” The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world and all who live in it: for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters”- Psalm 24:1-2
It is less than 2 months and I will be boarding a plane to Kenya, Africa!
A Foreshadowing: I can picture the children’s eyes reflecting Jesus and them being full of so much love even with little that they have. I hear them laughing and see them dancing. I feel joy which is full of life. There is a spark. Something igniting. So it begins in August. AFRICA.
The Rearview Mirror
I was driving in my car tonight home from waitressing and the thought swept over me of all the things I am leaving in the “Rearview Mirror” or leaving behind as I embark on this 11 month journey to 11 different countries.
So many of my family members and people I know ask me:
Why 11 months? Why 11 countries? Why not in the United States? Have you gone on missions trips before?
Why, Why, Why. You see with God there are no “Why’s”. The answer is “Yes Father it is an honor that you have called me and I will go where you send me”.
The calling was laid on my heart during a time of prayer and fasting. I heard and felt God so clearly tell me this is what I am supposed to be doing. There is no arguing it. There is no making sense of it in the “World”. You see God chose me before I was even formed in my mother’s womb. I believe in predestinations. I was called according to God’s purposes. I felt the Holy Spirit and HE lives inside of ME.
“In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.”- Ephesians 1: 11
Things I have already left:
My independence…(partially)
My apartment. (and 80%% of its contents)
My little maltese-shitzu Bella.
Will be leaving…
My Teaching Job. My Waitressing Job.
My family.
My friends.
My small group ladies who I love so dearly.
My Church family/Family in Christ. My church.
All I have known to be comfortable( Foods, shelter, a bed, daily showers, Starbucks…plenty, plenty more!)
A possible future husband (ha) JK on this one (sorta).
My Car
Why? Because God says. That is a good enough answer for me.
God has been teaching me lately about rejection and the lonely feelings that Jesus went through. I have been rejected and told by family members that they will never support me because of fears they have. What if Jesus didn’t die on a cross for our sins because he was “afraid”?
The good news is Jesus did already die on a cross for our sins and if Jesus can go through it than why can’t I go on a missions trip to serve and be His hands and feet? To honor the love that was shown to me. A love I did nothing to deserve. A love that chased my heart again, and again and again. Jesus’ love never stopped chasing this heart of mine.
It’s not for me. Its for:
The orphans waiting to be held and told that they are loved,
The widows waiting for prayers of comfort,
The sick who are waiting for healing and restoration,
The prisoners waiting to hear of freedom and redemption,
The children who are sold into sex trafficking to be told that they ARE worth FAR more.
Every soul who has never been told the name of Jesus is waiting for that emptiness to be filled.
They are all precious, loved, and important.
So you see it takes something much bigger than myself to be able to go on this trip. I am not my own. I belong to God. My Father who is here and living inside of me. Jesus’ heart beats in mine. It beats for all the broken-hearted. The suffering. The sick. The forgotten. The rejected. The neglected. They are MORE. They are son’s and daughter’s of a LIVING GOD who created them and made them perfect in his sight. God’s redemption is near…and nothing will stop that.
So I am setting out across “the Lake” (to the Nations). To the other side (Where I hear God calling my name). So as Jesus asked his disciples before he calmed the storms and raging waters. I ask those of you who doubt: “Where is your faith?”- Luke 8:25
God can calm the seas, He will prepare a way, and He provides for our every need.
