I’ve come to realize that there will be times in your life that you simply stop and say, “How in the world did I get here?” This last week was such a time for me as I prepared to give my fourth sermon at Island Memorial Church on Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands. Please pause with me as I read that last sentence again.
It is truly amazing what God can do with your life if you allow Him. Michelle and I came to Kwaj with one plan, bless this island in any way that we can. Right about the time we moved, the Lord provided me a temporary position to fill in as the pastor of the Protestant congregation. To date, I’ve given the message four times at our new church, something I never even had a desire to do before this adventure began.
Truth be told, I love it. Not just the preaching, but most everything about it. Michelle and I just completed a spiritual gifts class and spoke at youth group a few weeks ago about Christian relationships. I’ve helped run vision casting board meetings to solidify what our church is about and am now preparing our congregation to welcome many visitors at our beachside Easter sunrise service. Part of me even enjoys the personal and political dealings that come with any church.
Our congregation is about 120 people over two services and has slowly declined over the last several years as the population of the island has been cut by half. This means that we are about one deep at every needed volunteer position and this is easily the greatest challenge. Each week though, God fills the needs and I can see momentum building in this place as we turn the focus toward loving those on Kwajalein.
It is yet unclear how long I will be performing this role within the congregation. Regardless, Island Memorial is our new church home and I know that God will do good things through our being here. Our goal remains the same and luckily, blessing this island can look many different ways. Thanks to so many of you for your prayers and support over the last several weeks. God continues to mold me and challenge me through this experience and for that, I am thankful.