My Journey to Missions - Pt. 3
My Journey to Missions - Pt. 1
My Journey to Missions - Pt. 2
Over the last few months I struggled back and forth on whether I would actually want to go if I was accepted. What would I do when I came home? Did I really want to give up my job and apartment? How would I raise the money? How would this affect my relationships? I struggled through many different concerns and uncertainties, but I eventually realized that all of my reasons for not going really just came down to a lack of trusting God, and weren’t legitimate reasons not to go. I had to remind myself that if God was calling me to this, that He would work out all the details of preparing, going, and coming back. That even if His plans ended up looking different that mine, I could trust that He is good and knows what is best for my life. I had to surrender control. (These things have been a constant theme in my life over the past 2 years, and this was just another opportunity to grow my trust in the Lord - shout out to Sheena! We prayed one night for the Lord to help us surrender and to make much of our lives… again, be careful what you pray for!) Through prayer and counsel I finally ended up deciding that IF I were to get accepted and there was an open position at the elementary level, I would go.
As I was waiting to hear back, an opportunity arose for me to go on another short-term trip to Haiti, leading a group of students from UMD back to Mission of Hope. I ended up being offered a position with Sonlight a week before I left for this last short-term trip! It was great to be able to travel to Haiti again, knowing I would soon be living there. For more details on this trip, see my other post A Taste of What’s to Come.
Ultimately, the Lord completely had His hand in every little detail that has lead up to this point. Looking back, there are so many things He did and doors He opened that were preparing me for this, which I was completely oblivious to at the time. And there are so many other details that have played a role in this journey that I didn’t go into here (in order to keep this from being a 10 part post)!
It really comes down to obedience and trust – being willing to obey what God says in His Word, and trusting that even if obeying means sacrifice and surrender, following God’s plan is completely worth it. God said go and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18). God said serve the orphan and the widow, the poor, and the oppressed (James 1:27, Isaiah 58:6-7, and countless others). God said to lose my life so I can find it in Him (Matthew 16:2-26). God said His plan is better and He is worth more than any earthly gain (Isaiah 55:8-9, Philippians 3:7-10). So I’m going, joyfully and expectantly.
My Journey to Missions - Pt. 2
Over the last few months I struggled back and forth on whether I would actually want to go if I was accepted. What would I do when I came home? Did I really want to give up my job and apartment? How would I raise the money? How would this affect my relationships? I struggled through many different concerns and uncertainties, but I eventually realized that all of my reasons for not going really just came down to a lack of trusting God, and weren’t legitimate reasons not to go. I had to remind myself that if God was calling me to this, that He would work out all the details of preparing, going, and coming back. That even if His plans ended up looking different that mine, I could trust that He is good and knows what is best for my life. I had to surrender control. (These things have been a constant theme in my life over the past 2 years, and this was just another opportunity to grow my trust in the Lord - shout out to Sheena! We prayed one night for the Lord to help us surrender and to make much of our lives… again, be careful what you pray for!) Through prayer and counsel I finally ended up deciding that IF I were to get accepted and there was an open position at the elementary level, I would go.
As I was waiting to hear back, an opportunity arose for me to go on another short-term trip to Haiti, leading a group of students from UMD back to Mission of Hope. I ended up being offered a position with Sonlight a week before I left for this last short-term trip! It was great to be able to travel to Haiti again, knowing I would soon be living there. For more details on this trip, see my other post A Taste of What’s to Come.
Ultimately, the Lord completely had His hand in every little detail that has lead up to this point. Looking back, there are so many things He did and doors He opened that were preparing me for this, which I was completely oblivious to at the time. And there are so many other details that have played a role in this journey that I didn’t go into here (in order to keep this from being a 10 part post)!
It really comes down to obedience and trust – being willing to obey what God says in His Word, and trusting that even if obeying means sacrifice and surrender, following God’s plan is completely worth it. God said go and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18). God said serve the orphan and the widow, the poor, and the oppressed (James 1:27, Isaiah 58:6-7, and countless others). God said to lose my life so I can find it in Him (Matthew 16:2-26). God said His plan is better and He is worth more than any earthly gain (Isaiah 55:8-9, Philippians 3:7-10). So I’m going, joyfully and expectantly.
Very exciting! I look forward to following your posts as you travel. What an exciting life you lead for the Lord :)
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