Jesus Washed a Lot of Feet

Jesus lived on earth as a real man surrounded by real people, and he loved perfectly. It leaves me in awe to think about the very Son of God coming down from heaven to live a life of servanthood. Every day, I pray and ask Jesus to make me more like Him and to teach me how to love. Since starting the Race, God has repeatedly directed me to John 13 by saying, “wash their feet”.

In John 13, Jesus knows he is going to leave soon to be in heaven, and Judas has already agreed with Satan to betray Jesus. In the middle of eating with the disciples, Jesus stands up, wraps a towel around his waist, and begins to wash the disciples’ feet. He takes on the role of a lowly servant to demonstrate to his disciples how they should love one another. God has given me three revelations about this scripture over the past two months. First, Jesus washed Judas’ feet with full knowledge that Judas was going to betray him. That is the love of God. Sacrificial, with absolutely no conditions on the kind of behavior that returns. Second, Jesus lowered himself to the point of a servant, knowing he was already guaranteed a seat in heaven next to the Father. “Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God”. John 13:3 Jesus’ worth was already set with God. He did not need to earn it by social status or work. So he lowered himself and served others. And guess what? Every person who has put their faith in Christ has that same worth in heaven before God. We don’t earn our place with God by our status on earth. It has been freely given to us by the blood of Jesus. So we can live a life of servanthood with complete confidence that God is already preparing our place in heaven (John 14:2-3). Finally, God has whispered in my ear, “Obedience looks like washing their feet,” on more than one occasion.

The first time was during the second week of training camp back in Georgia. One of the girls from a semester’s trip was struggling with how to love her team. A few of my squadmates and I came around her and began to pray and prophesy over her. As my squadmates prayed, I asked the Lord what he wanted me to speak over her. He replied in a gentle whisper, “wash her feet”. I honestly had no idea what God was going to teach me or her in this moment, but out of obedience, I got out of my chair and knelt in the middle of the circle right in front of her feet. I unlaced her sneaker, took off her sock, and opened my water bottle. I began to pour water from my bottle over her foot and slowly began washing it. The Holy Spirit filled my mouth with words of wisdom. I shared a word about how loving her teammates looked like taking a position of servanthood like Jesus. After she wept and hugged me close. I knew the Holy Spirit had just used me as a vessel to touch her heart, and I was so grateful. I had no idea that moment would only be the beginning of God using that illustration to teach me more about Himself.

Fast-forward to the beginning of my fourth week here in Guatemala. My team of five girls has been experiencing intense spiritual warfare. The enemy is trying every scheme to keep our team in disunity. In an especially challenging team moment, we were in the prayer room of our house, seeking the face of the Lord for help. I was crying out to God to teach me how to love my team. As I was asking the Holy Spirit how to combat the attacks of the enemy, he once again whispered in my ear. This time, he said, “Go downstairs, get a bowl of water and soap, and wash the feet of your team”. I stood up, gathered a bowl of water and soap, and one by one began to wash the feet of my teammates. Tears streamed down my face as I lifted each of their feet into the bowl, acknowledging the humility of Jesus. While washing one of my teammates’ feet, God spoke, “You’re washing the feet of my servant in whom I am well pleased”. For another, we both wept as God showed me how tender his heart is for her. Yet another, he cast a vision of her calling in my mind. Most of my teammates cried as I washed their feet. The Holy Spirit moved in power in that moment.

Every Wednesday, we partner with a local ministry called Puente to host an event called “Mesa de Reyes” (King’s Table). Mesa de Reyes is a meal hosted for the widows and alcoholic men in our village of Sumpango. The women are hosted on the second floor and participate in a welcome activity, worship, teaching, and share a meal. And the men come off the street, typically still in a drunk state, for a similar series of events on the first floor. Last week, two of my teammates and I helped Lili (one of our Guatemalan ministry hosts) perform a skit that shared about Jesus. In the final scene of the skit, Lili washed the feet of me and my two teammates. Then began to wash the feet of a widow present at the event. As she began to wash my feet, I felt the deep love of Jesus. I felt unworthy to have my feet washed by our host, who we were here to serve, and yet she washed them in such humility. It gave me a raw perspective on how the disciples must have felt during that dinner with Jesus. The Holy Spirit touched the room as Lili washed each of our feet. She began to cry, and we all felt a deep revelation of God’s love and goodness.

Thank you Jesus for leaving such a beautiful example of how to love. Thank you for demonstrating humility on earth. I pray that I become more like Jesus in this way.

God is moving in Guatemala and in each of my teamates’ hearts as we serve and learn from this nation. We only have ten more days of ministry before we come together as a squad for debrief. Debrief will be spent processing our time in Guatemala with our coaches and mentors who are flying out from the States, worshipping together as a whole squad, and going through training on Islamic culture and religion to prepare for our next ministry in Albania.

Thank you to each of you for praying and interceding before the Lord on my behalf. It is truly moving mountains. Here are a few specific requests:

-Pray that I would stay present in finishing out our time in Gualemala. That I would love our hosts, the kids in our ministry, and the nation through the power of the Holy Spirit.

-Pray that debrief would be a sweet time of learning and processing. That our squad would enjoy being reunited and that our hearts would become prepared for Albania.

-In Guatemala, the Lord has been cultivating a huge passion in my heart for prayer houses. Pray that He would continue to give me vision for the future and how He wants me to follow in obedience to His calling.

Also, here are some praises!

-On Monday, we helped with an event for the young adults in the village of Santa Marta. We gathered the girls together and shared testimonies with a time of teaching. In my small group, a beautiful girl named Leslie gave her life to Christ! Praise God for revealing Himself to her in that moment. Be praying for her walk with the Lord!

-The Lord has walked me through so much freedom and healing. I can feel him helping me to become more like him! Praise God!

-Church every Sunday has been such a high point of the week. Each message has been spot on for what our team needs to hear, and we have made so many sweet friendships there.

-This whole week, our team has been partnering with a short-term missions team from London and another one from Chicago. On Wednesday, we hosted a medical clinic at a school. In all of the chaos of the three teams preparing to host the clinic, I found myself outside on the ground. I had my Bible open, reading John 5, praying that the families would find healing at the clinic. As I was reading, a classroom of children came outside for a break. A young boy, nine years old, walked up to me and shyly glanced over my shoulder, peering at my Bible. He stood there for a few seconds, and I invited him to sit next to me. I began to read aloud, and one by one his friends came to join. Before long, ten boys were circling me, listening to me read. Then the Holy Spirit broke through the language barrier and filled my mouth with Spanish words. He helped me hold a conversation with the boys. It was the most tender moment.

God is so kind. It is such a privilege to be serving him in this way! I could yap for hours about all of the ways he is revealing himself. Thank you Jesus!

Grace