I would love to tell you all about this country but first I
just want to tell you why in the world I’m here. In a brief explanation why…I have no
idea! But I do know without any doubt in
my heart that I was called to be here.
About a year ago I got word that a good friend was planning a trip to
take a mission trip to Burkina. Well,
actually he called me the night before telling me there was a meeting the next
morning explaining all the details of the trip.
So pretty much, I had a couple hours to think about it and decided to
go. This wasn’t his first trip here but
it would be mine. I wasn’t totally sure
why I was going on that particular trip but felt for some reason that it was
going to lead to a drastic change in my life and darn it if I wasn’t
right.
So after the meeting we had a few months to get to all of our stuff together and get the plans organized before we left on our trip at the end of July 2011. It was a two week trip to do some much needed work that helped the mission there and we saw a lot of things that would break anybody’s heart. It was an eye-opening experience to say the least. Sometime during those two weeks in Burkina I got a whisper in my ear. Actually, it was my good friend and a couple other people just casually telling me that I would do well in Burkina. Well, whatever that meant, it started a roller coaster effect in my heart. I believe God speaks through the people around you sometimes and I believe he did during those moments but after we got back home I just couldn’t settle down. The whispers kept coming and I knew who it was but repeatedly shrugged it off thinking, “That’s just crazy”. I’ve got too much going on in
As time went on, God kept his finger in my back and it wore me down. It felt like I was carrying a burden that I thought I could carry but God kept stacking the weights on. It became emotionally and mentally draining and I was exhausted from thinking about it. I tried to make every excuse for myself not to go. First of all, it was just a crazy idea. I have a degree in construction. What in the world could I do for a mission? Well, I already knew the answer to that, but it sounded like a good excuse anyway. Second, it was going to cost me $14,000 to spend six months in another country. It was a little overwhelming to me to think about. In the scheme of things, it really wasn’t a fortune compared to what
Finally, I had come to the point where I had about run out
of time to even decide to go or not. I
thought maybe if I can just make it a few more weeks then I won’t have to worry
about it. It’ll be too late by then and
I’m going for two weeks in March anyways so it’s no big deal. Apparently that didn’t work for God. He finally made me realize that if I didn’t
go, that I would be being disobedient. I
couldn’t bare the thought of being a disappointment to God. To be given this opportunity and to
completely turn it down, I just didn’t think I could bare it. I finally gave in and said yes. I turned in my application and the necessary
paperwork and all that burden and weight and that finger disappeared within an
instant. Now, what in the world had I
gotten myself into?
Thankfully God had surrounded me with some very encouraging
friends and family, The Church that completely supported this whole idea, and
an awesome mother who jumped in right behind to help get me where I am
today. I just want you to know that this
was not my idea whatsoever. God planned
it and God willed it. He also kept to His
promise. All that money I had to raise
that I was so overwhelmed with, it all came in during the course of three and a
half weeks.
I think to myself about that all the time even while I sit
here three weeks later in Burkina in a room where it’s 90 degrees. God is
amazing. I hear people that say, “Why
should we be amazed at what God can do?
Why should we even be surprised?”
And we shouldn’t be surprised but why not be amazed at what God can do? I think we should always stand in amazement
because whatever He just did...He can do so much more. If God wants you somewhere and you are
willing, He will get you there.