Let's Go

New Blog for a New Adventure

I have some news….

It seems as good a way as any to start off a new blog with news of where my life is headed (at least for the next couple of years.)

But let’s start at the beginning. Almost a year ago I was visiting my old church in Natchitoches, and during the sermon God let me know the words I was hearing were specifically meant for me. Pastor Ellis was talking about being positioned to answer the call of God and that God leads us to make choices or be in certain places so that we are ready to move when He calls us. I was convicted.

God told me years ago when I was returning from Uganda that He wanted me to start making progress on becoming debt free. Now, I was paying on my debts but making very little progress. I began to feel like God was telling me to move back in with my parents. It felt like a huge sacrifice because I had been living on my own for a lot of years and I really enjoyed my own space. But I submitted to what I felt God calling me to. I also hoped that because of that move I would be able to go on a cruise in October that I was really looking forward to.

So… I made the move (with a lot of feelings that I told God all about). The actual move was a struggle from the beginning; for a lot of reasons, most that had to do with my pride and selfishness. But I did it anyway. Let me say: It has been a blessing. I love being around my parents all the time and it has been more of a gift than I could ever imagine.

Still, I spent the first month planning to spend a lot of money on a cruise that I was desperate to go on. Unfortunately, at the end of August I was in a car accident on the way back from vacation. I was mostly okay, as was my best friend who was with me, but it meant a lot of money spent on my car and consequently I would not be going on that cruise I was so looking forward to. I am not saying God caused that accident, but He certainly used it for good, because of what He had in mind for me… More on that soon.

Also about a year ago, I began speaking with my pastors (on a whim really) about how to become a full-time missionary through the United Methodist Church. We met multiple times and discussed what I felt God calling me to, what my ministry could look like, avenues for pursuing this calling, and what I thought the timeline would be. After several months of feeling like no one had any idea what to do with me, I was directed to the Global Missions office of the United Methodist Church. While doing some research, I found out several things:

1.      The Young Adult Fellowship would be the best match for how I wanted to serve.

2.      There are currently no teams in Uganda, so if I chose this program I would be giving up serving in Uganda. At least for now.

3.      I would not be able to choose my place of assignment. I would be assigned with little to no control over where I would be going.

4.      This is the last year I am eligible for this program. That moved up what I thought my timeline would be by at least a year and I didn’t feel ready.

Despite all of this, I applied. I typed pages and pages of applications, submitted references, sat through interviews, mental health assessments, and countless other things. Slowly, month by month, I made it through one round after another, trying to hand over my control, trying to be okay with not knowing and not hearing anything for weeks at a time.

After receiving my placement match and interviewing with them, I finally had my (mostly) official assignment. I will be serving as a development worker in a community development program in Manila, Philippines. My primary job will be teaching and discipling teenagers in low income areas. God-willing I will be serving there for 2 years, starting in September. I also will be attending training and orientation in South Africa July 15- August 10.

I am so excited that God has given me the desire of my heart: to be serving Him in full time missions. There is so much still left to do and time is running really short. I am so grateful to God for preparing the way even before I knew where I was going. I took a step of faith in obedience and He did so much more than I could ever ask or imagine. Through something that I saw as negative, he saved me from putting a huge amount of money towards a trip I would never be able to take. God treats me so much better than I deserve and I am constantly blown away by how He cares for me.

Now here’s where you come in… Will you pray with me and for over the next couple of months (and following years if you’re up to it)? Pray for courage, wisdom, strength, peace (for me and all of my loved ones), for my coworkers, for my students, and anything else the Lord leads you to pray for. This is such an exciting time, but it is also terribly overwhelming thinking of all there is to do and how much my life is about to change.

Thank you all so much for your support. You mean more to me than you will ever know.

This is the Message I’ve been set apart to proclaim as preacher, emissary, and teacher. It’s also the cause of all this trouble I’m in. But I have no regrets. I couldn’t be more sure of my ground—the One I’ve trusted in can take care of what he’s trusted me to do right to the end.

2 Timothy 1:11-12 MSG