How I Was Called to the Mission Field

How I was called to the Mission Field .  Hmmm. . . That is pretty hard to pinpoint an exact time and place that I felt God calling me to the mission field.  Looking back, I see that God has put me in situations and I have experienced things that have been tugging at my heart to go into missions.  Here is my story . . .

 

 When I was younger, I had no idea what I wanted to be and when I got to college, I still had no idea.  So, when I got to college, I thought that I had my whole four years planned out.  I thought that I might major in pre-pharmacy or some other major and  hopefully be engaged when I got done.  So I tried to major in pre-pharmacy, but after about a semester, I realized that this is not what God wanted me to do.  So I tried a few courses and I came upon Family Studies and Human Development.  I liked my major and loved learning about how babies and children develop because it always reminded me of how wonderful our God is and that He designs everything with a purpose.  I did not know what I actually wanted to do with my major, but I had lately been thinking about possibly missionary work.  So I started to look at some of the different options and I heard about the World Race and looked into it.  I saw that having some overseas experience might be useful, so I prayed and decided to teach English to Asian students for about a month over the summer with ELIC. 

 

This experience impacted me more than I could ever began to tell you!  God showed Himself to me in so many ways and I got to experience just what it felt like to totally rely on Him.  My class was a big challenge and each day was a struggle, but it was through my students that I saw God working through my life.  I saw God change my heart towards my kids and I saw my kids change towards the end of that month.  I came to know what Paul was talking about in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 about what it means to be weak and strong at the same time- I realized that when I am at my weakest, Christ is strongest in me and how God’s grace is all we need.  I saw how diverse the kingdom of God is and how He loves all of His children.  I was able to put faces to those that are lost overseas and it made my heart break for my sudents.

 

So I got back that summer and entered into my senior year at college.  I had no idea what I would be doing, but God kept on reminding me about my summer and all that He had taught me and showed me.  I came to realize that I did not want to live for myself anymore and that I just wanted to be used by Him for His glory, not mine.  I saw what the world was chasing after and did not want to be chasing after those same things- I wanted to give everything to God and to make a difference in this world for Him!  So I started to look into missions and the different programs that are out there and I kept on coming back to the World Race.  I had been praying about going into missions for a while and I felt God leading me to apply and so I did and now I am going on a trip of a lifetime to show God’s love to the world and to totally be used by Him!  And I must say that I am so happy that my original plan did not turn out how I had thought it would- I have been single all four years of college and I am so happy that God is in control of my life and even though my life is not how i had imagined it would be my freshman year of college, I could not have imagined I would be where I am right now today and am thanking God for it!

 

So I am ready to be used by God in any way and cannot wait to see what He does in preparing me for this trip, how He will use me on this trip, and what He is calling me to do when I return!

 

  “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how
can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can
they hear without someone preaching to them?  And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!””  ~ Romans 10:14-15