A Dream Come True

       For years of my life, I’ve been eager to leave the United States. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not because I don’t like the U.S. — I love it here. And It’s not because I don’t think there’s ministry to be done here — there is no lack of need in all the world. Nor is it because I feel I can’t fulfill my calling here — I know God is guiding my every step and there’s a reason He has me here. So why do I want to leave? Simply because of the fact that I have a burning, growing passion for the lost. The more I learn, the more I want to do everything within my power to change the state of the world. The older I get and the closer to God I become, the more devastated I am by the fact that there are millions of people who haven’t even heard Jesus’ name.
       Yes, I feel called to go.
       I’ve prayed so many times for opportunities to arise. I’ve been discouraged by the years I know I will have to spend in America to prepare and educate myself. I’ve had heart-wrenching moments that have changed me forever. Sure, I’ve gotten to leave before. I’ve traveled. I’ve gotten experience that I am extremely grateful for. But, I’ve never been anywhere long enough to create real relationships with anyone. I’ve never been anywhere long enough to settle in and contextualize myself and my life very well. I’ve never been anywhere long enough to attempt a new language. Short-term trips are good for for a lot of things. They’re good for working on projects, widening your worldview, hearing from God, meeting missionaries. They’re especially good for mobilizing average churchgoers and opening their eyes to the mission field. The thing is, if I am going to be a full-time missionary at some point in the future, I need to do more than that. I need to learn how to live life cross-culturally, create relationships with people in those cultures, and eat weird food.

       In the Spring of 2019, I graduated from Canvas School of Ministry with an Associate of Arts degree in Ministry Leadership. This fall, I transferred to Trinity Bible College to continue my studies. I am currently working towards a BA in Intercultural Studies with a minor in Middle East Studies. I decided on the school I would be attending and the program I would be going into very late in the game, so it seems to all be happening very fast. But here I am sitting in my new dorm room in Ellendale, ND, face-to-face with the fact that I get to spend next semester in a sensitive country in the Middle East. Yes, you read that right: the Middle East. Honestly, I can’t believe it’s real. I’m such a slow processor that I’ve been sitting here at my desk for hours just thinking about it all.

       If you’ve read my blog for very long, you may remember a post called “Getting to Know the Heart of God.” In this post, I described an encounter that was unlike anything I had ever experienced. Sure, before that moment I knew I was called to missions. But it wasn’t until then that the calling was so solidified inside of me. I’ve often fallen back on this memory to remind myself what it is I am so passionate about. At the time that this happened, I didn’t know where in the world that I would end up. Jaren was interested in Buddhism and I had just spent some time in South Africa. I hadn’t the faintest idea about where I wanted to go. But when I met those young Muslim women, my heart broke in a way I could barely describe.
       Over the last few days, I just keep thinking about seeing those girls in Israel and the overwhelming desire I had to spend time with them. It broke my heart to know I couldn’t even try to build relationships. And now, I am only a semester away from being able to spend months with people just like that — living with them and knowing them. I didn’t know it would ever happen. And to think that suddenly I am presented with the opportunity to actually engage with a similar culture and serve there blows my mind.
       It really is a dream come true.