I am His: My Journey to Turkey....and beyond

My recent mission trip to Turkey was definitely another life changing event of my journey. It was a great experience and truly a blessing to meet and serve the women from the Middle East who were in attendance. Because of them, I was blessed and enlightened to life in a culture where being a Christian is not always accepted and sometimes very dangerous. Yet, they still choose to stand for righteousness and share the gospel of Jesus Christ! I couldn’t help but reflect on my life as a follower of Christ and the freedom I have to share the gospel. With this freedom, I have no excuse to take every opportunity to share. But do I?

While I knew my assignment before going to Turkey, it wasn't until after arriving in Turkey that God revealed to me the fulfilling of the great commission through this mission trip. He reminded me that Jesus commissioned us in Matthew 28:19-20 to “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,… Teaching them to observe all things…”. This mission trip was an opportunity for me, and the rest of the team, to do just this. The women came from different countries/nations in the Middle East (Jordan, Iraq, Sweden, Egypt, and Israel). I’m in awe of the opportunity God gave me to ‘teach nations’ on one single mission trip. It was a blessing to share with the women “my story” and on the topic of prayer. Sharing my story was an opportunity to share my faith in God and how I’ve learned to trust Him more along my journey (especially in the past two years). I know that God's purpose for me includes sharing my faith with others, and I look forward to more opportunities that God will give me to share.

In my previous post, Forsaken All for Christ's name sake, I shared my reality of having to leave my family in Louisiana (after my recent visit in October) to continue on with this journey to Turkey, in obedience to God's call. While it wasn't hard for me to obey Christ, it was not easy for me to leave my family behind. However, I knew it was what God required of me. I know it was all for a greater purpose!

….and beyond

Prior to Turkey, some asked if I knew what was next for me. I honestly did not know what God’s plans were after Turkey, but expected God to let me know in His timing (as He always does). And like always, He let me know just when He needed me to know. It was on the flight back to the U.S. that God woke me up from my sleep to tell me (in His word) my next assignment. Through His word, He told me to journey south. Immediately I knew He was telling me to go to Louisiana. After returning to Phoenix, I began inquiring of God when I was to go and how long I was to stay. And as always, He let me know, as well as provided the way for me to go. As some of you know, we recently found out my mom has stage 4 lung cancer with several tumors on the brain. A week after returning from Turkey, my mom was hospitalized due to some complications from the tumors that caused her to have some physical challenges. I’m back in Louisiana for now helping my family with my mom. Now I understand God’s purpose of having me not teach when I first went to Phoenix, and instead serve/work as a caregiver. He was preparing me for this! At this time, I’m not sure how long I will be here. My instructions from God was to “go”. I trust God’s plans and will continue to seek His purpose! Yesterday I attended Sunday School at my childhood church and the main thought for the lesson was “God reveals to us what we need to know when we need to know it!” Confirmation! So, I will be here until God lets me know. I AM HIS!