Preparation Update

So it has been about a month since I found out I would be going to Canada and now I'm a little less than a month away from leaving. During this time it has been incredible to see how God has worked to provide for this trip since the main concern I had was the funding. Turns out it was just another way God could use to show how great He is so I'm here to express that to you!

Overall this trip was $2900 and it had to be payed for 2 weeks before I leave which only left me about a month to raise the money. The first gift was from my home church which offered to pay for half of the trip. The next line of gifts came from some of the most amazing people in my life which added up to about $700. So in a little less than a week I had already received about $2150. As if each check that rolled in wasn't mind blowing enough, the the next gift that came was nothing but God at work. Here is the backstory on how this took place. Some people at my dad's work send prayer requests through e-mail and they go around the office and one of those was for this trip. A couple of ladies decided to have a bake sale to raise some money in order to help me go. So far this is normal. My dad's boss then decided that he would match whatever was raised for the bake sale, yet again this seemed pretty normal. On the day of the bake sale around lunch time I received a call from my dad informing me that around $400 was raised which absolutely floored me! At the end of the day I got word that the bake sale had made close to $500 and the boss was matching that. Two and two together makes close to $1000! This absolutely had the hand of God at work in it!

So in 2 short weeks, what I thought was a pretty impossible situation became the right situation for God to reveal Himself.


Another thing that I had prayed about was for a male presence on this trip as I am traveling with 2 other girls, not that I don't love the company I will be with! Haha But for me I felt it was necessary to have a male that I could plug into while I was away and this prayer as well has been answered. While I'm there I will be living with a Christian guy who attends the university I will be serving at.

Through all of this and in the last month the biggest thing that I have learned is that God provides for those He calls! I know that as I continue to prepare and even while I'm away with no income, I will be provided for. There is no better place to be then to be in the providing hands of God.

The Journey Begins

"God my human mind cannot comprehend

what is going on I know that nothing

 is impossible or bigger than you. If

you want me to apply and be accepted

Then I know you will make it happen.

I know that if I'm suppose to be on

a plane to Canada in January then

you will make it happen. Blow my mind"

This was the prayer that Sunday afternoon walking to my car after lunch. A lot has happened since then and really most of it has occurred in the last 36-40 hrs. Just to recap I wanted to go on an extensive missions trip for several reasons, mostly for the fact that it may be a calling. My plans wanted me to wait till next fall, God's plans wanted me to apply now.

I took a leap of faith and followed through with God's way which has lead to a long month of impatience and a lot of anxious times. Through it I have been able to learn a lot about this fruit of the spirit. One thing that has stuck out in that time period was this simple fact, "Don't miss what God wants to teach you in your time of waiting. It's just preparing you for what you will encounter next."

I had a phone interview yesterday (Monday) in which the guy told me that he would send me an e-mail later that day to inform me if I would be going to Canada or not. I received that e-mail and read the words that I had wished to read for a month, "Congrats, were accepting you to go to Canada."

In a little less than 2 months, I'll take my comfortable life in East Tennessee and move it to a spiritually dark and (literally) cold place with 1 friend from home and no family or any other friends. The remaining time that I have left till I leave is crucial to what will happen in the 4 months that follow. I am grateful that I have people that are plugging into me to build me up as I prepare.

What started as a surreal feeling has become a real feeling. I am answering God's call to go minister in Quebec, Canada. The Audio Adrenaline song explains its best;

"I'm willing yet so afraid

You give me strength

When I say

I want to be your hands

I want to be your feet

I'll go where you send me

And I try, Yea I try

To touch the world

Like you touched my life

And I find my way

To be your hands."

"Also I heard the voice of the Lord saying: "Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me." Isaiah 6:8-9. The journey has begun.

O Canada?

Risks can be daunting. Pray one time for a chance to serve anywhere at anytime or say one time to God Here am I, send me and see what happens. Last week I mentioned that I was on the verge of something great. I also stated a lot of questions that have been burning inside of me. I said that Lord willing I would go next fall....what about January?

I have been debating on an extended out of the country mission trip for a while now and had a few people in my life that wanted me to apply for this spring just to see what happens. My response? I'm going next fall so that way I can prepare for it.

At this point I would like to stop and let you re-read my response to what people were asking me to do. I would also like to stop and say that at this point in my life you think I would have stopped trying to plan out what I will do with my life. College baseball? Failed. Trying to pursue a profession in Special Education? Failed. Answering a ministry calling the first time? Failed. Moving to Louisville within the first 2 years of Seminary? Failed. You see a trend here with the plans I've made for myself?!?

