When dreams come true

It's always been my dream...

I remember singing about the missionary plane in kindergarten, reading Norma Youngberg books at night by flashlight as an eight-year-old, and going on two life-changing mission trips to the Philippines when I was seventeen and nineteen. Watching mission videos, hearing missionaries speak, seeing the need of people around the world...

And now, my dream has nearly come true. I get to be a foreign missionary.

To which country? That in itself has been a journey. I had plans; God's differed. But He has led, closed and opened doors, given advice through the voices of friends and family, and now I'm making plans to go teach at a school in Cambodia at the end of August.

My friends Sarah and Laura went to teach at Wat Preah Yesu, a children's orphanage and school, a couple of years ago. I kept up with them a little as they went over and wrote of their experiences teaching there at school. Little did I know that I would get to live similar adventures later down the road!

Another wonderful opportunity has been placed across my path as well - a month-long summer missionary training program with AFM (even though I won't be a missionary with them). And so (pending my acceptance there, at this point) I plan to travel to Michigan in July to learn from experts in the field before I begin my overseas journey. I am really looking forward to it!

It is a sad thing to leave my station at Young Disciple, but I believe that the challenges and opportunities ahead are God-led. The past six years have been amazing and full of lessons, miracles, and forever friends, and I am excited to see what God has in store for this new chapter of life.

I will share more later about Cambodia and other details of life. Stay posted!

P.S. I currently sponsor a young girl at an orphanage in Myanmar, but due to the expenses of my upcoming trip, I will no longer be able to support her. Would you consider "adopting" her as your own? If God places this on your heart, please let me know and I can give you more information. :-)

The last appeal

Stephen’s last appeal to the hard hearts of the Pharisees…

“Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. 

“Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: 

“Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.” *

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Circumcision was one of the Pharisees' most important laws and ceremonies, so to call them uncircumcised was a huge disgrace. And in their heart and ears?

They also took great pride in the prophets, but they killed each of them that foretold of the Messiah, and then they ended up killing Him too.

The law was their pride and joy, but as Stephen pointed out, in reality, they had not kept it, even though their whole point of being Pharisees was that they were strictly law-keepers.

How easily we can profess to be and do something (and be proud of it!), but actually not be faithful in those very things...

*Acts 7:51-53