From The Beginning

My trip to Uganda is less than a week away and quite honestly, I have been trying to write this blog for over a month now. My feet and legs haven’t stopped moving since finals ended, but thankfully today I have had enough time to just sit down and write. This is my very first blog, and I wanted to just tell whoever may be reading this how faithful the Lord’s hands have been through this past year, and the journey that I have taken just to get to this point. So here goes nothing.

When I got saved during the summer of 2012, the Lord always stirred an interest and passion for the people of Africa in my heart and I never fully understood why. I had an opportunity my senior year of high school to travel to Africa, but that trip fell through and if we’re being honest again, I was only wanting to go for selfish reasons. I wanted all the praise for doing the “right” thing and being the “better” person. But now almost 4 years later, my reasons have changed. My heart has been softened and my desires have made a complete 180.

NOW THIS IS ALL FOR AND BECAUSE OF JESUS.

As a follower of Christ, I will say that I don’t believe in coincidences. I believe in what I call are “God moments.” These are moments where the only explanation of things lining up is because of an Almighty God. One of the few “God moments” that I caught onto and recognized occurred about a month after contemplating and fighting back and forth with God about if He really wanted me to go to Africa. I was sitting in Java Jacks, a popular coffee shop in Nac, about to start chapter 8 of Kisses from Katie, a book about a young girl who packed up all her stuff and moved to Uganda. About half way through I read this paragraph and I was completely shook.

“You are to find me in the least of these.” Yes. “You are to leave your earthly possessions and come follow me.” Yes. “You are to love and serve the Lord God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself.” Yes. “You are to go and make disciples of all nations.” Yes. “You are to entertain strangers and lepers and tax collectors.” Yes. “You are to show mercy.” Yes. “You are to live a mediocrity and abundance, holding on tight to your comfortable lifestyle, lest you lose it.” No.

It was quite clear that sitting in my cozy apartment twiddling my thumbs all summer was not a part of the Lord’s plan for me, BUT me being the stubborn woman I am asked for one more sign of “clarity.” And God, being the clever and patient God He is, turned my one sign I asked for into two very evident signs within the next 24 hours.

That night I spontaneously decided to drive to Shreveport to attend 318LIVE, a citywide young adult ministry. I had never been before, but a lot of my friends had gone and were always talking about it. So, 15 of my sweet friends piled into 3 separate cars and we were off for a 2 hour drive. When we arrived, they had already started worship so we sat in the very back. Immediately after we sat down, I began to pray asking for all distractions, specifically about Africa, to be cleared from my mind so I could hear exactly what the Lord was trying to tell me.

The series was called “Your Best Next” and considering it was the first week of the new year, I was pretty interested in what the pastor had say. The sermon was centered around the rich young ruler, which can be found in Mark 10:17-22. While listening to the scripture being read aloud, I realized three things: 1) he, being the rich young ruler, was greedy, 2) he didn’t trust Jesus, and 3) I did NOT want to be like him. After reading the passage, the pastor asked how many people loved 2016 and many people raised their hands. Next, he asked how many people didn’t like 2016 as much and many people raised their hands for that as well. Then, he asked, “What if I told you 2017 could be better for all of you? All you have to do is say yes. Raise your hand if you would like that.” The entire room was filled with hands flowing in the air. One of the many encouragements that stuck with me said, “He is coaching you to your level of faith, and when God calls you to a higher level of faith DON’T be afraid to say yes!” By the end of the sermon, tears were flowing and hands were raised up because I knew that Africa is where I needed to be.

The next morning, after a long night of driving and Taco Bell, I went back to Java Jacks to read more of my book wondering what I was going to learn about. I was onto chapter 11 of Kisses From Katie and I couldn’t believe, at the time, how clear our God could truly be.

I believe that God is in control, yes, but I also believe I have a choice: I can follow Him or I can turn my back on Him. I can say yes to Him, or I can say no. I can go to the hard places or I can remain comfortable. And if I remain comfortable, God who loves us unconditionally will continue to love me anyway. I may still see His glory revealed in my life and recognize His blessings, but not like I could have. I can miss the will of God. The rich young ruler certainly did. He didn’t fall dead, as Ananias and Sapphira did; and maybe he went on to live a great life, but it wasn’t the life he could have lived had he said yes to what Jesus was asking of him.

I couldn’t believe it. It was that simple: Listen. Say yes. Be obedient.

It’s crazy to know we serve a God who listens, a God who is patient, and a God who can change self-righteous desires to His own. Honestly, I am still speechless and my eyes are filled with tears. I asked for clarity and the Lord surely answered my request. He showed me that living a comfortable lifestyle here in the States isn’t what He has called me to do at all. The Lord has called me, and He has called me halfway around the world with an incredible opportunity to serve the people of Uganda through a ministry called Empower A Child. These past 7 months have shown nothing but the Lord’s provision of where He wants me to be this summer and now it’s time to go. Well, it will be in a couple of days.

Praises:

• the donations towards my trip EXCEEDED how much I set to raise

Prayer requests:

• Gracie, a sweet friend of mine, is staying in Kenya for 5 weeks (please pray for everything I have written down below for her as well)
• safe travels to Uganda, during my stay, and back to the States
• my health while overseas
• for boldness and to continue to be a “yes” girl
• all hearts to be softened
• my eyes to stay focused on the Lord