Orientation was nothing like I thought it would be. To be honest, it was the longest 5ish days I have experienced in a while…in the best way possible. I was eager and anxious to go get on the plane to Cairo and was definitely moved and changed by the Lord in amazing ways. I expected to get to know my team through silly name games and learn about the culture all week, but I came to realize that this was not how God was going to teach us and have us grow close as a team. Throughout the week, I learned a lot about God’s love for the poor and how as an American in college, I am very privileged. As the days passed by, my heart broke more and more for the hungry, lost, and orphaned. I became very overwhelmed at the thought of not being able to change the way things are in America or in Cairo, but I am very much comforted that Jesus Christ, the King of Kings, is the God of grace and mercy for His children. This passage really stuck out to me this week as we read it during a teaching and my mom wrote it in a letter to me…
“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor, He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated: they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.”
Isaiah 61:1-4
Orientation really prepared my heart for what God had to show me and was definitely what my spirit needed in this time of my life.
-Ariel Plaza
