Wow! I just read on Facebook that we are going to Uganda next week...NEXT WEEK! WHAT?! Ohhh, yes, that would be happening next week. Wow. It seems like forever ago when I was first asked to go on this journey.
This past weekend I was given the opportunity to share my testimony (the short and concise 3 minute version) at church. The sermon that followed dealt with choices each person makes. In Pastor Paul's words there is "grasshopper mentality" (Numbers 13:31) in which we tell ourselves "we can't" or there is Faith mode (Joshua 2:24) that tells us we CAN! The sermon went on to compare the attitudes of the people during the attempts to enter the Promise Land. I could not have designed a sermon to fit what I felt God was calling me to share if I had written it myself.
Over the past three months I have had "Grasshopper mentality" several times. I have thrown my hands up and said "WHAT AM I THINKING? I CAN'T GO TO AFRICA!" I have gone through every excuse--it cost too much and there are many other things we could use the money for, who will care for the kids, I have too much schoolwork, the loss of wages from taking time off is too detrimental. You name it and I tried to reason with God and myself, telling myself that this was something I could not do. But each time it came down to a simple response of "Go." And if God says "Go," I am going to follow His command and trust that all is under control!
Never would I have thought that God could use me...someone who struggles with my faith and remaining obedient, to go and minister to people on the other side of the world. But maybe that isn't God's plan. Maybe I am to go so that these young girls and their stories can minister to me. Or maybe I am to go to hear their stories in order to share them with someone else who needs to hear them. Whatever the reason, I am ready. I am ready to serve.
I ask that each of you continue to pray for all those that God wants to be on this trip. Pray that the financial burden will be taken care of. (Pray that I am able to cram three weeks of school work into the next 8 days) Pray that each of us will remember to open our spiritual ears, fight the grasshopper mentality, and reach out in faith.
I feel it my friends, God is about do great things in the lives of so many!!!
Monday, February 22, 2010
Saturday, February 13, 2010
I'm leaving on on a jet plane (but I do know when I will be back again!)
Today, it is official... I am the proud owner of an airline ticket to Uganda. In three weeks time, I will leave all this white, cold slush behind to fly half way around the world to a world unlike anything my mind will allow me to fathom. What a great way to spend my 35th birthday! I am excited. I am nervous, yet I am unusually calm. I know that God has a plan for each of the people who are going on this trip and that our lives will be richly blessed beyond measure.
I have learned over the past few weeks that the more I pursue God, the more Satan actively tries to interfere. The great thing is, our God is soooo mighty that Satan's efforts are nothing more than foolish tantrums for something he will never have! What an awesome God we serve! I am confident that as the time approaches, Satan's attempts to attack each person going on this trip will increase. Please continue to pray for each of person going, as well as for those we are going to encounter. Pray that as the smaller details unfold, that each of us will feel God's hand and understand the plan that He has for this trip!
I have learned over the past few weeks that the more I pursue God, the more Satan actively tries to interfere. The great thing is, our God is soooo mighty that Satan's efforts are nothing more than foolish tantrums for something he will never have! What an awesome God we serve! I am confident that as the time approaches, Satan's attempts to attack each person going on this trip will increase. Please continue to pray for each of person going, as well as for those we are going to encounter. Pray that as the smaller details unfold, that each of us will feel God's hand and understand the plan that He has for this trip!
Saturday, January 9, 2010
It's a beginning
Well, I have said for the past two months that I would start a blog so that people can follow what is going on with the trip to Africa... and our lives. This morning must have been the magical moment because here it is!
To find a spot to truly call the beginning is a senseless task. The best I can tell you is the beginning of this journey happened long before I took my first breathe, when only God knew of my existence. I can honestly say that I believe that God has pursued me all of my life. From the time I was young attending Sunday School and church with my cousins, I knew God was calling. In college, God's persistence won! I chose to follow Him. I wish I can say that since day almost 17 years ago, that my life has been nothing but worship and praise. However, that would be a lie. Instead it has been a ever changing journey. I have crawled through valleys and climbed to the peaks; cried out and sang His praise.
So to the present--the big trip.
