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Dominican Republic, here I come!!
I am leaving my family, friends and home tonight. Everything
that has ever been familiar and comfortable to me in the past 23 yrs will soon
be gone in a matter of hours. I am leaving it all behind b/c I consider my life nothing compared to the life that I have found in Jesus Christ. He has
called me to “go” and I have never been more excited and willing to sacrifice everything to further His kingdom.
As my departure draws near, family and friends keep
asking if it has all hit me yet and how I am feeling. It didn’t officially
start to hit me until yesterday when I realized that it is my last day in
America. My brother and his fiancé have been asking me a lot of questions about
the trip like where I’ll be living, how I’ll be living, what I’ll be eating,
what I’ll be doing, how I’ll be getting from one country to the next and what
countries am I going to, etc. And honestly, my answer to every single question was
“I don’t know.”
I read this in my devotional yesterday morning:
One of the most difficult questions to
answer in Christian work is, “What do you expect to do?” You don’t know what
you are going to do. The only thing you know is that God knows what He is doing.
At training camp, they really prepared us to not deal
with expectations b/c when we have an expectation of something and then plans
get changed, most times we are disappointed b/c our expectations were never
met. Going into this, I realize that I have never traveled out of the country. I
don’t know how to speak any other language besides English and some Spanish. I
am awful at geography. I don’t know how money works in other countries. I don’t
know where I’ll be physically sleeping/living every night or even what I’ll be
doing..other than serving God. I don’t know exactly what countries I’ll end up
in b/c I was told that our route will probably change about 50 times throughout
our journey. I don’t know when my next shower will be or if I will even have
running water. I don’t know when or where I’ll be eating next besides in the
airport before I leave. The only known thing
is that God will be guiding me every step of the way.
Most of my family and friends view all of these ‘unknowns’
as stressful and worry-some, but I take joy in not knowing what the future
holds and placing my full dependence upon God. I am not worried about where I’m
going to be living, eating, bathing, etc. All of these are small sacrifices
that I have been called to make so that I can be used to further God’s kingdom.
There’s no doubt that it will be challenging, but I ask that you also take joy
in knowing that God will be one step ahead of me throughout this entire journey
paving the way. There is no need to worry about me!
I have learned that God does not tell you what He is
going to do – He reveals to you who He is. I cannot wait to wake up
every morning not knowing where God is going to lead me or who He will lead me
to that day. I cannot wait to learn more about the character of God and to see
Himself revealed to me in ways that have yet been revealed. I believe in a
miracle-working God and I am going out in complete surrender to Him. May this
upcoming year bring Him all glory, honor and praise!
Thank you to all of you who have supported me and
continue to support me prayerfully and financially. I have just about reached my financial goal to go on this trip. The whole thing is almost paid for entirely. I don’t know where I am exactly yet because I am waiting on some more support to come through. There are some people who told me they are supporting me that has not shown up in my account yet b/c it takes a few days. So I’m waiting about another week or so to post an update with actual numbers so everyone knows where I am at. I am so close though..if I haven’t already reached the goal! PRAISE GOD!! Without you, none of this
would have been possible. I hope that you all realize that you are a part of
God’s plan in all of this. I am going to be your hands and feet and be your
representative for Jesus Christ these next 11 months.
Although this is a sad time for my close friends and
especially family, this is not goodbye. This is the beginning of something huge
and it is something that each of you are now a part of! May you find joy and
learn more about the character of God through my journey by reading my blogs
while I am gone. I hope to update them weekly. However, I do not know how often
I will be online or how this is all going to work! =) Please, join me in this
journey and follow alongside with me…through trials and triumphs!
Until my next blog overseas…!!!
I love you.
Steph
