Two weeks from today I will be getting on a plane and flying to Germany where I will meet my teammates. From there, the three of us will be taking a connecting flight to Johannesburg. Wow! How did the time go so quickly? It seems like just yesterday that I was arguing with God about even the possibility of going to Africa. He told me to go. I told Him no. I'm not exactly sure why I continue to fight God when He tells me to do something. Over and over again, I tell Him no and He always wins in the end. You'd think I would learn and stop wasting time with the arguing! So how exactly did I get to this place? What happened that I will get on a plane in 2 weeks and fly to Africa?
Back in the summer when I was still in Russia, I started to feel like the Lord wanted me to serve Him overseas again for a while this Spring. I considered it and prayed about it. I assumed that He would send me back to Russia. I even got a job offer to go back to Ufa and teach English after I graduated. The more I prayed about spending this Spring in Russia, the more I was certain that was not where I was supposed to be. In my limited understanding, I took that to mean that I was supposed to get a job after I graduated and start teaching.
Sometime in August, I began to feel a specific call to Africa. I ignored it, thinking it couldn't possibly be from the Lord, He wanted me to get a job and be a responsible adult. I started to make my own plans for the Spring semester and look into teaching jobs. I decided that if I couldn't find a permanent teaching position, I would substitute teach and possibly take on a part time job as well. I had my plans and I asked the Lord to get behind them and bless them. Ha!
More and more I began to feel drawn to Africa and knew that it was the Lord. I remember telling Him, "No, I am going to teach. I am not going to Africa. My plans have been made and I am not changing them. I have loans to pay and I need to get a job." I am so thankful that the Lord is patient with me because I am sure that I try His patience rather severely. Finally, during a missions conference at church, I couldn't ignore Him anymore.
I decided to look into the opportunities that were available. If I couldn't find one that fit my time frame then I would have my excuse to stay. My mind was made up. When I began exploring, I found a program through the IMB called Hands On. I had never heard of it and it wasn't easy to find more information about it, but it fit my time frame exactly and they had many trips to many different countries in Africa. My excuse was gone.
I opened all the project descriptions in different tabs and began to read through them. I decided to not look at the countries, just the job descriptions. I closed the ones that didn't seem like a good fit for me. Out of the two dozen or more descriptions, I ended up with four. All four of those were in South Africa. This was the one country in Africa I didn't want to go to! I have friends from South Africa and I was afraid of what they might say about me going there. Their family left ten years ago because of the conditions there and I've heard many stories about the danger and crime.
I decided that I would apply for the program and I listed the South Africa projects even though I didn't want to. A week later, I went to a collegiate conference and there was a representative from the IMB. The Lord knew that I needed confirmation, and it needed to be very clear. This representative was an IMB worker who was on stateside assignment. His country of service was South Africa and he knew quite a bit about the Hands On program. I'm note sure how much clearer of a sign He could have given me but this one worked. From that time, I began getting excited about South Africa and the Lord began growing in me a heart for the people of this country.
Three and a half months later, here I am, getting ready to leave for Johannesburg. I still have some money to raise but the Lord is my provider and He will make this happen too. Satan is doing his best to discourage me and convince me that I am not supposed to go but I know that this is the Lord's will and I will not let Satan get a foothold on me! I am so excited to see what the God is going to do while I am in South Africa and I am pumped to meet my teammates and experience that fellowship as well! The next 5 months will be an adventure and I am ready for it!
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