I love this quote from Helen Keller, “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.”
When I graduated from Bible College a year ago, I remember walking off the stage and saying this is it, my whole life is before me. Although I had experienced many short term missions’ trips, been involved in a ton of different ministries inside the church and had even done outreach ministries… I still knew something was missing in my full view of what God had planned for my life. So with an adventurous spirit and a willingness to grow I set out on a journey across the world to learn more about missions, myself and a big God.
Now at the end of the three months, I can say what an adventure it turned out to be! Though I’ve never spent longer than two or so weeks in other countries, the moment I set foot in South East Asia I was in love. The kindness of the people, the beauty of the city, all the colors and foods… it was exciting! The thoughts never crossed my mind “what have I done?” because I knew from the moment I signed up to come to Thailand, it would be life changing, but also challenging. I think whenever we step out into the unknown; we step into God’s hands, allowing ourselves to be stretched.
I knew my hands would be tied because of language barriers, so I didn’t come excepting to change as much as to be changed. A lot of the changing in me was when I started to see all my misconceptions slap me in the face. Something’s I thought I knew begin to be reshaped in my mind, I even learned more about my own country while being here. As the weeks went on when I would be sitting amongst the children or in the bars with the dancers or at NightLight with the women making jewelry… I started to realize that though I couldn’t say anything to them I could tell them how much God loved them through the way I treated them. As I am leaving, I leave with only one regret, that is that I wish I had opened myself and heart sooner… three months is a short time, time goes by so fast and I realize now the urgency in being more bond and confident in who God has made me to be. One thing I know was God’s doing is allowing me to serve with two incredible people. Peter and Sandra have a drive to make God’s love known, but they also realize that in order to do that it takes all of us. Learning under Sandra for the past three months inspired me; she challenged me to believe in myself, push past my insecurities and to take more risk. She is known for pushing people toward the mission field, but it is only a reverb of what God has already told us all to do… Mark 16:15
So though I got to go on an adventure of a lifetime, experience new countries, meet new people, see God in a new light, and witness Him not only change my life but the people around me. I leave still not knowing what exactly the future holds, but knowing even more so of the need TO GO. Whether I am in the US or in a far off land, I have to go past myself, go past fears and insecurities. Now at the end of it all God didn’t give me details or write it on the wall where, what or when to do something… but He made the big picture ever so clear, take a risk, step out and GO.
When I graduated from Bible College a year ago, I remember walking off the stage and saying this is it, my whole life is before me. Although I had experienced many short term missions’ trips, been involved in a ton of different ministries inside the church and had even done outreach ministries… I still knew something was missing in my full view of what God had planned for my life. So with an adventurous spirit and a willingness to grow I set out on a journey across the world to learn more about missions, myself and a big God.
Now at the end of the three months, I can say what an adventure it turned out to be! Though I’ve never spent longer than two or so weeks in other countries, the moment I set foot in South East Asia I was in love. The kindness of the people, the beauty of the city, all the colors and foods… it was exciting! The thoughts never crossed my mind “what have I done?” because I knew from the moment I signed up to come to Thailand, it would be life changing, but also challenging. I think whenever we step out into the unknown; we step into God’s hands, allowing ourselves to be stretched.
I knew my hands would be tied because of language barriers, so I didn’t come excepting to change as much as to be changed. A lot of the changing in me was when I started to see all my misconceptions slap me in the face. Something’s I thought I knew begin to be reshaped in my mind, I even learned more about my own country while being here. As the weeks went on when I would be sitting amongst the children or in the bars with the dancers or at NightLight with the women making jewelry… I started to realize that though I couldn’t say anything to them I could tell them how much God loved them through the way I treated them. As I am leaving, I leave with only one regret, that is that I wish I had opened myself and heart sooner… three months is a short time, time goes by so fast and I realize now the urgency in being more bond and confident in who God has made me to be. One thing I know was God’s doing is allowing me to serve with two incredible people. Peter and Sandra have a drive to make God’s love known, but they also realize that in order to do that it takes all of us. Learning under Sandra for the past three months inspired me; she challenged me to believe in myself, push past my insecurities and to take more risk. She is known for pushing people toward the mission field, but it is only a reverb of what God has already told us all to do… Mark 16:15
So though I got to go on an adventure of a lifetime, experience new countries, meet new people, see God in a new light, and witness Him not only change my life but the people around me. I leave still not knowing what exactly the future holds, but knowing even more so of the need TO GO. Whether I am in the US or in a far off land, I have to go past myself, go past fears and insecurities. Now at the end of it all God didn’t give me details or write it on the wall where, what or when to do something… but He made the big picture ever so clear, take a risk, step out and GO.
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