Mongolia Summer Team- Carly Mastor

This summer (2011) I was able to be one of two leaders who led the Mongolia team! We had nine team members join us on the journey half-way across the world. We renovated an apartment in the middle of the capital city Ulan Bataar, and spent time at a summer house outside of the city. We also evangelized with puppets, balloons, and songs in four different churches and at an orphanage.

 

The Lord taught me many valuable lessons this summer which I will carry with me throughout the rest of my life. Whether it was patience, (a lesson taught frequently in air-ports and during weekly verse review) or endurance (I learned this judging obstacles on the O. C.  and preparing food for twelve every day) above all, He taught me to rely on Him for everything; no exceptions.

 

Before the summer, I didn’t realize how much of myself I was holding back from the Lord’s helping hand. I guess I thought that there were some things: “God just didn’t need to worry about”. In Mongolia, God showed me what a prideful mistake I was making by doing that. Because of my pride, I was not fully placing my trust in Jesus Christ. I was holding back little things that in my eyes, were too insignificant for the God of the universe to care about.

 

It was during my devotions at the summer house when the Lord spoke to me, telling me I needed to give Him everything, not just a majority. In Jeremiah it says, “I know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to directs his steps.”(Jeremiah 10:23 RSV)

My patient Father in heaven took the time to show me that I needed to give Him the reigns so that he might steer me towards the path of His will which leads to true joy and contentment. I pray that these lessons I learned this summer will stay in the forefront of my mind throughout the rest of the year and my life.

Carly Clementyn

Mongolia 2011