Welcome to my first of many blog posts! If you’re here, you know that I am heading out to the Philippines in January to serve the Lord for three months, and I am stoked. The first question I get after I tell people this news is, why? Why am I doing this? Why am I dropping everything I have here, to pack up and move literally half way across the world? Why am I stopping my pursuit of my degree in the final stretch? Why am I leaving my friends and family?
If you have a bible handy, go read Luke 14:15-24. If not, here is a little summary.
This story is called The Great Banquet. Jesus is telling about a man that was preparing a great banquet and sent his servants to invite many quests to it. But, one by one, each guest had an excuse for why they couldn’t make it to the banquet. “Oh, I just bought a field. Sorry I can’t go.” “I just got married, can’t make it this time.” “I just bought some oxen, I have to tend to them instead.” When the man holding the banquet heard of this, he sent his servant once again to invite guests, but instead this time told him to invite the poor, the crippled, the blind, the lame. And he kept inviting and inviting until his house was full, but the initial men were not there.
In life, Jesus is inviting us to share in his glory and to help further his name and kingdom. But, for me, even though I want to serve the Lord, my answer sometimes seems to be, “sorry, now isn’t a good time for me”, or “that’s a little inconvenient for me, what’s something else I could do?” When I heard the Lord calling on me to go on this mission trip, of course I was excited but doubt crept in and my response was “Lord, I am so busy, I am trying to get my degree, I am trying to build my life here, I don’t have time to do this right now. Ask again in a few years, I am sure I will have time later.” But God kept pursuing me in this, and after praying about it for many, many……many months, I pushed aside my plan and said yes to the Lord, because too many times I have ignored what the Lord wanted of me because it wasn’t convenient, and what I might not think is a good time for me, is perfect timing in the Lord’s eyes. And I want a taste of that banquet. I have such a desire to serve the Lord and be one to spread the name of Jesus, and right now God is inviting me to do that in the Philippines.
So yeah, as a full-time college student with a part-time job, this seems crazy. But I trust in what the Lord has planned for me, and right now this is what I am supposed to do. God has been so faithful throughout this process so far, and I am confident in the Lord that he will continue to be faithful and continue to bless me. This opportunity is a blessing. The chance to live in community while serving the people of Tacloban city and serving the Lord is a blessing. The funds the Lord has already provided are a blessing, and I know He will continue to provide. The connections and new friends I have made in just a few months have been a blessing. The people in my life that have encouraged me and prayed for me continuously are SUCH a blessing, and I am so thankful for all of you.
(fun fact: even as I sit here in my favorite local coffee shop typing away on my computer this first blog post, I met someone new and got to share about this trip and learned about something that he is doing for the local high schools, all in the name of Jesus. God is so cool!!)
As I continue preparing for this trip, I ask for prayers for myself and my team. Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone that has supported me and to those that might in the future!
Much love to all,
Sam
