In July of 2010 I traveled to Germany as a youth exchange student. This trip had nothing to do with ministering to Germans but was simply an exchange with local youth to experience a different culture and broaden our experiences. I went with no expectations to discuss my religion in depth with anyone; I was simply an American visiting Germany staying in a German house soaking of the culture and history.
The first night at my home stay, the father of the family I was going to be with for a little over a week, turns to me and starts asking all of things that I had been told NOT to discuss in polite company (i.e. politics, religion, money etc.). Not only did his great English startle me but I was nervous about my answers. I was representing so much. I am a student, my generation, my family, my friends, my country and my God. Taking a deep fortifying breath I answers all his questions honestly and to the best of my knowledge, they ranged from my view of former President Bush to abortion to the right to carry arms to Lady Gaga back to my view of President Obama. I went to bed not knowing what this new family thought of me.
During the rest of my stay with this family I gradually asked them about their view on Christianity and was able to share with them my faith. This was not some huge production where I read to them from the bible, but in little moments, like when we toured a church and discussed why some people lift their hands when they sing to explaining who Jesus is to me. At the end of my stay no one indicated that my life story had dramatically altered their spiritual walk, but I left knowing that no matter how I represented my country, my family or my generation I represented my God to the best of my ability.
Little did I know this would be the start of a wonderful experience with people so warm and open and caring that I still miss them to this day. Not only was this experience a jump off point for my desire to share my faith with others, it was my own personal eye opener to the idea international missions.
With this desire in my heart, I prayed. I prayed for an opportunity, for wisdom to know His will, for knowledge to share. In January 2011 I attended Passion Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Here I knew that I would "find" my mission, they have this campaign called Do Something Now, that is all about being an active Christian and living faithfully to help others. Wondering around the booths one night with a friend, we signed up with Right Now Missions to receive further information about being placed in a mission opportunity. I went back to my room feeling disappointed. That was all. Sign up for information; I could have done that through Google. Where was my divine intervention that revealed MY trip.
After that trip the idea of a going on a mission trip got put on the back burner as I mourned and went to school and worked. I decide that If God truly wanted me to go somewhere than He was going to have to show me.
Hindsight is 20/20, looking back I see the clues that lead me to where I am. Through out January and the beginning of February something would remind me of missions at least once or twice a week. This slowly stopped to where it just completely left my mind. A brief glimpse of a possible trip happened when a new friend invited me to join her old church in Arkansas on a trip to...Peru. This fell through so quickly that it didn't even process enough to excite me back to searching.
Then one Sunday, I was having lunch with three of my good friends after church when one of them mentions that a mutual friend is going to Africa on a mission trip this summer and that the deadline for applications passed the previous week. We continued to talk about how cool it would be to go on a mission trip and how testing for our faith it would be. That Tuesday at work, my co-teacher randomly brings up that she was thinking about whether I have found a mission trip to serve on or if I was still looking. That evening Right Now Missions from Passion called me to have me answer questions so that they could send out my information to potential trips. The very next day (Wednesday), the first email I receive is from Buckner International about their August to trip to... Peru! At this point I felt the Spirit telling me to wake up! pay attention! I prayed about it and I discussed it with a trusted Christian friend who encouraged me to peruse it but I truly doubt if this exact opportunity was for me. That next Sunday, one full week after first discussing mission trips, I was visiting a friend's church in Ohio and guess what the sermon was about!?! Mission trips, serving others, going when God calls you to GO! At this point I knew that this mission opportunity with Buckner in Peru was the right one, it was getting over myself enough to apply that was the next step. This was easily accomplished when I opened my mail box on Monday morning to see that the cover of that month's Nation Geographic was Machu Picchu in... PERU!!!
That week I applied to go on the Shoe's for Orphan Souls trip to Peru in August 2011. Getting here was long, but now another test beings as I work toward trusting that the Lord will provide that funding necessary for this trip to become a reality.
