We bought a zoo!

Okay… Not really! But I have some super awesome ministry news to share with all of you, so here goes…

We have been given the opportunity to do ministry at a Christian owned and run zoo here in northern GA! Our squad went for the first time last week and fell in love with it! The owners and staff at the zoo were incredible and are doing so much good to bring the gospel to all of their visitors! 

Yesterday a small group and I got to lay mulch for a new walking path for the guests. It was so much fun being in a position to be able to bless people. That is something I have missed a lot here on campus! 

So yesterday, as I’m getting the mulch out of the wheelbarrow and raking it around for the new path, there is a Gibbon ape named Maddy howling in my ear. On the other side of Maddy, there is a baby Desert fox running in circles around his enclosure. And to make the situation even more crazy, the new mulch path was to be put in front of the bird cages, so as I’m raking this mulch in front of all the birds I decided to say hello to them… And they said hi back! 

An hour before that I had pet a bison and fed and camel. 

I talked to God a lot during my time laying mulch. Abba, this is the most BIZZARE ministry I have ever done. 

I’m pretty sure He had a good laugh about that one, because He said, not what you were expecting, huh? 

That was when it hit me. I had kept the idea of ministry in a box. 

The truth is that we can do ministry wherever we go. We don’t have to wait for a “ministry opportunity” to come along to do something to bless others and tell them about Jesus. Yes, sometimes ministry is going out of the country to do home visits or building houses, but sometimes it’s also helping out at a zoo that witnesses to all of its visitors! Ministry does not have to look the same and it should NOT be limited to our own ideas. 

The past two weeks serving at the zoo have done me wonders as far as understanding that ministry doesn’t simply go in one box. It has also helped me to understand how creative God is in using all things to bring Him glory. Sometimes God asks you to do bizarre things, but He will still use it! And we shouldn’t be putting a limit on what that looks like. 

Also, following Jesus is not going to look normal. In fact, it probably WILL look crazy. Right now I am living out of a tent in northern Georgia doing ministry at a zoo. Did I ever expect that to happen? No. But am I thankful that it did? More than anything. 

Stay tuned for more ministry updates coming SO SOON. 

Love you all.