Prayer. Prayer. Prayer.
Answer.
When I was sixteen, I told God that once I graduated high school, I would go anywhere He wanted me to go and do whatever He asked of me. I was ready to hop on a plane and serve the outcasts in a far away country to live out the rest of my days.
Then, He called me to the exotic country of the United States of America.
That's not exactly what I was thinking.
A few months later, there was a last minute opportunity to be a counselor at my church's middle school summer camp, so I went.
And I loved it.
That's when I realized that God was needing me to stay here in the United States to work with middle schoolers.
Really God? When I said I would go anywhere and I would do anything, that's not really what I had in mind.
But God gave me a passion for teenagers and I've truly loved every minute and every opportunity that I've been given.
But still, I kinda wanted to be a missionary.
This summer, for the first time in years, I asked God if I could go out and serve people around the world.
He said yes.
Simple as that. I asked my Father for something and He agreed. Looking back, I definitely wasn't ready as a teenager. He had other things to show me and people who had to help me grow and become vulnerable with.
So now I go. Well, after I graduate.
In July, I'm headed out with Adventures In Missions' The World Race where I travel to 11 countries in 11 months so that I can serve all the nations of the world. Right now, I'll be headed to Bulgaria, Romania, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Guatemala, but it will most likely change in the upcoming months.
I'll update more later about it all when I know more exact details but I did want to let you guys know. I'm going to need a lot of prayer as I prepare for the next ten months, especially as I'll have to raise about $16,000 and having to finish off my last year of school (student teaching...grrr) but I am so excited for what's to come!
It's funny though. As soon as I come back from my crazy adventures, I'll be headed right back to where I planned: teaching middle school in America.
God gave me a plan and I intend to follow it. But He also knew my desires and what I wanted and took that into consideration.
I asked and received.
That's how the Father's love works. Sometimes not how we expect, but all in His time.
"You say you have a plan for me
And that you want the best for my life
Told me the world had yet to see
What you can do with one
That's committed to Your calling
I know of course what I should do
That I can't hold these dreams forever
If I give them now to You
Will You take them away forever?
Or can I dream again?"
--Surrender by Barlow Girl
