::I love my job ::

I know this must sound strange juxtaposed with my previous post—and this has been one of the most challenging weeks so far—but I really do enjoy my specific role on this team.

The five of us are each in charge of some aspect of the ministry, and I am responsible for making sure that our team is growing in our relationships with each other and with God. My weekly duties are to prepare for (or delegate the preparation to someone else) our team’s weekly events tailored to meet these needs: our team’s Wednesday night small group, Tuesday prayer and worship (where I get to lead by singing and playing my guitar!), devotional before our Friday staff meetings, monthly half day with the Lord, and team outings! B. makes sure that students in Vida Estudantil and those we reach out to during evangelism are being cared for and connected to others in the ministry. Besides co-leading the team with me, J. is also responsible for any team training that we may need to share our faith more effectively. R. is our team admin person who keeps us accountable for how we spend our time each week and gives us guidance as we create personal ministry goals for the week. N. uses her detail-oriented gifts to coordinate outreach events and as she is the most fluent in Spanish, does a lot of correspondence with the national staff.

I realized how it truly is a blessing to be able to serve in a position of your personal area of giftedness when I was talking with a couple of my teammates about spiritual gifts a couple of weeks ago. There are times when God asks us to do things that require us to serve in areas where we are not naturally gifted (for me, this would be public speaking or anything artsy). But when He asks us to serve in our areas of passion (for me, this is singing, connecting people, and encouragement) we feel inspired. There may be challenging aspects of serving even in your areas of giftedness, but for the most part, it comes naturally and we fulfill our desire to live with a purpose.

Don’t get me wrong, I still shake and tremble when I have to sing in front of my teammates, and feel vulnerable when I have to share a devotional that comes from something God had been showing me that week. I don’t know the first thing about what my teammates need to hear in small group. But I do know this:

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. –2 Corinthians 12:9

Praise God even as we are being stretched beyond what we ever thought we could be stretched and may it bring Him glory!