She was looking for satisfaction and contentment in all the wrong places, and I knew the Lord was the only one who could change her ways, and open her eyes to the life she could have in Him.
Throughout the summer, you could see changes starting to be made in her life. Every program that RevHI started she was there. She became extremely involved in YPL, and became one of our best helpers/leaders. Every Friday morning at 6am we had a prayer meeting, she was there every week rain or shine. She would invite others and wake up those close by to come and join. God was working in her life, and she began to ask lots of questions about my faith and relationship with the Lord. She began to seek forgiveness and reconciliation from the men, women, and families that she hurt and from God, her attitude and whole demeanor softened, her eyes were being opened to the unconditional love of Jesus Christ, and she began to live as one who truly wanted to know God more. I prayed for this girl every day after I found out how much she was in need of a Savior, who could supply her with true, lasting contentment, who would love her and heal her wounded heart, and take all those “bad” things she had done and use them for His good, as a testament of His power and grace. If the only reason for me going to the Marshall Islands was to be a friend to this girl, loving her unconditionally and being an example of Christ in her life, it was worth it. She was a completely different person when the summer came to an end, all due to the power of God’s Word, prayer, and the influence of someone who just wanted to please God.
This amazing miracle that I was able to witness reminded me of how important it is to love regardless of someone’s mistakes, bad behavior, or sin, it challenged me to set an example for others like her in speech, in life, in love, in faith, in love, and in purity, to not underestimate the power of prayer and a godly influence. If we were all to befriend people like Nora, being a living, breathing example of Christ, loving them even through their mistakes, and taking the time to pray daily for God to work in their hearts, how many more lives could be changed?
Before I left the Marshall Islands, a girl tried giving me more reasons as to why I should not be Nora’s friend, giving me more and more dirt on her past life. At the end of that conversation though, she said something that made my heart burst with joy and so in awe of God’s incredible power. She said,”….but Nora doesn’t do that stuff anymore, she loves God now.”