Last January (oh wait, did I say to the present? :)), I finally decided it was time to go back to school and pursue my Masters. I chose Liberty University because of its Christian values and the fact that almost all of my Masters could be completed online with the exception of internships and three classes. Last summer I journeyed to Lynchburg for the first of these classes. In the afternoon, I was blessed to study under a woman whose love for Christ was nothing short of contagious. Our personalities clicked and since then we have become good friends. I have learned a great deal from this person professionally, personally, and most important-- spiritually.
At the end of October, she asked if I would accompany her and a team to Uganda. I, of course thought she was kidding. After mentioning it at least three more times, I finally decided maybe I should take her request serious. Rick and I talked it over, prayed, prayed, and prayed some more. We felt God telling me to "GO!" Since then, each piece to make this journey possible is slowly falling into place. My employer granted me leave without question, a family friend donated air miles so that I can fly to VA to meet and fly with the team to Uganda, my passport arrived without issue, and slowly funds are trickling in to assist with the cost.
In two months, I will board a plane and fly to a different continent, to a world that is unlike anything I can fathom. While there, it is my prayer that God will pour His love through me. I am told that our time in Uganda will not be structured minute by minute. Instead it is the desire of those in charge of the Zion Project that we spend time listening to what God wants each of us to do and then be obedient to this call. (WHAT! No minute by minute agenda?!!!! For those who know me well, know that apparently God has decided to work on my OCD through this trip!!!!)
I ask that you pray. Pray for each of the people we encounter; pray for each person God is sending on this team and for their families; pray for safety; pray for guidance. Most importantly pray that we will each set aside our needs and desires so that we can learn to be more of who God desires us to be. "Less of me and more of Him," not only for this trip but in our daily lives. Who knows, we may be the only "Jesus" someone will ever meet!
To find a spot to truly call the beginning is a senseless task. The best I can tell you is the beginning of this journey happened long before I took my first breathe, when only God knew of my existence. I can honestly say that I believe that God has pursued me all of my life. From the time I was young attending Sunday School and church with my cousins, I knew God was calling. In college, God's persistence won! I chose to follow Him. I wish I can say that since day almost 17 years ago, that my life has been nothing but worship and praise. However, that would be a lie. Instead it has been a ever changing journey. I have crawled through valleys and climbed to the peaks; cried out and sang His praise.
So to the present--the big trip.
Last January (oh wait, did I say to the present? :)), I finally decided it was time to go back to school and pursue my Masters. I chose Liberty University because of its Christian values and the fact that almost all of my Masters could be completed online with the exception of internships and three classes. Last summer I journeyed to Lynchburg for the first of these classes. In the afternoon, I was blessed to study under a woman whose love for Christ was nothing short of contagious. Our personalities clicked and since then we have become good friends. I have learned a great deal from this person professionally, personally, and most important-- spiritually.
At the end of October, she asked if I would accompany her and a team to Uganda. I, of course thought she was kidding. After mentioning it at least three more times, I finally decided maybe I should take her request serious. Rick and I talked it over, prayed, prayed, and prayed some more. We felt God telling me to "GO!" Since then, each piece to make this journey possible is slowly falling into place. My employer granted me leave without question, a family friend donated air miles so that I can fly to VA to meet and fly with the team to Uganda, my passport arrived without issue, and slowly funds are trickling in to assist with the cost.
In two months, I will board a plane and fly to a different continent, to a world that is unlike anything I can fathom. While there, it is my prayer that God will pour His love through me. I am told that our time in Uganda will not be structured minute by minute. Instead it is the desire of those in charge of the Zion Project that we spend time listening to what God wants each of us to do and then be obedient to this call. (WHAT! No minute by minute agenda?!!!! For those who know me well, know that apparently God has decided to work on my OCD through this trip!!!!)
I ask that you pray. Pray for each of the people we encounter; pray for each person God is sending on this team and for their families; pray for safety; pray for guidance. Most importantly pray that we will each set aside our needs and desires so that we can learn to be more of who God desires us to be. "Less of me and more of Him," not only for this trip but in our daily lives. Who knows, we may be the only "Jesus" someone will ever meet!
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