Ah, the big question.
Why do you feel like God is calling you to go on a mission trip?
Why Adventures in Missions?
Why Thailand?
What the heck are you doing, Chloe?!? (it’s okay to ask this, I ask it of myself 25 times a day)
Great questions!! Wowowow. Okay. Buckle up because it’s storytime.
Winter break coming from the first semester of college for me was such a restful time. Emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. The funny thing is, I never slowed down. There were a million places to go and just as many people to see! If anything, life sped up, but time felt restful. I remember thinking, “is this what summer break would feel like, too?” I quickly concluded the answer was yes. With that said, I began praying about what the best use of my time would be. When I started college I thought I would continue classes through the summer just so I could keep ahead of schedule. Obviously, taking a summer break to rest would change that. I would rest, but I would fall behind. Queue the prayers for the best use of my time.
While praying this, someone sent me information on a mission trip that would take place while I was on summer vacation, and I thought that was my answer. It became apparent that wasn’t what I should do. Looking back, I see why it wasn’t for many reasons. However, I was disappointed. I really thought it was the route I was supposed to take. I started looking at other mission trip opportunities over the summer, and none of them really fit. I’m not sure how else to explain it, they just weren’t my trip. But within that search came Adventures in Missions. Something kept pulling me back to their website. I was drawn, and I can’t give you a reason as to why. However, none of their summer trips felt right. They weren’t the right length, didn’t cost the amount I wanted, or weren’t where I wanted to go. This trip had a box, and by golly, I was going to cram into it. Somewhere along the way, I started looking at their fall trips, you know, just for fun. It couldn’t hurt, right? The moment I clicked on their fall Thailand trip, I knew it was my trip. My jaw dropped, and the more I read, the more I knew.
Thennnnnnnnnnn, I allowed it all to hit me.
Three months. Fall. Thailand. Lots of money.
“God, are you sure?”
The next day I listened to a sermon on John 6. If you’re unfamiliar, Jesus feeds five thousand men and some women and children with two fish and five loaves of bread. Afterward, He sends His disciples on a boat across the sea while He remains to pray by Himself. The disciples hit a storm. It doesn’t look like what they thought it would look like at all, and now they’re scared. Jesus walks onto the water in the midst of this storm and meets them at the boat. He tells them not to be afraid. The disciples allow Jesus into their boat, and immediately they got where they needed to go. Mark’s gospel records this same account for us and adds that Jesus always saw the disciples, even during that storm. The point? This trip across the sea didn’t look like it was supposed to. Jesus walking out onto the water to them looked scary. They didn’t know what was going to happen. But they let Jesus into the boat. They got where they were always going to go, even if it didn’t look normal or how they thought it would.
Man, did it hit me right upside the head and back again. Even if this mission trip doesn’t look like I thought it was going to, Jesus will always, always, always get me where I’m going. I just have to let Him in the boat. He’s got to tell me where to go. He always sees me to where I’m going to go, I just have to trust Him first. “Go where He tells you.” is the word I felt laid on my heart. If that wasn’t enough, the next morning, I woke up and listened to my Pastor preach a sermon on Psalm 90 and asking the Lord to teach us to number our days so we can do work for Him + His glory. At this point, I feel like God is bashing me upside the head with a two-by-four. Like, “Okay Lord, I get it. I’m going to Thailand.”
All humor aside, I started filling out my application to go that afternoon. Miraculously, I got accepted!
So, after much more prayer and counsel from some wonderful people in my life, I am excited to officially announce to you that I’m going on a mission trip to Thailand this fall!! I will leave for training camp in Georgia on August 27th and fly out to Thailand on August 31st. I will be back home in Indiana on November 23rd! The goals of the trip are to do some church planting, community outreach, teaching English, and anti-trafficking work! & if you know me, you know my passion is advocating against the injustice of human trafficking, so I am very excited to see what God does this fall!
I would appreciate everyone’s prayers and support as I begin this journey!
If you feel led to donate, click the donate link up at the top of this post.
If you have any questions or would just like to chat, click the contact me button up at the top – I would love to connect with you!
XOXO, C
