Sunday, August 21, 2011

The Missionary Adventure Begins

So I have arrived to San Pedro. It was a long day getting here. It was a long time getting to this point in the total spectrum, but that's another blog. In fact, that's already been blogged. However, the day I left West Virginia to get to where I am at now was just as long. I thought I was ready, I was packed, I had prayed this up, I had an apartment waiting for me in the Dominican, and yet, things weren't as easy as I imagined.

I cried. I cried almost the whole way from Charleston to New York. The only reason I stopped cry was because I fell asleep on the plane. I woke up just in time to see the statue of Liberty and the New York skyline lit up against the morning sun. It was beautiful, but I was sad. And I was terrified. I kept thinking that I had made the wrong decision, that my Grandmother had been right and I wasn't as grown up as I thought. I prayed and prayed asking God to let me know that this was were I was suppose to be going. In my heart, God kept repeating, "you promised". That simple little phrase over and over. "You promised" Was that all the bread I would be given that day? Apparently yes as every time I teared up, all I would think was, "you promised". Most of the day passed in this way, I would cry, God would remind me, I would take a deep breath and be still till I cried again. All in all, it I was glad that I had decided to wear a scarf that day since it became my tissue.

In this state I arrived in Santo Domingo. As we sat on the runway making our way to the terminal, I bowed my head and told God that this was it. I was here, and it was time to toughen up and trust in Him. I had made a promise after all. And God doesn't make or take promises lightly. Ask Jesus, God follows through on what He says, and as His children, we need to understand and follow His example. And those were my last tears.

As I worked my way through customs and the baggage claim area I felt happier and stronger with each step. As I met Wendy and we got in our van to take the hour ride to San Pedro, I felt even better. Once we crossed the bridge into the city, I asked myself how could I possibly been so foolish to think that this wasn't where I was suppose to be? I love this city. I love living and being here. I love the people, I love the culture.

I know now that I made the right decision. I'm just a little hard headed and stubborn when it comes down to the grit of it.

Yesterday, I stood on my balcony and watched the traffic and people below. It was strange to think that a decision and commitment that I made in 2007 in a little room in Costa Rica would finally come full circle. I promised God I would be a missionary. I promised Him I would go where He wanted to send me. I promised Him my service. And here I am today. I am a missionary to the Dominican Republic in San Pedro. And while I'm scared, I'm willing. This morning in church, Pastor Gary spoke about putting your faith and trust in God in whatever situation you find yourself in. I'm putting a lot of faith and trust in God. Every day it's an adventure of what God will bring. He's my financial support, He's stands at the bottom of the steps to my apartment and makes sure that no one who has no business on my steps stays off of them, He's riding beside me on motoconchos, He's my tongue and my ears. He's my everything because I can do nothing without Him. And I don't even want to try. Which is a good thing for me to do. As Pastor Lemming quoted one day from Charles Stanely, "obey God and leave the consequences to Him". And right now, that's my plan.

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