Justice Reach, Thaibodia, & Joyful Expectation

Justice Reach Discipleship Training School, January 2015

Eight weeks...I can’t help but be in awe of all of the things God has done. When I did my DTS, I couldn’t imagine any group being closer than ours. This school is a pretty close second. The love that the students have for God, the staff and each other is daily an encouragement to me. The relationships I've built with them as well as the other staff are a great joy in my life.

I have seven one on ones, each of them so incredibly special. I have enjoyed getting to walk this journey with them, and am excited to have six of them on my outreach team. Over the past few weeks, I have had the privilege of really getting to know all of the students better. I love this group that God has so intricately put together. 

We are headed into our ninth week of lectures, having already covered Orientation Week, Worship & Intercession, Nature & Character of God, Hearing God’s Voice, Relationships, Identity, Fear of the Lord and a Justice Panel Week. We didn't cover Fear of the Lord on my DTS, so I went into that week without any expectations. What God spoke through the teaching had me sitting in awe the entire week. He has had me on this journey the past year or so of really wanting to learn what it looks like to live a life of whole-hearted surrender and abandon to Him. To truly live a life holy and set apart. Turns out, this has been something of a theme throughout this school. On Friday, Fear of the Lord week culminated in a bonfire where everyone, students and staff, repented of things and took turns praying for one another. It was so great to see them minister to one another as they experienced freedom from the bondage of various strongholds that they threw into the fire.

Over the course of this school, God has been dealing with something in me that I didn't even fully realize was there. He revealed the self-hate in my heart and had me deal with it. I can't explain what happened as I threw symbols of my self-hate in the fire and felt this stronghold break off of me. Even though this is going to be a daily healing process and re-wiring of how I view myself, a new freedom and joy have become a huge part of me.

I also began teaching an inductive Bible study on spiritual warfare a few weeks ago for some of the girls who were interested. We are currently going through Ephesians, establishing a foundation so that we know the power and promises we have in Christ. This will enable us to stand firm and unwavering as we begin to take authority, knowing where that authority comes from. This study has been so amazing, and what I'm learning from Ephesians applies to so many areas of my life. During this week's teaching, I didn't talk about anything I had actually prepared, but instead God was speaking through me and giving me revelation as I was teaching. He is just so cool, and I am daily ready in joyful expectation of what He wants to teach me.

We have also established our outreach locations! I will be co-leading a team to Thailand and Cambodia, which we are now calling the Thaibodia Team. I’m excited to see what God does during our time in these countries. Our team will consist of fifteen students and three staff. We will be in Thailand for about four weeks and Cambodia for about three. Our planning is going well, the team is doing research about various aspects of the culture in these nations, and presenting their findings to the group. We have a rather large team, and I'm excited to see what God's plans are for us during outreach. We will be splitting into two smaller teams for ministry times, and the leaders will rotate leading each team every other week. 

During my time here, I have been able to catch up with some friends from my DTS. It's been awesome getting to see Erin and Michael as they visited for her sister's wedding. Hannah was here when I arrived, but left a few days later to lead her first outreach. Our school had the honor of hosting their graduation when they came back a few weeks ago. 

Justice Reach is involved in a few local outreaches throughout the lecture phase. We had the opportunity to help clean up an event that a local church put on in a park for the people of Tauranga. In a few weeks we will be doing an Easter celebration for some of the foster families in this area.

My fellow staffers. We are such a random bunch of people, 

but I love how He makes that work. It's a good picture of how the body 

is supposed to function together. Love them!

Mis-sion-ar-y [mish-uh-ner-ee] : Christ Follower

“I mean, how do you explain the difference between a Christian and a missionary to people?”

This question was posed to me a few months ago. As followers of Christ, we are called to be missionaries. A Christian and a missionary are not meant to be separate. They are one and the same. To pursue Christ with reckless abandon, passion and intentionality is something that is all encompassing. Part of that is the role as missionary.

Sadly, as a church, we have taken something that God meant to be part of our identity in Christ, and redefined it:

Mis-sion-ar-y [mish-uh-ner-ee] : the title of one who desires to share the good news full-time, as in a career.

