I moved up to the wonderful Crown College in Minnesota (hi all you crownies :)) in mid-August… and in the whirlwind of freshman year- the new friendships, extended time away from home, late nights due to homework procrastination- God put something in my mind that I could not get out.
It started out with reading one of the world racer’s blogs that a friend of mine had sent me a while ago (for those of you who don’t know what the world race is, it is an opportunity for individuals ages 21-35 to spend 11 months in 11 different countries, serving the least of these). This particular world racer became very attached and impacted by the country of Thailand- so much so that after the World Race was over she returned to the U.S. for a few months, and then left for Thailand to spend the next two years there (you can check out her world race blog here http://bethsaidaportalatin.theworldrace.org/?tuid=11828419). And with that, just through a blog, God planted something in my heart. After that, Thailand started popping up EVERYWHERE. There started to be so many little coincidences, like a missionary from Thailand speaking in chapel, mentionings of the country in classes, AIM had a college trip for the summer going to Thailand… etc. I was pretty doubtful of it all though. I brushed most of it off as coincidence, decided to pray about it, and figured that it was just something I was interested in doing, and not actually God’s will for me. After a couple weeks of silence, I pushed it to the back of mind and tried to forget about it.
Then, on October 25, I was sitting in the cafeteria at lunch and my good friend Leah comes up to me and says, “Emily, I have to talk to you!”
“Okay,” I said, “right now?”
“Yes, right now!!” she replied.
So we walked out of the cafeteria and sat down in the hallway, and I sat there waiting for her to say something (and frankly, I was about to pee my pants… when someone says they need to talk to me I always assume the worst). Anywho, what she had to tell me was simple. “God told me you’re supposed to go to Thailand.” I wish there was a good word to describe how I felt at that moment… probably a mixture of fear, excitement, and also relief that I wasn’t just imagining things.
If you know me at all, you’ll also know that I went to Uganda, Africa last summer. So I was very hesitant to think that I was supposed to be going to Thailand, again out of the country this summer. I had been planning on working as a camp counselor at the summer camp I went to throughout my whole childhood this year. Maybe in a few years, I thought. So again, I went to God and prayed that he would let me know if the trip to Thailand through AIM this summer was what he had for me, though I felt like it wasn’t. Over Thanksgiving Break, I was at home when Tori, my wonderful friend and amazing teammate that I got to spend a month with in Uganda over last summer contacted me. She had been in prayer for me and the words that God gave her for me were “Go. Go now.”
Can I just pause for a second here? I want to let you all know that if you’re ever questioning something concerning God’s will for you, if you think that God wants you to do something but don’t want to jump into it until you know for sure… PRAY. Pray for God’s confirmation, he WILL give it. He will. I’m not saying that he’ll do it the same way he did for me. Maybe God will speak through another believer to you, but if you’re seeking out what God wants for you, and you ask for God to show you, he will let you know. Keep your eyes open, and he’ll make it clear.
So needless to say, I signed up for this trip that day. And here I am, three months away from another adventure this summer. Honestly, it’s a little bittersweet… there are some things I will definitely miss over this summer. There were things that I wanted to do personally that I’ve had to give up. But, again… God’s plan is worth it. There are so many blessings that come from being obedient to him. I’m not saying this trip will be easy. I’m positive it will be HARD. It will be stretching and stressful. There will be wonderful, happy, joyful moments over those two months, but there will also be many struggles. If there’s anything I learned over my time in Africa last summer, it’s that the enemy is in fierce opposition to God’s will and will do ANYTHING to discourage you and pull you out of God’s will. I can definitely expect that this summer as well.
Sooooo... that's basically the short and sweet version of how all this came about. But anyway… that’s my plan (or should I say God's) from June 1st- July 29th this summer. Here’s a link about my trip http://www.adventures.org/trips/mission-trips.asp?locID=421&typeid=2&subtypeid=0 :)
Be expecting more blogs soon… :)
-Emily
