“God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called.”
As humans we’re pretty good at making plans. Life plans, family plans, work plans, lesson plans, travel plans, the list can go on and on. Plans help us feel safe. They give us assurance that something positive is coming up next. But the problem with plans is they don’t always turn out as we expect them to. Take me for example, not a single plan in my life has gone as I expected them to. I started college as a pre-med major planning on becoming a doctor but I ended graduating with a degree in history instead. After college I planned on working for an airline to take advantage of their sweet travel perks instead I moved to Thailand and worked as a teacher, something I never planned on being.
It all boils down to the fact there was a huge flaw in my plans, because they were just that, MY PLANS.
God had a different plan for me and when I started listening to his plans my entire life direction changed. The first time I can remember hearing from God is when he told me to change my major, then later after graduating and a failed attempt at getting a job with an airline God told me to go to Thailand. I didn’t want to at first but I gave in and now look at where listening to God’s plan has got me.
So that brings me to today.
In exactly 7 days I touch down in Seattle where I could:
A) Sit on my couch all summer catching up on every TV show I missed, while eating ice cream
B) Hit the pavement and search for a well paying, salaried job with amazing benefits
C) Follow God’s leading and trust he has something good for me
While I’m sure option A would be fun it would most likely end in a significant weight increase. Option B is definitely the one my family is rooting for, after all, I’m nearly 27. It’s time to “grow up” and start living “responsibly.” I also like to refer to this option as step 1 in the pursuit of the “American Dream.”
Having been where I’ve been and knowing what I know I have no choice but to go with option C, because if I’m not following God’s plan it’s just not going to work, and let me tell you, I’m super excited about what God’s got next for me!
When I started the Race 11 months ago I had a strong feeling that God was going to reveal my “next” and possibly my “forever” while I was on the Race. For my first three months I was convinced that “next” for me was teaching. I considered going back to school to pursue my Masters in Teaching, but something about that road didn’t feel quite…complete.
As the race continued more ideas and options crossed my path, so I prayed about them, and soon it got to a point where I was unhealthily consumed with thinking about my future, so instead I prayed for God to give me peace in the moment and continue to reveal his will in his time. My gut told me that time would be in Thailand, since moving back to Thailand was really the standard I held all other options up against.
I have to admit, when our plan landed in Bangkok I bawled. I was home. That first week I got the chance to go back and visit GES. I saw my students, talked to friends, relived memories and just really longed to have that life back again. For the next few days the possibility of coming back to GES was all I could think and pray about. But the honeymoon phase wore off. The excitement I had about returning to Thailand faded and finally I knew that Thailand wasn’t it.
And then I began to doubt. Was my feeling right? Was God really going to show me what I was going to do next while I was still on the Race or was it going to be like every other major life transition I’ve gone into, where I’ve had absolutely no clue about what was coming next.
So I got online.
I searched Craigslist for jobs. Nothing.
I googled fun jobs I would like. Nothing.
Then I heard about a super awesome job teaching History (what I have my degree in) at a traveling high school. Amazing. So I began to pray about it. I asked God if this is what I needed to pursue and I just felt like I was getting nothing. For days I battled back and forth on weather I should apply to the job and finally I figured God’s answer would either come in a “yes, you get the job!” or a “sorry we hired someone else.” I even went so far as to tell my friends and parents that I was applying for the job.
This all went down my last week of ministry in Thailand. I left Chiang Mai without sending in the application. Something still didn’t feel right in my heart. Luckily I had a10 hour bus ride ahead of me to think and pray.
About 5 hours in, at 1 am I was wide awake. It wasn’t even that I just couldn’t sleep on the bus, I couldn’t sleep at all. The teaching job was heavy on my heart. So I began to pray, and God wasn’t so quiet anymore. He said “Amanda, this job would be something you absolutely love, but it’s not what I have for you.” I didn’t even need to stop and ask him what he did have for me, I just knew instantly, and it made so much sense.
So… I’m moving to Bolivia! I know you’re probably thinking whoa, that’s out of the blue so let me back up a little bit.
Last fall we were in Bolivia during our third month of the Race. That month I got to work with an amazing ministry called Hospitals of Hope, an American run Hospital in a rural area outside of Cochabamba. Even though none of us had medical training we were put to such great use there and I would rank it as one of my overall favorite months of the Race. It was one of the few ministries I dreaded leaving and I prayed I could come back to and now God had opened the door.
The exact date of departure has yet to be determined but after applying to Hospitals of Hope and emailing back and forth it looks like I will be running the hospitals coffee shop ministry, Xelda Ministries, as well as the possibility of taking on additional responsibilities. All the logistics wont actually get worked out until I get home next week.
So I have a couple prayer requests now,
1. That I would be able to get my funding quickly and easily. It’s on my heart to be available to move to Cochabamba when they need me to be there which could mean leaving sooner rather than later and leaving a very small window for fundraising.
2. That I would be able to find a job to work during the waiting period and store up enough savings to pay on my debt while I am gone.
3. That God will provide me a way to pay off all of my debt (college etc.) so that it no longer has to be a concern or barrier.
4. That I would be able to learn Spanish quickly and easily. Right now I would say that I’m at about 50% but I’m really struggling with the conversation aspect and for me to be truly effective in my role I need to speak spanish.
So there you have it. I’m excited and terrified. Like the quote says at the top of the page, I don’t feel qualified at all for this calling, but I know that God will qualify me. I have a chance to really make a difference and invest in people for Christ. It’s just so stinkin’ cool! I would take this over any paycheck!
