Tag Archive for: divine

Divine Tutorials

It’s been an enjoyable week of 1-1 coaching interviews for Monic and I in Amsterdam, Leiden and Rotterdam.
We continue on our last round of these interviews before returning home at the end of June.
For some of the missionaries it was their first and also, sadly, their last interview with us.
I have considered these 25 – 30-minute personal coaching sessions as divine tutorials.
They’re certainly a little different from university tutorials!

Definitions

Some personal definitions of these sessions would be something like this…
𝐃𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐞: Relating to and filled with inspiration and love from God.
𝐓𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥: a one-on-one learning session, with a young missionary, where we come to know one another better, discuss problems, challenges and seek assistance through heaven’s help.
Over these last few years, there have been thousands of these 1-1 sessions.
Each different, but in some ways the same.

The Last Session

This week was no different, except we all knew this was our last session together.
We talked, we shared, we problem solved, we taught, we listened, we laughed, we cried, we prayed, we encouraged, promises were shared.
As I listened, I realised that as each missionary shared with me their personal challenges, it was as if each of them were being tried in a very personal and unique way in what I’d call, the 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅’𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒆.
Why is missionary work so hard sometimes?
Why does the Lord let such difficult things happen?
Why did it work out that way?
My witness is this…
As they apply the teachings of Jesus Christ and develop His attributes in their own life’s, I know that every single one of them changes.
I know that 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒆, 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒍.
Individually, they are galvanized and welded into a powerful cohesive group of friends in the Belgium Netherlands Mission of De Kerk van Jezus Christus van de Heiligen der Laatste Dagen
It is beautiful to behold, over and over and over again.
These moments will be treasured forever and ever.
Have you experienced a divine tutorial?

Divine Passports

Travelling to a foreign land?
A passport verifies your identity and nationality.
If you don’t have your passport, then – you won’t get in!
On Friday we were at Schiphol (again).
We were eagerly awaiting 8 new missionaries.
6 of the missionaries arrived, then I received a message from Bentley Lorimer…
“Hey, so I think I left my passport on the plane, me and Aliyah Oliveira will be out a little later than everyone else!”…
Then… “We are pretty sure they found it, and they are just taking us to get it.”
Time passed…
15 minutes became 60, then 90!
They’d gone to security, then back to the arrivals gate, then back to security and subsequently directed to lost & found.
Bentley’s anxiety levels reached record levels!

Lost and Found

Finally, lost & found said that Delta flight staff had located it and she needed to come and collect it.
Reunited with her passport, and her identity confirmed, she made it safely through security feeling ever so discombobulated!
We were delighted to eventually greet them both.
Passports are critical, allowing us to travel safely through countries.

The first passport

In the Old Testament, the book of Nehemiah records the first ever mentioned passport.
In Nehemiah 2:7 we read that he asked the king for letters to be able to pass through specific lands on his way to his destination.
Those letters were his traveling papers. Today, we’d call them a passport.
His true identity was confirmed by the seal of the Kings letters and travelled safely towards Judah, and home again.
In a like manner, an understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ is just like a divine passport that confirms our true identity and nationality.
In Romans 8:16-17, we learn that we are the literal spirit offspring or children of God our Father.
You are indeed a child of God.
Divine passports are critical, allowing us all to travel safely through life and onwards into eternity.
For the next 18 months, Bentley’s mission is to help reduce others anxiety levels in Belgium and the Netherlands, by helping them find their divine passport and return safely home.
Look out for her – she’ll be passing your way sometime soon!

What is my destination?

Daily we travel throughout Belgium and the Netherlands – by road.
With the onset of spring and summer – boats of all shapes and sizes are back on the Dutch waterways.
The Results
• Bridge watchmen are busy again
• Bridges of all shapes and sizes constantly open and close.
• More traffic jams and delays are constant daily occurrences.
• Boats wait for the opportunity to pass under bridges.
My observation – delays and waiting are once again commonplace.
Another thing for sure, over the next few months, in our journey planning, if we are to arrive at our destination on time, then we need to make sure that we leave a few minutes earlier.
During my planning, I frequently consider a few questions.
– Where am I going?
– How do I intend to get there?
– Which road will I travel?
– When do I need to arrive?
These questions are regular considerations in my current assignment.
Perhaps these are similar for you too?
In a like manner – there is a much bigger question in life that each of us must deal with…

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧?

Thinking about our journey toward eternal life, in each of our own journeys through our mortal experience, there will be many delays, along with several twists and turns.
Life is a long journey on a long road, but it helps to have a vision of where that road eventually leads too and to understand what our final destination is.
Ultimately, there is One to whom we can look, One whom we can trust with our whole hearts. He is “the way, the truth, and the life” – John 14:6
He will help overcome all of the delays and bridge the gap for each of us to eternal life through the Atonement and His personal sacrifice.
I know that following Jesus Christ is the only sure way to arrive on time, without delay at our 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.
And so can you…