Yo, get your dust outta my eyes

Okay…so limited wifi here in the beautiful India; imagine you’re reading this a week ago 😉

Should I be expecting jet lag from the past 2 days of flying? (or 3, I am honestly not sure- we skipped about 12 hours at in half a day.) ‘Cause I’m feeling TOTALLY EXCITED right now with my cup of Marsala tea on the FINAL flight to our destination…okay, maybe I’m a little exhausted. But hey, “welcome to the mission field,” right? 😉

I have concluded that I don’t exactly love long flights, however, I can’t get over how BREATHTAKING God’s creations are! Just looking at the clouds outside of my window seat (generously given by the Emma Cary??) with Emma and Seth, I am in awe of the work of my Master’s hands…

I am currently aboard AirIndia with my totally awesome team of strong girls, and Seth, and two amazing leaders. I can’t believe how quickly this past week has {flown} by. As I am reflecting on how much The Lord has changed my life, I see India’s ground wayyyyyy below. At first it was very lush and green, but a few minutes out and the green squares became brown patches of dirt scattered about. The scattered chess pieces of green and brown became nothing more than dusty, dry dirt that had no vegetation whatsoever…

All day today I have been singing,
“You make beautiful things,
You make beautiful things out of the dust.
You make beautiful things,
You make beautiful things out of us.”

Until this moment, it never clicked.

Only 2% of India’s population know Christ. 2%. TWO PERCENT. I’ve seen SO many people today in Delhi’s airport, and that’s is SUCH a small number in ratio! Oh my! Only 2 out of every 100 people know the Lord…let that sink in…

From what I have seen from the plane, that part of India we flew over was very dry, dusty, little to no flourishing.
*click*
God reminded me of how dry and barren I am without Him, when I am like the 98% without God. I can have some places where I allow Him to take over completely and I am greener and more vibrant than ever, then I try to do things my self and I become a scattered chess board, and when I let my flesh take over I fall into a vast space of swirling dust that produces no fruit. What we don’t realize as Christians is how by us being the “dust,” we can infiltrate the eyes of a sinner, give them a false image of a Christian, and stray them away from making the decision of accepting Christ as their personal Savior.

I heard a speaker last Monday night who talked to us about the Holy Spirit, and I have an entire new understanding. I have felt God move in me before, but I have let it slip by just as quick as it came. I never understood what partnership or intimacy meant when it came to the Holy Spirit. When we as Christians refuse to allow the Holy Spirit to come in, we are doing nothing but taking up space where God could be doing something BEAUTIFUL.

Here’s the catch: the Holy Spirit is a gentleman. He won’t push himself on us. We must invite him in….(Bro. Dion taught me so much…)

I wish to be the beautiful, lush, flourishing Christian that the Lord wants me to be. I want to invite the Holy Spirit in to stay. I want to give myself FULLY to the Lord. So, you know what it’s going to take? A lot of CRAP…yes, you read it right. CRAP. The best fertilizer is manure! I want to be fertilized with all the crap that the devil has thrown at me, but I have OVERCOME with the help of my Bestfriend. I want to bear sweet fruit, not dried up weeds!

I cannot wait to land in Imphal. I am so excited to see what the Lord has in store for my team and me. Please continue to pray for us, that we may be fruitful and obedient to the Lord’s will.

“You make beautiful things,
You make beautiful things out of the dust.
You make beautiful things,
You make beautiful things out of us.”

Way up in the sky, still feeling blessed,
Kristen.

****UPDATE****
We are in Sielmat! It has been confirmed, when God is in control, we can be BEAUTIFUL IN ABUNDANCE! Everywhere you turn there are beautiful flowers, huge trees, breathtaking mountains covered in vegetation. Our Seminary is such a beautiful place, and our contacts are amazing. They are so kind and are serving us so well!! The work that The Lord is doing through our contacts and through Bibles for the World is evident.
Psalm 107:2-6
“Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, who he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy; And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south. Hungry and thirsty their soul fainted in them. Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.”