This was a questionnaire form our supervisor wanting to know how we were growing, and what is going on for us spiritually. I wanted to also give those whom are praying for me an update as well. I give you this update for two reasons, to show that your prayers have played a major part in it, and so that you will keep prying for me b/c it’s a daily struggle growing in my walk with the Lord!! So here are some questions and answers.
What are the top three areas where you feel you have grown? Explain.
My prayer life- I have always been one to pray, I love to pray and I tend to feed off prayer. While I have been here though, my prayer life has moved from more of self-prayer to praising the Lord and interceding for others. It has been nice to wake up in the morning praising my Lord in prayer with words of praise and thanksgiving, and then before moving on I will check my spirit to make sure there is nothing that is offensive within me. I then intercede for whoever the Lord puts on my heart, and at the end of my prayer I will lift up request of the Lord. I would use to consume my prayers with “Lord help me with this or that”, or for blessings, now if I pray for myself it is a request of His voice, for a clear picture of His will for the day, and for more faith and love!! Don’t get me wrong, I am in no way trying to make myself look good, I still struggle with this, and it is easy for me to go back to just praying for myself. But the Lord has been gracious to me in pointing me in the right direction of prayer.
My desire for the word- this has been the biggest growth in my life. I will have to honestly and sadly say I have never read through the whole bible. I have only read maybe 7 books of the OT!! I have no excuse on why this is, just being lazy and not interested really. However, this is no longer the case. When I got here in Botswana, the Lord put a burden on my heart for reading through the OT as well as memorizing scripture, mainly long passages of scripture. I use to only read around a chapter or two a day, and even when I only read so little I didn’t take too much time to really study it (now this wasn’t always the case, just a majority of the time). Here in Botswana, I have been reading anywhere from 5 to 20 chapters a day, mostly 10. Like I said the Lord has given me such a burden to read the OT, which has now turned into such a joy for me!! It has been so much fun and enjoying to read the OT. It is like when one reads a book and can’t put it down- I have that disease. I have also taken different parts of the bible to study, lately I have been in Matt. I don’t say any of this to brag, just to show you that the Lord is behind all of this!
Being flexible- This was my biggest struggle that has turned into a blessing. My whole life I have been put in the spot light, which has probably been due to having a pastor for a dad. In doing so, I have been use to being the center of attention for the Lord, and many times I have placed myself before others thinking it was what the Lord wanted, many times though that was not the Lord’s will!! The Lord has done a work of humility here for me! My place here in Botswana is not the mouth or the head for that matter. The Lord has called me into a lower position, which really isn’t low unto the Lord- just in worldly eyes (us who are still immature in our walk!!). The Lord has put me in a position where I am in the background doing the dirty, but needed, work. At first this was tough, but it has become a gradual joy!! Instead of being jealous of my brothers here, I have become happy for them!! Trust me this was a God thing!!
2) What are the main challenges you have faced in ministry?
The two biggest challenges have been staying focused and truly having the right heart. Even though there are not as many distractions here as there are in America, there are still distractions, and they have the same effect on my spiritual life. There have been times that instead of being in prayer or reading or just simply telling others about Jesus I would choose sleep or many times just think dumb things. I know that sounds silly but it is the truth. It is getting a lot easier to stay focus though. Having the right heart has been a constant problem. Whether it was with the team or just simply doing the work of the Lord. With the team I have had a little trouble getting accustomed with how they work. But that has almost become finished with. I know all of them well, and the fact that we never got into an argument or a drawn out complaint against one another has helped us all stay in good, close relations. The Lord has defiantly blessed our team with great unity and love for one another. There are times when we butt heads though, which would not be normal if it didn’t happen. And when those times come in it is usually when my heart is not right! Ministry part, well there have been many times when we would get ready to go out and prayer walk or go and talk to the kids in school or simply just go and witness to people that my heart has not been right. Whether its because I’m tiered or I just don’t feel like walking in the heat through the sand, or I don’t want to have to deal with the drunks, many times my heart has not been right. I have found many times I will have to take a step back and really get my heart right before I do many things here and I makes me sad because I wish I was always pumped to do the Lords work!! There have been many times my heart was ready, and it has been awesome, but my flesh has really tried to do battle with my spirit!! Anyway it is getting better and the Lord is really making my flesh weak!!
What are the main challenges you have faced in your living situation?
I really can’t put anything here. Our living conditions have been great. The only thing I can think of is there have been times when I didn’t sleep as good as the other nights. To be honest though, our living is great, and I will have to give the Lord all the credit on why I can’t complain about anything!!
4) What are you learning about yourself through team living & team ministry?
Through team living I have learned that I am selfish!! I have learned that I’m not the servant I made myself out to be. But the team has been gracious to me and has been willing to help me out with this problem in many different ways haha. The ministry part has taught me so much. I have really found my spot here on our team. I guess you can kind of call me the middle man. When we first got here I try to be the center of everything, the leader/head and mouth. But the Lord quickly humbled me and reminded me that I’m here for Him and not myself and that He had another position of the body for me. I quickly found myself in a position I’ve never been in. And I love it because it is where the Lord wants me and has put me!! I speak when I feel lead, I pray when others speak, I lead when its needed, but mainly I get in the background and just coat the whole thing in prayer while the Lord uses one of the others to be the mouth and really take over!! I’ve never been this part of the body, but it has taught me so much about the Lord!!
This is just s summery of what the Lord is doing in my life right now. Being here in Africa has been not only a great experience but also a huge step in my walk with the Lord. It has pushed me to limits I’ve never been before. It has gotten me out of my comfort zone at times. It has taught me how to have a genuine quiet time. It has increased my prayer life. It has helped me in becoming a better worshiper. It has taught me how to hear the Lord’s voice. And so much more. I want to thank you all for your prayers and support. Without it I know I would not be able to make it another day here. God bless!!
In Him,
Hunter Clark
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