A Woman’s Worth

Posted by: Jessi Schwertfeger on February 03, 2012 |

While many of you were attending the Overland Missions Conference in Tampa, Florida, I had the privilege of planning and teaching a LIFE Project “conference” in Nyawa Central. It was the third time the group of women who wish to be discipled as teachers made the long trek to the middle of the chiefdom for a day of teaching and fellowship.

I was a bit anxious as I planned for the training. It was the first time in a long time that I had been the only one available to teach the Bible lesson, develop the craft, and shop for the food. As a mom to two and a homeschooler to my oldest daughter, I wondered when I would have the chance to REALLY study for Bible-heavy lesson I wanted to teach. I was anxious that my “non-crafty” brain would not be able to come up with a suitable activity with which to practice the women’s basic coloring, cutting, and pasting skills. In the middle of my panic, God reminded me that my life was poured out to Him and that He would be enough for me and for them, even if I did feel underprepared.

One of the goals of the LIFE Project is to communicate to women and children their value in the Kingdom of God. They live in a culture in which they are undervalued and underconsidered. Their understanding of a loving God hinges on their comprehension of the fact that God sees them as beautiful, prized, and loved. It was this message that I wanted to communicate to the women that day. I wanted them to leave for home with the understanding that they held an important and irreplaceable place in the heart of God and access to all the promises He guarantees in His Word.

As we sang together in worship, one of the women asked, “Why do I feel like a Christian at church and a sinner at home?” I understood then that the message was on time and desperately needed.

We spoke about the promises God gives us. A selection?

I am Christ’s FRIEND. (John 15:15)
I am a JOINT HEIR with Christ. (Romans 8:17)
I am a NEW CREATION. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
I have DIRECT ACCESS to God. (Ephesians 2:18)
I am CHOSEN and APPOINTED to bear fruit. (John 15:16)

It was a riveting 2 hours and the women were transfixed by ancient stories of queens, prophets, and prostitutes. It was an honor to stand before them, a woman saved by grace, and tell them the promises that are due them as Women of God. They were stunned. I was encouraged just by speaking out all those promises that are due, not only to them…but to ME TOO!

Seventeen women, half of them carrying babies, traveled hours and miles through rain and mud to learn about the Promises of God that Wednesday. And a “veteran”missionary (me!) was reminded of how those promises apply to those whom I minister to and to me as well.