Call to Missions

My life has been turned upside down. The Lord has called me to do something I never would have thought I would do. If you  would have asked me a week ago what I was doing this fall, I would have told you I was attending college at UNCC. Not anymore.
In 2008 I served on a mission team from my church, Hickory Grave Baptist Church. We traveled to the outback of Brazil and shared the gospel with those who were lost. While I was there, God placed a burden on my heart to become a missionary. Alright God, I’m yours so send me. Since then I’ve served on several different mission trips, each time coming home with a bigger passion than before. God was up to something but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.
Last Wednesday morning I received a phone call from a family who lives in Mozambique, Africa. Lee and Tracy McDaniel serve there with their 3 children as full time missionaries. Lee and I served together in Brazil in 2008…we both got the call to missions…at the same time. God was up to something big. Lee informed me that one day we would work together overseas. He was right because now college is being put on hold for a year. God has opened so many doors for me and has given me an opportunity to live in Mozambique for 4 to 8 months. I will be living with the McDaniel’s and homeschooling their 3 children. I will also have the opportunity to travel with them into villages and towns to share the gospel to unreached people.
I am blessed to have friends and family who love and support my decision to go. Although I’m sad to leave my “American Dream” lifestyle, I’m honored to spend time doing what God has called all of us to do….make disciples of ALL nations. I am thrilled to start my call a little earlier than I thought, even though my thoughts are never God’s intentions.
I pray my story can impact the lives of those around  me. In the midst of stress and chaos in my life, when I felt like caving in, God said “Not yet, I’m not done with you. I have better plans for your life.” He took my ashes and changed them into beauty. Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” I’m trusting God even when I don’t feel like he’s there, through good and bad. He is the only one who can carry me through the trials I will face preparing for this trip. He has molded me and shaped me into something beautiful and loved. He has called me to serve him with all that I am. Serve Him in Charlotte…Brazil…Africa…and to the ends of the earth.
He has changed my life forever.