Christ Will Restore You
And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 1 Peter 5:10
by Kyle Spradley, National Director
"This is the hardest mission I've ever been on." I murmured this to myself while leading a mission last year. I lay on the sagging bed, sweating, mosquitoes buzzing about, and thumping bar music playing at 2 am just a half block away. I told God I wasn't sure I could lead another mission. But, it wasn't the physical conditions that made it hard; it was the oppressive spiritual warfare.
One should be careful when using superlatives (‘hardest’)! At the end of our mission in Tanzania this summer, I doubled down, "This is absolutely the hardest mission I've been on!" Again, it was not the food, accommodations, or hospitality but spiritual warfare. When I was 11, I experienced bullying while being encircled by kids. Verbally and physically, I was being pushed from every direction with no way out. This described my spiritual experience in Tanzania. Shoves and attacks came from several directions, some manifesting into the physical. Several of these attacks are described in the article linked at the bottom of this page. It felt like I was in that circle of kids again, with no way out.
On the last half of the last day, God (finally) moved. He made a way where it seemed impossible— a way forward that went against the tangible facts we faced. This experience grew me tremendously as a Christian. The faith of the whole team was raised to a higher level.
At times, our Christian walk is full of joy, consolation, and beauty; at other times, it's the hardest journey we'll ever take. Maybe even the absolute hardest journey we'll ever take. But the Lord is unequivocally faithful to the very end. You can trust Him even when you don't see a way out. He will restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
Sometimes, the level of warfare on a mission is correlated to the size of the Kingdom impact. As you read the article on piloting a new inner healing ministry to kids, please pray for the mission team traveling back to Tanzania on August 29th. They are returning to plant a ministry which could have a massive impact. The team will train local leaders and then help facilitate the first Restore Wholeness for Kids at a camp with thousands of children! Your prayers and financial support will help fuel this mission.