Hear two perspectives from day four of the LCOH-Revive IMPACT team’s trip. Sofi Eastman and Savannah Bingaman share different moments from their day where they heard God’s voice and felt His presence in Abaco.
Today was day four at Camp Abaco. It was a day full of learning, experiences, and leaning into God’s faithfulness. We started the day out by going to Driftwood Farms, a hydroponics farm. I had never heard of or seen anything like this before. We got to learn about how the plants get their nutrients and food through the water, versus the soil. Everyone got to help out with different tasks and it was amazing to see the passion and love that the individual who owns this farm has for what she does. This passion shone through her as she shared her day with us. I also got to learn about her story and what she went through and is still going through because of Hurricane Dorian. It demonstrated her faithfulness even through difficult times. It was very inspirational and a cool experience.
The second part of our day was very impactful to me. We went to the Kirk of the Pines’ Wednesday night student ministry program called G2 (Growth Groups). When we arrived, the students were so welcoming and very excited to have us! I played volleyball with a group of students and it was such a cool experience to play alongside them and learn their stories. The love flowing from these high school students and the amount of faith they all have is so inspiring to me. We listened to a sermon and then joined students for small group time. It brought me so much joy and has been a highlight of this trip! Small group was very fun for me because it made me reflect back on when I was their age and was in a group very similar to theirs. I made an instant connection with one individual. We had learned about her story when we first got here and helped with a medical fundraiser for her. I felt connected to her story because I share a similar experience to hers. Getting to connect with her and talk about this experience confirmed to me why I am here. Being able to relate with her about something that most people can’t was an experience I can’t put into words. The joy I saw in her face and the bond we created is something I will never forget.
God shows up in so many amazing ways. He showed up in every person we encountered today. I will never get over the faithfulness of God and how powerful it is.
–Sofi Eastman
The past couple days I have been wrestling with the fact that I am going to see hurt and struggle here, yet have to leave conversations and situations knowing I couldn’t resolve that pain. At best I can improve their situation through community and our daily projects that you all have been hearing about, but the pain is still there. As Sofi mentioned, we helped at a hydroponics farm today. We spent all day planting, harvesting, and learning about how this farm works and what impact this farm can and will have. It seems as though God knew exactly what I needed to see from him to help me understand the impact we will have here. Something as simple as planting and harvesting fresh fruits and vegetables allowed me to see that maybe his only task for us here is to prepare the way. It might be that I need to make room for God to come be God, for him to come heal and restore.
We do devotions every morning before we start the day and it has been a powerful way to see how God is moving in each one of us. It just so happens that I will be leading the devotional for tomorrow and the verse I will read ties all of these thoughts and feelings together.
After this conversation Jesus went on with his disciples into the Judean countryside and relaxed with them there. He was also baptized. At the same time, John was baptizing over at Aenon near Salim, where water was abundant. This was before John was thrown in jail. John’s disciples got into an argument with the establishment Jews over the nature of baptism. They came to John and said, “Rabbi, you know the one who was with you on the other side of the Jordan? The one you authorized with your witness? Well he’s now competing with us. He’s baptizing, too, and everyone’s going to him instead of us.” John answered “It’s not possible for a person to succeed – I’m talking about eternal success – without heaven’s help. You yourselves were there when I made it public that I was not the messiah but simply the one sent ahead of him to get things ready. The one who gets the bride is, by definition, the bridegroom. And the bridegroom, friend, his ‘best man’ – that’s me – in place at his side where he can hear every word, is genuinely happy. How could he be jealous when he knows that the wedding is finished and the marriage is off to a good start?” That is why my cup is running over. This is the assigned moment for him to move into the center, while I slip off to the sidelines. John 3: 22-30 (MSG)
When I prepared this verse before leaving for the trip I wasn’t sure if it was going to apply to the work we were doing and the emotions we were holding. The cool thing about God is that He knows exactly what we need to see/hear, and He is right every time. This verse reminds me that I am the hands and feet of God and, like John did, I can prepare and help others be open to see God’s work, but I am not God. The work we are doing here is healing and is restoring but I am understanding that I might not see full healing and restoration from what our team does here in Abaco, because that is God’s job. “My cup is running over knowing that this is the assigned moment for him to move into the center, while I slip off to the sidelines.” In other words, people have been loved on, their stories have been shared, the crops have been planted, it’s time for God to take over and do what only he can do in the lives of his beautiful children on this island.
–Savannah Bingaman
