How I was called to the missions field

When I was a sophomore in college, I had the opportunity to work with a group of high schoolers as an intern with the High School Youth Ministry at their parish.  As the year went on, I fell in love with the work I was doing and was growing more confident in my ability to lead these teens.  When it came time to lead an event on my own, I was just overcome with this feeling of peace-this is God’s call for me.  Fast forward a couple years and you find me in my senior year, anxious to graduate, and ready to take on the world in this great adventure ahead of me!  What changed?  Not a lot really.  I just had the opportunity to experience new things.  With the youth group and also with Lewis, I served on a variety of service trips within the U.S. and I began to realize that, as much as I love working with teens, I love service even more.  Last year I had the opportunity to travel to the Philippines on my first international service trip and it proved to be well worth it.  Unfortunately, the end of my junior year and beginning of my senior year were still compromised of this tension.  I could not decide whether God was calling me to Youth Ministry or international service.  I had heard about the World Race from a number of people and I was starting to get more and more interested as I was preparing to leave for the Philippines for yet another trip at the beginning of this year.  I felt like if I truly gave the decision over to God, He would use this trip to speak to me about my future.  While on the trip, I was having a great time and still leaning towards the World Race but it wasn’t until I had the opportunity to visit the worksite from last year that it finally hit me.  On last year’s trip, I made a strong connection with a little boy named Michael.  He was 2 years old, didn’t speak, didn’t smile, and really didn’t acknowledge anyone very much but for some reason or another, we connected on a special level and he could always be found at my side.  Leaving him was hard last year and I still think of him often.  Well, when I went to the village this year, I saw Michael again.  I walked up to him slowly, knowing that at 3 years old the chances of him remembering me would be slim to none.  When I got about 5-10 feet away from him, just close enough where he could really see me, you could just see this light bulb go off, this HUGE smile erupt on his face, and Michael ran over and gave me the biggest hug.  As Michael and I embraced after having not seen each other for a year, I knew this was my answer from God.   I’ve been called to the mission field because I know it makes a difference, not just a temporary one, but a lasting one.  I’ve been called to missions because I believe I can change the world one life at a time.

 

 

 

I’ve also since been really convicted by a quote I heard from Rob Bell.  He said, “Don’t ask God to feed the hungry if you have plenty to eat.”  This really cut deep to my heart as I realized, so often we pray and wait for God to answer.  Maybe, just maybe, we are the answer to our prayers.