As my next short-term missions trip gets closer and closer, I’m taking some moments to reflect on past trips. Blessings!
In November 2011, God allowed me to travel as a short-term missionary to AFRICA. Africa, China and India have always seemed like such faraway places that only “professional” missionaries go. Why in the world would God want me to go to Ethiopia? I wasn’t quite sure what awaited me in Africa. All I knew was that God kept reminding me that He would be with me.
He’s always spoken to me in such special ways when I’ve been abroad so I was looking forward to seeing all the mighty ways that He would show up in Africa. I kept saying the victory for me would be simply getting on the plane and also setting foot on the sixth continent that God has allowed me to visit. The rest would be icing on the cake.
Leading up to the trip, all I kept hearing from God was to “Go Forth!” He used people at church and even my niece and nephew to quote Joshua 1:9 to me to remind me to be strong and courageous on the trip. God encouraged my heart so much, that by the time the trip was a week away I could barely wait to GO!
Our journey started with a short flight from New York City to Washington D.C. As three of my teammates and I boarded the small commuter plane to D.C. to meet up with the rest of the group, I looked to my right and was surprised to see that my luggage was being lifted onto the plane at the same time that I was climbing up the steps. So just in case I had any last minute doubts, I felt like God was saying that me and my bags were right where we needed to be and there was no turning back!
Amazingly, once we were in the airport, God sent one of my Bible study students — a man that had come to class only once during the previous summer — to the same café our team was eating in. He prophesied over our leaders and encouraged me in the café and even during the plane ride to Ethiopia. Wow, I could already see God’s fingerprints everywhere, and I still hadn’t even set foot in Africa!
God did not disappoint me in Ethiopia. He was with us every step of the way. From visiting an orphanage named AHOPE for kids with HIV, to being surrounded by a sea of girls – more than 300 to be more exact – at a government run home for abused and abandoned girls, to being able to share an encouraging word and worship together with the young men who live in a shack in a garbage dump, to getting to pray for the Pastor in the impoverished community also located near a large trash dump, to getting to read scripture aloud during a service at a temple for messianic Ethiopian Jews, each place we visited is a story in itself.
Every day, I felt God adding personal touches to show me that He had ordained for me to take this trip. For now, I’d like to focus on one of the most special “God moments” for me.
As the trip grew closer, I learned that we would be attending the wedding of our team leader’s daughter who was living in Ethiopia. I must admit that I wasn’t thrilled about that. I didn’t know the bride or groom and I was having a hard time reconciling that I was going to be staying at a fancy resort during a missions trip.
By the time we got to the wedding, which was during our final days there, I had gotten to know the bride and groom much better. And after all that pouring out during our outreaches, I had no problem soaking in all the beauty and peacefulness at the resort. Everything was going great until I arrived at the ceremony and I saw that it was being held outdoors.
Since Ethiopia sits on the equator, the sun was really beating down on us. I have been in the sun at the equator in Ecuador and I got a major sunburn because of it, which was not fun. Many times I have also come close to passing out after being in the sun for too long so I started to panic. I tried to sit in the shade for as long as I could but once the ceremony began, I quickly started to wilt. I jokingly said to my teammate, “The sun shall not smite thee by day, as long as you’re sitting in the shade.” (Psalm 121:6) As usual, Dad was listening.
Finally, I had no choice but to run back to my room. I figured I would have to grab my water bottle and wear my baseball cap, but who wears a cap to a wedding? All these thoughts were running through my mind when I reached the bungalow that I was sharing with one of my teammates.
As I walked to the outdoor seating area in front of our room, I could hardly believe what I saw. Hanging on a little hook outside our door was a beautiful umbrella. I had noticed it when we had first gotten to our assigned rooms earlier that day, but I never thought that I would use it. Now as I looked at it I saw the perfect parasol. I thought, “Wow, this resort really has all the bases covered. They even have umbrellas for their guests.”
So with that, I got my water bottle, grabbed the umbrella and I ran to my teammates’ room to my left so I could get their umbrella. But when I got there, I didn’t see anything. So I ran to my teammates’ room to my right, and again I found nothing.
Then it hit me. That umbrella was there just for me! My Heavenly Father knew that I would need something to protect me from the sun and He knew that I would be the only team member that would run back to her room. A simple umbrella never meant so much to me. For in His great love for me, God provided exactly what I needed and He did so at just the right time.
When I told the story to my teammates during our devotional time the next day, one of them remarked, “God likes you.” I quickly answered, “I like Him too!” Of course, that is a huge understatement!
So yes, at a wedding all the way on the other side of the world, God showed me once again just how much He loves and cares about me and reminded me that He can provide for even the smallest of my needs!
God will do the same for you. Look for God’s fingerprints in your life. He really is all around!
“The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.” (Psalm 121:5-8)
Did this encourage you? Please feel free to leave a comment below!
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