Ambassadors to the World
By Bri Northern, GE team leader"The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way!" (Psalms 37:23) I love adventuring with God! I love adventuring with Him, here on my home front mission field and everywhere that He leads me abroad! It just amazes me how God loves to use us to accomplish His will, especially when we are willing! Mission work is a beautiful thing. It's miraculous, really! God's love is so personal for each person living throughout the whole world, that He personally calls His children to go and declare that love! He loves witnesses! He loves to love the lost throughout the world, through us. He loves to draw the hurting to His embrace through our arms. He loves to make the sad see His smile through ours. He loves to heal the broken through our prayers. He loves to use us!
Last spring, in Colombia South America, I experienced how God loves to use us abroad in ways that will be forever implanted on my heart! I thought that the altitude of Colombia would take my breath away, but what really took my breath was God's presence in that place, the crowds of little children that would surround us and the amount of hugs I received, the way God opened doors and powerfully enabled our team in moments when we had no idea what to do. That's what took my breath away.I was struck with just how true it is that God goes before us and is with us in every place. I had bought a Spanish/English Bible in preparation for the trip and a verse had stood out to me while reading it. The verse was Psalm 25:14: "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him and He will shew them His covenant." I loved the Spanish translation and wrote it in my trip journal several weeks before we left. Well, one day in Colombia as I was walking on the grounds of an orphanage that we were staying at, I noticed a concrete planter and there painted on the side of it was that very verse! I just stared at it in amazement. I truly felt what Psalm 139:5,6 says, "Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid Thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it!"
It's a wonderful thing when you are in God's will and about His kingdom work! There are challenges for sure, but nothing that God can't handle and the blessings are out of this world (literally - because they're eternal)! I'll never forget the little girl that wasn't bothered that I couldn't speak her language and was just content to cuddle silently in my arms. I'll never forget all of the love notes, hugs, and gifts that were given to us and the tears on sweet faces when we had to leave. I'll never forget the sweet boy who gathered rocks from the orphanage gravel driveway and handed them to us through the bus window as we were pulling away so that we would remember them! All of this is what made me want to return to Colombia the moment I stepped foot back in the United States. This is what made me pray that God would take me back!I'm honored to be going back to Colombia this year and excited for the new ways in which God will show Himself mighty as we seek to be ambassadors of His love and for His glory! I'm thrilled to be returning to share more of the Savior's love with the children and people of South America! I encourage you to pray about joining our team this year!
Bri Northern is from Ohio and lives near Lake Erie where she loves watching and photographing it's beautiful sunsets. She works as secretary for her father's business and enjoys working with family! Bri loves investing in people, especially children, and is involved in her church's children's programs. She is passionate about sharing God's love and truth and uses art to do so through gospel chalk presentations. Her heart is God's eternal kingdom work. Bri will be a team leader for the 2014 GE Colombia trip.