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Matt (upper right) baptizing Devin
Fitzgerald, one of his staff disciplers from the Royal Servants Scotland Team at Loch Lomond, Scotland. |
A few minutes later I received a text from Devin, “I’m not promising anything yet, BUT…”
It was the “But” that gave me a bit of confidence that just maybe Devin was the man for the job.
In just 36 hours students would arrive to Training Camp and I still needed a male staff discipler for the summer. For more than 3 weeks I actively pursued a dozen former students to take on the role. But one by one, students prayerfully considered the opportunity and declined for good reasons. Now with only hours away from training, I questioned God’s timing, “God, why do you always have to wait until the last minute? But, I trust you.”
Long story short, Devin said, “YES!” In just 24 hours, he boarded a plane to begin his adventure of a life-time! I was relieved to know God had provided the right man for the job and excited to see the summer unfold!
When we got to Scotland we were warmly welcomed by our hosts, Victoria Evangelical Church. On our first day together, we received an unexpected invitation to join the church on a paid tour of the city Glasgow, complete to the tune of Scottish bagpipes! Then there were the amazing relationships we formed through our VBS, youth club and street ministry. We had numerous opportunities to share testimonies and the gospel, inviting others into God’s story. To cap it off, we experienced incredible team unity, with love expressed towards each other and those we came to serve.
Throughout the summer, God continued to shower our team with his unexpected blessings as he invited us on an amazing journey with him. My thought continually was, “Wow God, I didn’t expect that – Thank you!"
Thinking back over the summer, I am reminded again of God’s heart recorded in scripture. The grace that God offers each one of us is an unexpected invitation to life!
Jesus said, “Come to me to have life.” John 5:40
God’s unexpected invitations occurred over the summer (and throughout my life for that matter) so many times I dare to even count. And oh, how many times I have missed his invitations to life! But nonetheless, his pursuit is relentless and he continues to invite us to an ongoing relationship with him...
“Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.”
Revelation 22:17
For Devin, the summer turned out to be exactly what God had in mind for him! Even though at the beginning of the summer Devin had different plans, he allowed God to “interrupt” those plans and take him on a needed journey in his walk. He placed several stakes in the ground along the way and even got baptized in Loch Lomond - how cool is that!
Thanks for all of your prayers and support for what we do in the lives of students! May you be blessed and may you, too, constantly experience God’s unexpected invitations to LIFE!
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