We have glorified this definition of missionary. We have idolized those who have traveled miles to serve God. Some of us have even wished that God had created us the same way He created those He takes across oceans to share His love.

Seeing and experiencing this brokenness within the body breaks my heart. To pursue Christ with reckless abandon, passion and intentionality does not necessarily mean travelling to another continent. I thank God for those that He does call to devote their time to serving another’s physical and spiritual needs in other nations. The way He connects us across cultures and barriers is truly inspiring in itself.

But for you, followers of Christ, you who do not feel you have a “career calling” to become pastors, worship leaders, Biblical teachers, travelling missionaries… you are mistaken if you think your witness means less than those who have a “career calling” to ministry.

See, this is the true definition of missionary:

Mis-sion-ar-y [mish-uh-ner-ee] : Christ Follower

“And he answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.’” Luke 10:27

We are called to love God first and then love people. Scripture does say in Mark 16:15 to “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.” I’m not discounting that. But this scripture says “all the world”, and we have to trust that God is sovereign. That He will take us where He wants us to be and that He will use us in that place. No matter where we are, we are called to share His love. In Luke 10:27, we are simply called to love our neighbor. This means those that God has placed us in community with, and those that we encounter on an every day basis.

Youth With a Mission is an amazing missions organization. The vision and mission is to see people loving God, experiencing His love and going into the nations and sharing the gospel. They have schools called Discipleship Training Schools (DTS) all over the world. These are intense programs of learning about who God is and growing in Him as you deal with brokenness and come to a place where you are walking in freedom and healing in order to then go out and minister to the people of this world.

I attended one of these schools earlier last year, and doing that was one of the best decisions I have ever made. Through that experience, God helped me re-define my definition of missionary. In fact, He replaced my definition with one that is His own.

I want to recognize the hard things missionaries across oceans encounter. Sometimes they are nothing like what we experience in our own hometowns and communities. As they chase God and His calling with abandon, the world rejects them and spiritual warfare surrounds them. Such a life is something that many of us fear, but I would not wish a life full of contentment found in the world for anyone. Jesus promises that in Him is where we will find peace, and in the world we will find tribulations (John 16:33).

I encourage you to ask God to constantly lead you into new and uncomfortable things. Things that will grow your faith, hope and trust in Him. Things that will grow your love for Him and the outpouring of His love for you into others. Live a life full of passion for Him. 

He is teaching me what this looks like each and every day. Right now, Tauranga is the city He has me in. In a few months, it will be somewhere else in the world. My year will more than likely end back at home in Texas. This is the journey He has me on, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I have never before understood living life in surrender to Him so clearly, and I'm sure He will continue to blow my mind with the concept.

A friend of mine recently described to me a beautiful picture of a jar full of water. It had cracks in it, which allowed the water to continue to flow out as it was continuously being replenished. I pray that you would live such a life as this of surrender to God, that you may intimately know Him and remain open to letting Him use you to bring others into that same intimacy with Him.

Much love,

Cambri

The New Zealand adventure has begun...again!

I made it to Tauranga for the start of another school. Leaving home again was hard, to say the least. God blessed my time at home so much with my family, friends and a really great job. To be called out of the comfortable and into something new is always challenging, even though I knew a little better what to expect this time than last time. After I arrived, it felt like I had never left. A lot of things are the same, but a few things are different. Different people, little changes around the base, and I’m quite a bit different than the first time I came. God is faithful, and He truly is always with me. I know he goes before and behind me. I could feel it the whole time I was preparing to leave, on the trip here and after I got here. When we walk in obedience to Him and say yes to Him above everything else, it causes us to cling to Him even tighter as we let go of other things we love. It was painful for me, but so worth it.

God is awesome, and has already shown me so much in the past few days. We have had the opportunity to ease into life here, and will hit staff training hard in the coming week. I met up with a fellow student and a few of the leaders from my school. It’s been great to get to see them for a short time as they have been preparing to leave for outreach with the current school. Almost all of the Justice Reach staff has arrived, and I can already say that I am excited to work with them over the coming months as we serve God and the school and learn a few new things ourselves.

I have felt so loved by all of my friends and family across my home nation and across other nations. Your support and prayers have meant so much, and God has used them to bless me immensely.

Much love,

Cambri