"God's work done in God's way will never lack God's supply" — Hudson Taylor

     I love this quote! What an incredible reminder that if we follow God's leading and plan, He will provide our every need! 

    
      I have had the privilege and blessing to be able to travel on several mission trips in the last few years. Three of those trips have been to serve in a medical mission. Since I am not a trained medical person, I finally asked God why He continues to send me on medical mission trips. It doesn't make sense to me. I cannot do anything for these people medically, but God always has a plan if we are only obedient to follow.  God has allowed me to help people with vision problems find eyeglasses, He has placed me in the pharmacy filling prescriptions as well as other areas. And I am humbled each trip by the things God teaches me through these precious people.

   
    Despite my lack of skills in most of the clinic areas, I have become comfortable interacting with people in that setting because they have come to us seeking help. Since they initiated the contact, it feels like they have given you permission to relate with them. However, while in Antigua, Guatemala, God took me WAY out of my comfort zone!

    
     We had gone to Antigua to go to the market and do some
sightseeing. However, the group I was with didn't really 

want to do much.They were tired from the previous days 

at the clinic and they really just wanted to hang out and

relax. So that was how we spent most our
time that day. It was nice, but I really wanted to get to 

the market as this was our only day to shop. After 

literally 2-3 hours of sitting in an atrium area, we 

finally were headed to the market! While we were walking,
God through very direct prompting, lead us to the
only active Catholic church in the city. I didn't really 

want to go there, but God had a very different plan.

     Looking back, I think Satan must have known
what was about to happen because it was in the two blocks we took to get to the church, that our group came across the rudest person I have met in Guatemala. 

      There was a young girl who was very insistent to
sell her goods to one of the ladies in our group. She kept pursuing her even after having been told firmly, but politely, many times, "no, gracias." After realizing we were not going to buy anything, she continued to follow us down the two blocks saying things like "You Americans are rude. You are crazy. Go back to America, we don't want you here!" As we crossed the street to the church, she quickly left. 

 
      When we went into the church, it was beautiful and ornate. However, as we were admiring the church, I noticed a woman who came in went to the front of the center section and knelt to pray. As I sat in a side section and looked at the architecture, I was repeatedly drawn to this woman. I sat there not knowing why, but tears overwhelmed me. She was absolutely heartbroken and was sobbing in her prayer. I didn't know what was grieving her so, but all I could think about was that here she was crying out to Mary to intercede for her, when what she needed was Jesus! I sat there frozen in my pew. I prayed for her, but God kept saying that wasn't enough. Not this time. He wanted me to take the initiative and step out on faith. To be His hands. Not where others were coming to me, where it is safe. But to go to her, and maybe be rejected, but to follow Him. Finally, not knowing what I was supposed to do, I surrendered and went to the woman. She was still praying and I just sat beside her and put my arm around her.

      After a long time, when she finished praying, we were able to talk some. Even though she spoke NO English and I speak almost no Spanish, God allowed us to understand each other. Her son had a very critical medical need and she had no money to see a doctor.

     Long story short, I got her name, address and phone number and Dr. Jorge (one of the Dr.'s we were working with) called her and made an appointment to see them on the Monday after we left. At no charge. I have no idea what the illness was or what the results of treatment will be, but I pray that God will use this small thing to reach into her life and that she will see her need for Christ. But whatever outcome there may be, God used this to teach me more about trusting Him, and His perfect timing, and His perfect plan. Even though I may not always see His purpose, or understand His plan, if I will follow His leading and listen to His voice, He will take care of the rest. He is asking me to obey. May my response always be, wherever He leads, I'll go.

Enjoy the Journey

     How many times have I felt God leading me to do something and once I get the picture of the end goal, I run off and take my own path to get there? (Maybe that is why God often chooses not to show me the entire picture at once?) I am not trying to ignore God, I just get excited and run ahead. Trying to get to the goal as quickly as possible. It has taken me a long time to realize that the journey getting there is almost as important as getting to the finish line. Our "instant" society has taught us to hurry and get things done so that we can move on to something else. But in doing that, we miss so much. Often God is waiting to speak to us and teach us through the small things along the way. To bless us with things we wouldn't have dared to dream. He is just as interested in the smallest details of our life as He is the big ones. 

     My daddy was a master at enjoying the journey! And I DIDN"T appreciate it as a child. I remember one summer he decided we were going to take a family vacation to New England. We had talked as a family, and there were several places we all wanted to see. We went to Salem, Mass. and Stowe, Vermont. The Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusets and Fort Ticonderoga. We drove across New Hampshire (just to see the New England coastline), and we stayed one night in the Catskill Mountains of New York. We had a lot we do in one week!

      Each evening we would talk about where we were heading the next day and about how long it would take us to get there. Then in the morning we would set out on the journey. But Daddy never took the direct route anywhere. Usually he tried to avoid the "road most traveled". In fact, he would often find the little back roads.The ones that were curvy and took forever! We would be driving along, and he would see a little shop that he thought might have interesting things inside, and we would stop. He never met a stranger. He would strike up a conversation with the shop owner and before long he knew all about that person and the area we were traveling through. We would finally be back on the road headed for the days "goal". But before long, it would get to be lunchtime and he would find a picturesque picnic area to stop at. Usually under the trees beside a quiet stream. Then we would have lunch and eventually be back on the road. I would get so frustrated because I just wanted to get to the end destination. But Daddy was enjoying the journey. We eventually got to where we had planned to go and enjoyed getting to see the sites. But along the way, Daddy had learned things the rest of us missed. Daddy had seen the beauty of people and of God's creation.  

Enjoy today's journey!