Destiny

This weeks speaker, Brenda Lewis, is an AMAZING woman! To sum her up, she's a fashionable grandma of four, young at heart, compassionate, full of the spirit, and she has a lot of worldwide connections... but I'll explain the significance of that later.

To start today's lecture, we went around the room sharing our a top priorities on our Bucketlists. Although I wanted to say stuff like, "Go to space" or "BASE jump into the Grand Canyon", I was immediately filled with a compassion for missions! Countries began to flow through me, and I felt a need to write them down (in no particular order): India, Ireland, Poland, Isreal, Greece, Benin New Zealand, Borneo, Brazil, Argentina, Malaysia, Indonesia,  Napal, and many more that I will share at a later time for reason that I will share at that time ;)

I was at a loss of words. At one time or another I have felt a calling to each of these countries for specific, individual reasons concerning missions, but God had not confirmed this calling... until today. My feelings and emotions became my calling. I am to be a missionary. I am to travel the world. I am to start a ministry. I am to establish this ministry in MANY countries.

After much prayer over the past month, God has also confirmed an outreach area for my DTS. South Mexico. Specifically Chiapas. Here's how God confirmed it...

First of all, many of us had been feeling a call to travel to South Mexico, so it was added to the list of "Possibilities," along with Chili and Argentina. The main problem we faced here, was that we needed to split our huge DTS of 31 into two groups. Who was going to go where? And how could we be sure that where we were to go was God's will and not our own?

We were given two colors, 'gold' and 'silver', and told to pray and ask God which color was for us. We were NOT informed as to which color represented which country. So we sought God. Almost immediately I knew that 'gold' was the outreach to Argentina and Chili, and I nearly put it down without even seeking God. But I felt uneasy. So I reluctantly asked God to guide my thoughts, to help me focus on His will for me instead of my own desires. Proverbs 8. Nothing else. So I looked it up. I felt that I should start reading and which ever choice I came across first, silver or gold, I would pick. Verse 10, "Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold," Now the crazy part is that when I came to that verse, my brain mixed stuff up a little, and this is what I read instead, "Choose silver rather than choice gold." BAM! I did like a triple take, but there it was, plain as can be. So I put silver down. South Mexico. Rainforest. Highlands. Central valley. Soconusco. Sierra Madre de Chiapas. And conflict. Lots and lots of conflict. We have our work set out for us.


To make financial matter more interesting, however, a few of us students have spoken up about a calling to reach out AFTER the DTS outreach. We call it our "Mini Outreach." Guess where we all felt called to go?? INDIA!! After a month of prayer and seeking God's will for us, we each individually felt a call to India. To confirm this further, our speaker happens to be the CEO and founder of C.R.I. (Children's Rescue Initiative) based in ... INDIA! She has lots of info on the cheapest and smartest ways to travel to India, live in India, and minister in India!

Here inlies the problem. Thankfully, it's God's problem, but I must wait on God to resolve it before I can do any of these things above. Finances. I am already in need of finances to pay for my DTS outreach to South Mexico (I'm about $2,000 short), and a rough estimate of the 'Mini Outreach' to follow is around $4,500. I want to put an exclamation point after that, but I feel that it is well within God's ability to provide for me. :)

I am learning not only to trust in God's providence, but also to seek Him in this matter. To 'actively' let Him provide. He wants the glory, and by seeking Him in the matter, and money that miraculously arrives is 'directly' from Him!

And so I ask you, readers, friends, family, Will you be a part of God's plan for me by helping me along the way? Honestly, everything from prayer and donations to helpful tips and advice about traveling (and India) are all a step down the path. If you would like to contribute, please email me at << my_homie_mike@hotmail.com >> I cannot express to you how grateful I, and the people we will minister to, would be. Your help is more than appreciated, it is blessed.