Go. This is the word I heard so clearly a year and five months ago. A word that was clearly spoken to me by The Lord himself. It wasn’t like I heard it in my head or like someone was speaking at me from a distance, but it was used through of all ways, the radio.
My testimony of my call to missions wasn’t just something that was done out on a whim. It was continuous events and occurrences one after another. It started the summer after my freshman year of college. I had the chance to lead a cabin of freshman high school girls at Young Life camp that summer, and it was truly incredible. On one of the nights we had a chance to meet one of the girls on work crew there, and she told us her testimony. She shared how she started a relationship with Christ and what she had planned for the future. The girl on work crew shared with us her plans for post graduation was to do a gap year with the World Race. I have never heard of it before but it did make me wonder. Would I ever be able to do that. At the time I most definitely did not have the confidence in myself to even imagine me doing it the gap year program she would be doing was 8 months and I wouldn’t imagine even leaving the country at the time. But, from that day on The World Race was always in the back of my mind.
Now fast forward to the November after that summer. This was about two years ago and as I was scrolling down the main feed page on Instagram, I came across an advertisement for a missions organization called Wide Awake Missions. The ad got me thinking what if I just applied, I’m not actually going to get accepted. Without really thinking about it, I did and by my surprise got accepted on the 2017 trip to Peru. I was kinda nervous because I have never left the country at this point and I would be going with a whole team of random strangers. So I asked a friend of mine Melanie to come with me. Just like my reaction to getting accepted, I was surely surprised when Melanie said yes to coming. It would have been both of our first mission trip, so we were new to fundraising, and new to the whole process of getting ready to go and serve. Unfortunately, because of circumstances, I was unable to go. But I am happy to say Melanie went and she had the pleasure of loving and being loved by not only the people in Peru but by other Christians who had the same heart for missions.
I was pretty discouraged that I couldn’t go, but in the grand scheme of things the Lords plan for me that summer was different than what I had imagined.
Now, this is the part of my testimony where the word “go” comes in. On my way to an end of the year celebration for my work place, I was listening to a sermon on the radio, and I had turned it down to speak to my mom on the phone. At the time, my mom and I didn’t quite see eye-to-eye on what I was doing in my life in that current situation, which is understandable. I didn’t really at the time have a goal for my self. I was just doing thing just because they sounded fun. Or doing them without putting much thought into them. I wasn’t taking classes, I was unmotivated and felt like I had no direction. That phone call made me think. Made me question God, “What am I going to do with my life? How can I serve you God but also where do I even begin? What direction am I going?”
After my little chat with God, I turned the radio back up and very clearly it said “Go east” and then it was quiet for a few moments after. Call it fate, a coincidence, or divine intervention but either way I was caught off gaurd. After the prolonged silence it went back to talking about what ever it was talking about (in case you’re curious: The pastor was talking about one of the chronicles of Narnia books, where they were declaring to cross a body of water and to go east) and I just started thinking, was that from God? I had just asked for direction thats way to perfect! And then for the next two weeks my mind was going every which way trying to figure out what “Go east” meant. Did it mean continue going east in the U.S. or internationally? At the time I was thinking about being a teacher. Did God want to use me in that way internationally?
All these different scenario were running through my head of what “go east” could possibly mean. The following Sunday I had the chance to talk to someone at my church who I didn’t know very well. Her name is Kirsten, and she had served internationally for five years. I had the chance to talk to her about that and how she was involved in a teaching program there. To me that had almost seemed answered, my confusion to everything. But, the following time after that I had no motivation to put forth effort into looking further into it. So that was a dud.
About a week later I was driving home from who knows where, and I was at a stop light. When I looked over to my right I saw Melanie waving at me from the back seat! She had just landed from her trip in Peru and was on her way home. Melanie said how great of a time she had and how God worked in such wonderful ways. But what she said next is what stuck with me:
“Mary! This time next summer my friends and I are going to Tanzania in eastern Africa and you are coming with me!”
From there on, I was sure that thats where God was sending me. Although it was only for a short time, it was just the next place where I would GO.
My trip in Tanzania and Uganda opened my eyes to many things about Christianity. Made me learn a lot about who God is and the ways He is working in my life. It was a bitter sweet goodbye coming home from that trip, but I had been pushed spiritually, emotionally, and physically and was hungry for more. Ready to bring back to the states what I had learned, and share what was going on in our lives that we sometimes can not see.
When I got back I was so excited to be obedient to what the Lord had in store for me, and had continued to ask the question: What next?
Soon after God told me to Go, and once again I found myself on flight half way around the world to India.
After I had committed to India in August, I started hearing the word go constantly. Over and over again, it was EVERYWHERE. I was writing it everywhere I would keep seeing it in scripture. Soon enough through a lot a prayer and some courage, I started looking at applying for The World Race and since August 25th I haven’t looked back.
So, I am pleased to say that after constant prayer, I will be listening to the Lords call to GO. I will be serving along side other Christians with the same vision to serve and love others else where on The World Race August 2019 route. I will have the pleasure to love, serve and care for others in 11 other countries. And to be obedient to our God. I am so excited to be keeping y’all updated through this blog as I get ready to GO, and while I’m away. I will be keeping you updated with financial updates and prayer updates along the way as well!
Love y’all always.
