Called?

It seems that so often I hear Christians say "Oh, I wasn't called to missions." or "I just don't feel called to do that." It's made me question, what does it mean to be called? Christian society seems to have this overarching view that it's some sort of lightning bolt straight from the Lord and Him audibly saying "You are going to do such and such for the rest of your life." Is that truly what it means to be called? Because in all honesty if that's what being called to missions is, I certainly wasn't called. 

Let me explain. When I was young I kinda wanted to be a missionary. Travel the world, meet new people, experience exciting new adventures. Did I understand what it meant to be a missionary? Not at all, but it sounded fun. However, life moved on and come 12th grade I had to decide what to do with my life. I decided to get a business degree.  I met this guy while we were still in school, he was super handsome and a lot of fun. He was in Bible College preparing for camping ministry. We eventually started dating and the summer we got engaged he went on a missions trip to Jamaica. The first phone call he made to me when he returned I knew he wanted to move to Jamaica. Of course, he didn't tell me because he didn't want to freak  me out, but he didn't have to tell me, I knew (and yes, I did freak out). I had never even been out of the country and the farthest west I'd been was probably Huntsville, Al. Me, move away from all my family and friends? All that I'd ever known? Not likely pal. 

The funny thing about his wanting to go to Jamaica was that he never had a lightning bolt experience or felt "called". What happened was  he saw a need and was willing to help, and the Lord gave him compassion for the people he ministered to on that trip. Did he have compassion for Jamaicans before he went? No, but as he was there and was among them the Lord moved his heart with love. 

After I freaked out A LOT, I ended up deciding that if that's what the Lord wanted then I would at least give it a shot. So in our premarital counseling our wise pastor advised us to visit Jamaica before we moved there. And he told my man to let me decide for myself how I felt about it. So after we had been married about 5 months to Jamaica we went. I still remember the first time riding to the house from the airport.  We came to the small town of Hopewell and there were people absolutely everywhere,  and there were bars on everything. All I remember was thinking "What in the world was I thinking?! This is absolutely crazy, there is no way I am moving here!" Of course, I didn't tell my husband because we had only been on the island for about 20 minutes at this point. But my mind was already made up. 

Long story short, by the end of the week the Lord had completely changed my heart. I didn't even want to return to the States. Did I feel "called?" No, I didn't have that lightning bolt experience that modern Christian culture has made me believe I need to have, but I had a love for the Jamaican people that I could not and cannot shake. I can guarantee to you that it was not my sinful self that wanted to up and move to a developing country. The Lord worked on my heart, but not through a lightning bolt, little by little, day by day. 

So does it mean that you have to audibly hear the Lord  tell you where He wants you? I would say no. Isaiah 6:8 says "And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here I am! Send me!"  Isaiah overheard the need, and was willing to go. So that is how the Lord started working on us. We saw a need and He gave us love and compassion for the Jamaican people that we cannot get rid of. 

I would encourage you, you may not feel "called" to volunteering at the soup kitchen or teaching children, or mentoring a younger person etc. But have you even given it a shot? The Lord just may give you compassion once you try it out. After all, Jesus had compassion on those who were around Him, it could be the same for you. 

Life

Life is a mysterious thing. You plan and you plan, but nothing turns out the way you expect. We've really experienced that with our plans for Jamaica.

When we originally went for our first term, we had the idea that after our first term we would return to the States for a short time and then return to our ministry. However, a few wise people advised us to go for 6 months and see how the Lord was leading us. (Probably the best advice we were given). As our 6 months began coming to an end we felt as if our time serving full time at Sandy Bay Pre & Prep School had come to an end.

We had become friends with the people who were running the Carribbean Christian Centre for the Deaf in the Montego Bay area. We really appreciated the work they were doing, and saw needs there we felt we could help fill. They needed help in the office and I have a degree in Management. They needed help with teams, something Keith was very interested in. What a fit, we thought. So we met the President and VP from the states, and went through the application process. Things seemed really promising, until we got an email that the board in the States had concerns. They told us to wait a year and then see if we still wanted to pursue that avenue.

Looked like we would be settling in Alabama for longer than we intended. Something neither of us were interested in doing. Our heart was in Jamaica and everyday of waiting made us long to be back there even more.

Not too many months later a possibility arose of going back with an organization that has not had a presence in Jamaica before. We would pioneer for the organization. We met with the man who would oversee us, and liked him instantly. We began to pray.

 Then another possibility arose. Our missionary pastor at our church in Montego Bay expressed that they would love for us to come full time at Bay Life Baptist. We would do a 1 year internship and directly serve the church, most likely focusing in on a teen ministry, something Bay Life does not currently have. After our internship we would have the opportunity to decide to stay on Full Time.  We continued to pray.

 After much prayer and seeking some counsel from  mature believers we made our decision of what our next step would be.

Apply for the internship and hopefully serve at the church we have grown so much to love. Bay Life. So we applied.

So where are we now? In Alabama. Waiting. Something we are getting pretty accustomed to. I am substitute teaching and Keith has been working maintenance at a camp here in Mentone. We are also currently working with the youth in our church.

So, as you can see this is not what we had planned. But thankfully, our Father is the Sovereign Lord of the universe. His ways are not our ways. He knows far more than we do, and we know what He has planned is abundantly better than what we could have imagined.

So, sorry it has taken so long for me to give an update, but as you can see I wanted to know what was going on myself before trying to update you on it.

Please join with us in prayer as we wait to see what our future holds.

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."     -Isaiah 55:8-9 (ESV)