Have you ever found yourself at a loss for words in trying to explain a connection to a person, thing, or place? For the past five years I have found myself in this conundrum when it comes to the continent of Australia. Nothing to hold onto other than the fact that I feel that the Lord has put this place and these people on my heart. But that is enough for me. I have prayed about it, dreamed about it, and have spent many tears and dialogue with the Lord on the subject of this particular part of the world that He holds in His hands.
Two years ago, I was finally presented with the opportunity to go to the country for two weeks. I went on a mission’s trip with Wendy Ayers and gals who have become good friends since: Alex, and my now roommate, Megan. At one part of the trip, Megan and I climbed up a cliff that overlooked the sea, and we fell down on our bellies as we tried to fathom a God greater than the Pacific Ocean in front of us. We talked about a few things, but something that I remember is that we both knew that we needed to come back, and there was no question about it. It was only a matter of when.
Keeping this sentiment in prayer, I believe now is the time. The Lord drew me into this mission like a magnet, so ambiguous in definition but so strong in feeling. And I trust He is guiding the process. On December 8th, my beautiful and God-fearing friend Tabitha and I will be continuing on with this mission. I word that carefully, to note that the mission is now, too. The process of preparing, fasting, praying, and seeking is just as important as actually going. Our agenda with this mission is to first and foremost be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit in what He would have us do. We are going this December simply to partake in fellowship with our brothers and sisters over in Australia – some of whom we have been communicating with via Facebook messenger or Instagram direct message for the past few months, and some of whom we have not yet met. Our itinerary is not set in stone this December (other than our dates for arrival and departure), rather we hold our plans loosely entering this trip trusting that the Holy Spirit will lead and use this time to to open opportunities and develop a future itinerary for a team to return late summer 2018.
In the New Testament, we read the letters of Paul, and we get a sense that fellowship and exhortation is important among believers all over the world. We seek to fellowship, exhort, and serve in anyway that we can. How powerful of a display of the Love of God that He would send people from across the world to serve you? This is the love we hope to display, and we have been seeking the Lord to build us up in those ways.
With this being said, I would like to ask you to pray about your involvement in this. As mentioned earlier, we are looking to bring a team back towards the end of July and early August. If you have a desire to go, or even if you do not, pray about it! There are ways that I believe we are called to serve our brothers and sisters in our own backyard, and I deem that of great importance, but nevertheless, we cannot discount the fact that our good gift is not confined to Orange County. At any time and for any question, I would love to meet up with any who desire or have any inkling in participating on the trip this summer. Another way to participate is through helping us fund-raise. We truly believe and trust that the Lord will provide, and the process of fundraising is a fun journey in which we see the Lord make a way out of our two fishes and five loaves. Here are a couple of opportunities for fundraising before our trip: Catering Fundraiser – Volunteers Needed, Yard Sale – Donations & Volunteers Needed. And lastly, prayer. The power of prayer is transforming and through it all we seek to allow the Lord to work through us in this process.
Keep checking back to the FWC Blog for updates!