“For as in one body we have many parts, and the parts do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.” Romans 12:4-5
“For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, ‘because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ that would not make it any less a part of the body… But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.” 1 Corinthians 12:14-15,18
I’ve been learning a lot about the body of Christ since landing in southern Africa. The “body” or the “Church” (and no not the building, the people inside!) consists of every follower of Jesus around the world. The Bible talks a lot about the Church and what it should look like, and it specifically mentions that it is composed of many different parts that serve different functions. I have learned in a deeper, experiential way what this looks like on many different levels.
The first week and a half of my trip was spend back on the World Race base in Gainesville, Georgia. I learned practical content about how to lead well and was encouraged by messages about intimacy with the Lord, community, and mission. What God really introduced to me there was that He wasn’t done teaching me about a specific part of the body called co-leading. The Lord is teaching me how to partner with a person to achieve a mission like I’ve never known before, which I can already tell will help me love the body better in the future. Without any of my own doing, God prompted two of my racers to get baptized at training! This was so exciting and a reminder that it is GOD that works in the hearts of man, not me.
After 3 full unexpected days of travel, our group of eight landed in Nsoko, Eswatini (Swaziland). We began learning the local language, Siswati, and learning how to appropriately engage with the culture here. The ministry consists of traveling to different “carepoints,” which are established locations where children can come to be fed, play, and receive education. We learned that mother’s Swazi culture do not nurture like American parents do, so hugs and quality time go a long way. Many children were orphaned by the HIV/AIDS pandemic years ago and many have parents that work long hours, so unattended children flock to the carepoints. We have gotten to literally serve as the “arms” of the body, loving on children who aren’t used to it.
Another point of ministry we engage in is house visits, where we are eagerly invited into the homesteads of locals and we sing, pray, read the Bible, and talk about life. This is incredibly different from life in the States, but I have been so encouraged by the way the Lord uses the body to build one another up (Ephesians 4:15-16). I am almost shocked every time our translators communicate the gratitude of the families we interact with after bringing the Word of God to them.
Life here is sweet. Everything happens at a slower pace than America. We have been given the opportunity to put our lives in the US on hold as we function as the Church and build up the rest of the body through service. God is teaching me a lot in the circumstances I’ve found myself in, and I’m really enjoying being overseas again. Connecting with people of different cultures is where my heart lies, and I feel blessed by God to be back in a place that feels so much like home.
Nkulunkulu akubusise (God bless you),
Coryn
