In the Beginning
I stood up from the hard, wooden pew and uncomfortably stared at my feet while the praise team sang the song, You Are My King (Amazing Love) by Newsboys. The preacher had just given the alter call and my chest was burning.
“But, I’m already a Christian”, was my weak argument.
But my heart knew that the life I was living was not enough. It knew that there was something more. Something better. So…
I said YES
And I walked up to the front and “re-dedicated” my life to Christ.
May 2008
I saw Brady Denger or the first time since she was 13 (ish). She had just come back from The World Race, and I was enamored. I hung on every word as she told me about this amazing mission trip. She looked at me and said, ever so nonchalantly, “You should go”. Of course, I had a thousand reasons why I could never do such a thing.
But my heart knew that there was something more. Something better. Something deeper. I wanted to find it. So…
I said YES
And I embarked on the journey that changed my life.
December 2010
I had just come home from leading a Real Life (now Passport) trip to Thailand. On that trip, I had re-visited a ministry that I fell in love with on The World Race. This ministry had invited me to come serve with them full-time. I left Thailand without giving them an answer.
One day, as I was praying and worshiping I felt the Lord tell me to commit.
I knew that He was calling me to a greater level of surrender, abandonment, and trust in Him. So…
I said YES
And I wrote the email that committed 2 years of my life to SHE Ministries in Phuket, Thailand.
And then…
As soon as I said YES to SHE Ministries, everything began to fall apart (in my eyes). Eventually, the Lord led me to move to Gainesville, GA to serve with Adventures In Missions for a season. The only problem was – I didn’t know how long this season was going to be.
I thought that I had to give up on my dream – my commitment to SHE in order to serve AIM. I had accepted a staff position with AIM and the end of the season was no-where in sight. I was devastated.
Then I realized that God was asking me to give the dream back to him. See, I had been trying to make things happen in my own strength. I was trying to find a way to do it on my own.
The whole time I was striving, the Lord was waiting for me to give it back to Him. So…
I said YES
I said YES to the season I was in, even though it seemed totally opposite to what the Lord has previously spoken to me. And I gave my dream back to Him.
Sweet Surrender
As soon as surrendered my life, again, to the Lord, something amazing happened. He gave me my dream. Things for Thailand started moving forward for the first time in a LONG time.
Around the middle of September 2011, SHE Ministries contacted me and asked if I could be in Thailand in January 2012.
I prayed and prayed and prayed. I was scared to say yes. I didn’t know if this was really it. The last time I said yes, I ended up in Gainesville, GA – which was NOT Thailand…
I felt like the timing was right. After consulting my spiritual leaders, and praying…
I said YES
There have been some roadblocks and there have been times when I thought that this wasn’t really going to happen. But through it all, I just kept moving. I decided that faith moves forward when reason says, “STOP”.
The money was not in my support account. I didn’t even have enough to get a ticket. Even so, I quit my job and found a replacement in my apartment.
And about 4 days ago, God opened the floodgates. I met my initial support goal, and I was finally able to purchase a plane ticket! God is so good!!!
Yesterday, I was on the phone with a travel agent that I had spent the whole previous day looking at tickets with. She had found the perfect ticket. She asked me for my official “go-ahead” to purchase the ticket.
And… I faltered.
My brain went a mile a minute. Is this real? Is this finally happening? Oh my goodness – I am really leaving?? Am I really ready for this? Is this really the right ticket? Did I pick the right date? What if the small details don’t work out in time?
But then I realized that God has been preparing me for this – for almost 2 years. He has provided exactly what I needed at just the right moments. I had chosen faith over reason and now was not the time to allow reason to overtake me. Up till that point, the Lord had not let me down. So…
I SAID YES
I gave her the official YES and she bought the ticket!!!!
I’m starting to see that every time I say YES to the Lord, my life gets a little more…interesting. I can only imagine where further YESes are going to take me.
Now I have a ticket to Thailand. I am leaving on
JANUARY 15th!!!
PLEASE PRAY!!
Pray for my:
- visa to come through without a problem
- flights to go without a hitch
- continued financial support
- heart as as I transition to Thailand. I’m leaving a lot of amazing relationships in America. And…sometimes Skype just isn’t good enough.
-
the details involved in leaving the country. There are many small things that need to be taken care of.
Right now, my biggest need is for monthly supporters.
I am in need of people who will commit to support me monthly for the 2 years that I will be serving with SHE. Any amount would be a huge blessing to me. Please pray about partnering with me!
Check out Because the Harvest is Plenty for more information about what I will be doing and why i will be doing it.
If you are interested in supporting me, please click HERE or
If you would like to
give by mail, please make check payable to Adventures In Missions, PO
Box 534470, Atlanta, GA 30353-4470. Please write Appealed by:
ThompsonAmanda in the memo line.
give by mail, please make check payable to Adventures In Missions, PO
Box 534470, Atlanta, GA 30353-4470. Please write Appealed by:
ThompsonAmanda in the memo line.
