It's Been Seven Years Since.....

I last went on a mission trip. My last mission trip was to Asia. I went with a group from the church where I grew up. It was one of the most fun and amazing trips that I have been on. Just take a stroll down memory lane with me for a minute....

Picture it ( just like Sophia on Golden Girls ).... 4 American girls were invited on a boat ride along the Yellow River by our new found Chinese friends. The Yellow River is so nasty that the slightest encounter would corrode an American body in no time flat. Without thinking much about it, we accepted the invitation. I don't know about the other three girls, but I was imagining a large boat with railings and bench seating and a captain to tell you about all of the sites you are beholding as you cruise up the Yellow River. You know - something that they would do in the States.

Moving on....we got directions from our friends and met them at the docks later that evening. I will never forget the looks on the faces of my American friends as we approached "the docks". They were docks alright - consisting of about 10 boards of lumber and something underneath to float them. We started looking around for the big boat with the nice railing and flashing lights. That boat was no where to be found. Instead, there were small white boats that were equivalent to a john boat steered by the motor in the back. We all looked at each other and said, "we have to do this, we cannot offend them and act like we are too good or scared". So, all six of us ( 4 Americans and 2 Chinese) load into one boat. The drivers of the boat were very quick to tell us that we must take 2 boats because "Americans too fat"!

So, my friend and I got out and moved to another boat along with one of the Chinese girls. I believe that our driver sensed my love of speed and adventure and my friend's terror of it. He definitely opted for the adventure. We were speeding up the Yellow River, the water not 3 feet from us. He was whipping us around, creating waves and crashing over them. I would dare say that we were airborne at one point. I don't know what I found more entertaining, the boat ride or my friend's words as she cried out to Jesus to save us! It was a memory that I will treasure forever and know that God does have a plan for the six girls who took a boatride that night because we all survived. The next day we heard on the news that people had died from a boat ride on the Yellow River. Again, I am certain that providence was working in our favor that night!

I hope that you enjoyed that story....now, on to why I am really blogging. I have decided to go to Nicaragua with Grace Church this July to participate in a medical mission trip. I cannot believe that it has taken me so long to get back on the short-term mission field. One might think that God had to really deal with me on this - but the truth of the matter is - He didn't. I have been contemplating whether or not I should participate. I didn't sense a resounding yes or no - I just knew that I would have to sacrifice some family vacation time to fit in the trip with the amount of hours I have accrued at work. And, to be honest, I was just going to let this trip pass me by and I would catch the next one. Grace does several of these trips a year and my thought was - well, once I have accrued more time off next year I will go. God had different plans.

One day last week I received an unexpected email from one of our pastors on staff at the church. I thought to myself, how does he know that I exist and how did he get in contact with me? Looking back on it, I had gone to lunch on Sunday and met someone who had just returned from the April trip. He found out that I was a nurse and only said, "you should consider going sometime". I did not think much about it and went about my week until I received the email stating that the team is in need of at least one more medical professional. When I look back and put the pieces together, I can't say no to what God has clearly already set into motion. Afterall, He has been grooming me for this for quite some time - saying yes when He first proposes the question.