Friday, October 21, 2011

His Will in Motion [A slight Background]

Thailand.  A few years back it was on my mind - I thought the beaches looked beautiful and the landscape seemed to be an escape;  I wanted to go.  Soon my selfishness got pushed to the side with that, but my compassion for the country didn't leave.  After studying abroad in China I was fascinated by Asian Countries - and South East Asia, specifically Thailand, stood out in my mind.  As I planned on going on a mission trip with Global Expeditions, I was torn between going to Thailand and Dallas, but God wanted me in Dallas.  While at Dallas it became so clear to me that the Lord is calling me into missions - possibly over seas missions.  I was in Dallas learning about how great God's providence was.  As I prepared to leave, I needed to also prepare for spending the rest of my summer at my second home, Keswick.

America's Keswick is a place of rejuvenation, where the Lord uses the immersion of Christ centered living to draw me closer to Him.  After 2 years of serving there on summer staff, ministering to the guests and reaping the benefits of being surrounded by fellow believers, it was easy to understand what it meant to be in a true community.  On the first day of Keswick this past summer, I met my dorm Supervisor, a wonderful sister in Christ.  Upon meeting her I found out that she was a native of Thailand.  "I think I'm being called to Thailand..." I blurted out, expressing my shock that of all people to be meeting, right after my Dallas mission trip, I would meet someone who was from the country that had consumed my passions for the past few years. 
So what ends up happening is that she tells me how she had went to a Christian school in Thailand, and she gives me the contact information.  Turns out that Chiangmai Christian Fellowship has internship programs and my dorm supervisor asks if I could go for a summer long "Vision Trip." 
As we anxiously await the reply, I pray that my parents would let me go.  A mission trip with no organization leading it? My father is strict and I needed to honor his wishes.  He told my sister that there was no way I would be going as he drove her to Keswick.  Yet when I finally got to talk to him, and my wonderful dorm supervisor told him about the ministry, his response was, "I think... you should go..." That very night we heard back that CCF would be accepting internships.  Praise God for His providence! 

Since then, every week my Savior reminds me of His purpose in me going to Thailand this upcoming summer. It seems like everywhere I turn I'll find another connection to Thailand - leaving me with no room to question God's will.  What shall I say? What shall I do?  Questions still plague me, but the Lord is faithful with those as well.  


Jeremiah 1:4-7
Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: “ Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations."  Then said I:  “ Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.”  But the LORD said to me:
“ Do not say, ‘I am a youth,' For you shall go to all to whom I send you, And whatever I command you, you shall speak.  Do not be afraid of their faces, For I am with you to deliver you,” says the LORD. 

Just like God had ordained Jeremiah to be a prophet before conception, the Lord has also set apart plans for those in His everlasting Kingdom, plans to further His kingdom.  'Do Not Be Afraid,' He tells me, time and time again, for if He has great plans for His children, He will carry them out, equip us for them, and lead the way.  He is the great I AM - what have we to fear!? Therefore, I write to express the Journey my Savior leads me on as He prepares me for Thailand this summer, and whatever mission He has in store for the Future.  Praise be to GOD! AMEN. 

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