Continuing on, Going on a Hands On trip next fall? On the verge of failing. The past 2 or 3 days have been interesting to say the least. After watching a video about Hands On my heart began to pound. I was feeling so many emotions and knew that the calling was clear that at some point I would go away. Fast forward to Sunday while out to lunch with my parents I get a text message from a friend who is going to Canada in January. The only reason I said I would go is if Canada was an option because it just stuck out to me on the project list. Just so happens that the text message I received said they need 2 more people to go to Canada. My heart immediately began to pound again and it would not quit unless I did something about it.

My prayer as I was walking to my car after lunch went a little something like this;

"God my human mind cannot comprehend

what is going on I know that nothing

 is impossible or bigger than you. If

you want me to apply and be accepted

Then I know you will make it happen.

I know that if I'm suppose to be on

a plan to Canada in January then

you will make it happen. Blow my mind."

So the application has been sent in. I have already received an e-mail telling me that this close to the deadline that it may not even be possible to get a spot on any trip for the spring. I'm reminded of one of my favorite movies called "Facing The Giants" It is a football movie with many plots in it but towards the end when this little school wins the State Championship against a 2 or 3 time defending champion, the coach looks at his players in the locker room and says, "You tell me what's impossible with God? God can do whatever he wants to do however he wants to do it and he chooses to work in our lives because he loves us, because he's good."

What's impossible with God you ask? Nothing...absolutely nothing. God takes ordinary people in ordinary situations and does extraordinary things. Why? Because he is God and can do whatever he wants to do however he wants to do it...for our good and his glory. I'm just an ordinary person who could possibly get to be a part of something extraordinary.

The beginning of something great?

The road leading to ministry was a long and winding road, one filled with many side tracks. I ran from it to the extent I tried to do it my way and when you try and fight God about your ways...well...you lose 100% of the time.

The past couple years have tought me that it is necessary to be in tune with God. At one moment you could be in one place and then in another moment be somewhere else. The side roads of life can be painful ones but graciously we have a God who can steer us back on track. The reason I write this tonight is because I could be on another journey. After taking an eye opening mission trip to Seville, Spain three months ago, I have felt a calling to go back overseas. At first I believed these feelings were more of an emotional high out of the fact I had an amazing time while gone. A new place, new people and a new opportunity.

Over the past three months since returning I have had feelings come and go and they re-surfaced last week when a former missionary to South Africa came to Beaver Dam to speak to the high school students. He was speaking because our church is sending a team of high school and college students to South Africa next summer! Was I ready to jump on that ship? You bet! But while this guy was talking questions began forming in my mind that would cause me to be hesitate;
Do I continue to take short term trips to discover where I feel lead to?
Do I take a long term trip so that I endure the lonely days when no one close is around?
What happens if the first time I experience one of those days it's with a family?
After having the opportunity to speak one on one with this missionary, I again felt the same intense feelings of going back overseas as I had felt once I came home from Spain.

So the next question is this, when and where God? Lord willing the answer to the first part of that question will be next fall. The second part is yet to be determined but after some wise counseling I have decided to do this, just do something! One thing I've learned is that God will not just give you all the answers. Sometimes you have to get up, make a move and trust God will get you where you were intended to go in the first place.

So here I am and here it goes....is this the beginning of something great? How can I best serve with what I have? My prayer as I continue to decipher the thoughts in my heart and mind is that I will ultimately be open to the Lord's word. A quote that I hold close says this, "Taking risks can be daunting. But most often the most rewarding journeys begin with uneasy and faultering first steps." Something great? Absolutely! The worst thing I could do with the desires I have is to not do anything at all.

The Reason For This Blog

Welcome everyone! After a lot of thought and debating I've finally given in. The purpose in this blog is to share the experiences of, not only Seminary, but life. Part of ministry is being able to share the experiences we encounter and to encourage others with those experiences and that is the goal in mind with this blog. I want to share the experiences in both the classroom as well as out in the world.

The idea behind the title of the blog, Walking Towards Home, came from a very inspiring book called Same Kind of Different As Me. It is a story about two men, Ron Hall and Denver Moore, how they met and the friendship they developed. Denver was a man who grew up being a slave in the south then ended up in Fort Worth, Texas as a homeless man when he met Ron. To get to the point, as Denver lived life in search of a home, once a person is saved, "The truth is, whether we are rich or poor or something in between, the earth isn't a final resting place. So in a way we are all homeless - just working our way toward home."

These are stories and encounters of the journey that was created for me by God. I'm just walking towards home.