Hello Family and Friends!
The countdown: 52 days until Training Camp and 132 until my launch day ( the day I leave!!) WOW! Whew! Time is FLYINGGGGG!!! August 2018 is almost gone.. HELLO September!
As stated in my last post, I knew God was working on me in the area of my Faith, but you guys would not believe HOW He developed my Faith in a matter of 24 hours…. I want to share a story with you all!
Every year, I have the amazing opportunity to go to Nicaragua with my young adult church family! My first mission trip was in 2016 there and that’s where my heart for missionary work began! So, going back every year is a MUST with the team! A piece of my heart will always be in Nicaragua! At the beginning of the year, I knew the Lord had called me to the World Race but knew he was also calling me BACK to Nicaragua. However, with the pressure of digesting the fact that I was going to be traveling as a missionary for a year, I concluded in my mind that I wasn’t going to go back to Nicaragua. However; after talking to my church family they insisted that I was going back to Nicaragua with them. So obediently, I paid my Nicaragua Mission Trip deposit and had decided to pay out of pocket a little every month until the deadline (June 30). I had it all planned out in my head! However, with the growing knowledge of the World Race, it completely changed my finances and how I spent my money. Instead of paying towards my trip, I was more concerned with saving and paying off debt so that I would be free in January of 2019 and could freely go on the World Race without bills!
Fast Forward to July 2018!
The deadline to pay fully for Nicaragua had already past and it was about a month before we were set to leave for Nicaragua! I was super stressed and I still owed $1400 on my Nicaragua mission trip! I did not know where I was going to get the $1,400 from, so I made the executive decision to call my trip leader and communicate to her that I was no longer going on the Nicaragua Mission Trip and that she can take my name off the list. I was so convinced in my head that I was not going, I told a couple of people in my group and some friends. Some were upset but they were understanding, knowing that I was preparing for the World Race.
My group leader was NOT HAVING IT! She immediately scheduled a meeting with just the two of us so that we could talk about where I was at. I reluctantly sat down with her. She began to share what the Lord was doing in her heart, what the Lord had told her and how she had a dream that I was on the trip. Defiant as it may sound, I told her that I did not care what dream she had and that according to my banking account and my checks, I was not going on the trip. There was absolutely no way, I could come up with $1400 dollar in a matter of 3 weeks. Point. Blank. and PERIOD! My leader challenged me to seek God’s face and trust Him through what he had already told me! I battled against if God really told me I was going on the Nicaragua trip and concluded that I wasn’t going!!
I left the conversation very sure that I was not going and that preparing for the World Race was the best option for me. IT JUST MADE MORE SENSE!!! That week my leader was due to leave on another mission trip and when she came back, it was “go” time for Nicaragua! let me add she did not buy me a plane ticket because the money due date had passed. A week later I talked to one of my good friends ( my accountability partner) and she challenged me to do something to refocus my heart and mind that day. That night I decided to really press into the presence of God! Before bed I watched a video on Faith, prayed and ya girl went to sleep. The last thing I said before I fell asleep was ” God if you want me to go to Nicaragua, YOU will drop $1400 out of the sky.” The next day during small group at church, I shared with my small group that I was struggling to Trust God with fundraising and that if they could pray for me, that would be great! (Remember, I never mentioned Nicaragua because I had already concluded in my mind that I wasn’t going! I also did not take the time off of work or anything!) So when I told the group, it was mainly targeted towards my fundraising efforts for the World Race!
After small group, I walked outside with two of my friends and they began to ask how fundraising was going. ( remind you again NO one knew I was trying to go to Nicaragua- I had not publically fundraised for the trip like I usually do)! I began to explain to my two friends that fundraising is challenging and it is what it is. My friend soon begin to explain to me how they wanted to give me some money towards my trip! I was super excited and began to thank them. One of my friends began to tell me that they had decided to match each other’s monetary gift to me. My friend then began to tell me how much they had agreed to give me…. In my head, I thought they were going to say $100…at the MOST!
WAIT FOR IT..
Meyuna we want to give you..$1400!!!!!!
WAIT. WHAT!!!!!
YALL.
They gave me the exact amount I needed to go back to Nicaragua! Neither one of them knew my prayer the night before, they were just being obedient to what they were told to give!! God answered my prayer and showed me JUST how faithful He is within 24 hours!!!!
GOD. IS. FAITHFUL YALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
After I stopped crying and after I picked myself off the concrete, God gently reminded me of something that my leader had told me. She said, Meyuna if you can’t trust Him for the $1,400 how can you trust Him for the $18,000!
WOW!!!!!!
SPEECHLESS!
It’s not easy yall! But I trust Him! It literally takes me daily intentional steps and a daily reminder of how HE has always provided for me….But, I am going to trust HIM, through this process!!!!
GOD. IS. FAITHFUL!!!!
I encourage you all to TRUST the LORD! HE IS FAITHFUL friends!!!! HE IS FAITHFUL. HE WILL DO IT!
