the end and the beginning || South Africa

PLEASE READ: I wrote this about a month ago, before events escalated with Corona pandemic. I am safely back home in California. It took a lot to get back, but I will share that in another post. These past two weeks I have learned that everything can change in a matter of moments. As you read, please consider that things may change. However, I am extremely grateful for the time I have had.

To find the words to write this letter has been very difficult. I’m not quite sure where to even begin. These past two years will not be easily summed up in this Newsletter. If you look at my other newsletters, you can get a better idea of what this past year has been like. 

Let’s get into it.

The End

I didn’t want to go to YWAM. Let alone South Africa. This was a major inconvenience to my plans. Some of you might recall that I worked in the film industry for six years. Missions and Bible school were not something I saw would benefit my career. They didn’t advance me in my desired career, but through the past two years, God taught me what it means to be truly human.

I had become a robot to the society and culture we live in (especially in our Western culture). While I did care about God the world around me, my main priority was myself, my future, and my career. It was all about me. The reality is life does not circle around me or even you. Life is a gift, not something we deserve or earn. As I traveled and met people from all over the world, I realized how true this is.

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During the past couple years of traveling in missions, I learned to appreciate other people from other cultures and nations. By the grace of God, I have been able to travel to South Africa, Greece, Jordan, Brazil, and the Netherlands. Each nation is so different than the next. While every nation has its ups and downs, I love seeing the Body of Christ working through it all. They don’t let their nation’s or community’s situations conform how they feel. Rather, they let the Lord transform themselves, their community, and eventually their nation. 

I wouldn’t have been able to witness this transformation without the support of so many people. Prayer warriors, you guys rock. When I shared a need, you were quick to respond in faithful intercession. Let me tell you, it really helped. I had really dark and desperate moments this past year. When I opened up about it, you were always there to share an encouraging or prophetic word. You poured into my heart when it had run empty. I am forever grateful for the Life that you shared with me.

I think ‘thank you’ is not enough to really show my deepest gratitude. I pray that as you have sowed seeds into my life and into the nations that you have been able to witness the fruit of blessings that God has for you. Every kind of support is deeply appreciated. As this time comes to an end, I can’t help but reflect in gratitude of every moment of the past two years.

We’re done. We finished the Bible, we finished our Outreach, and have all graduated School of Biblical Studies. While the experiences of this year have been like gold to me, I think the people I have met I will be treasured the most. They will get their own goodbye and it won’t be in this post. Everyone else, I’ll just briefly say that my heart will wrench and twist in grief when I leave. Ending a story is difficult, but I know the next one to come will be good too.

My favorite quote sums this up I think.

“If this is love, I do not want it. Take it away, please. Why does it hurt so much?

“Because it was real.”

The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies

The Beginning

Speaking of ending a chapter, some of you might be wondering what’s next. Let me clarify something real fast. Last time I said I had my life figured out, God called me to South Africa. So, I’m walking in faith towards the next thing that I feel God has put on my heart. It may look completely different than what I think it will be, but that’s okay because you can’t control life. (One of the biggest lessons I have learned this year.)

Edit: Originally, at this point of the post, I had well thought out paragraphs sharing my next steps and explaining my heart posture behind these decisions. However, because of the events that have taken place, I will hold the coming year lightly.

The world is constantly changing, but God stays the same. The only thing I plan on doing this next season is loving God and loving people. Fortunately, I can do this anywhere and any time. Right now, I will do these things back home in my small community in California. As things continue to shift and time goes on, I will prayerfully consider opportunities as they come.

Truthfully, I can’t predict what will happen next, but I choose to walk in faith day by day loving God and people. We are not promised tomorrow, but we have our time here and now to live in the present. Thank you for joining my journey for the past two years. I hope that as you have watched me fall and rise that it would be some encouragement or help in your own life. 

If you want to know more about this next season, how you can partner/continue partnering, or even want to share a testimony of what God has done in your life, please please please message me. I genuinely love getting messages back from people. I will try to respond as soon as possible. Praying blessings of peace over you all.

Blessings,

Catherine H. Fisher