How I got here- trusting God's plan

Hello! First of all I would like to start off by thanking anyone who is reading this. As someone who has never written (or read very many :/) blogs before, I hope that I live up to your expectations. I plan to post when I can whether that will be pictures, stories, random reflections, or just to prove that I am still alive and well.

I have been asked multiple times about how I decided to become a missionary. Upon sharing my story with people I began to recognize a reoccurring theme in this discernment process so far. That theme?- That would be that God’s plan is always always greater than mine, and to never get too comfortable. God showed me over and over again this past year that despite what I decide, His plans will always prevail.

            Now to start from the beginning. The summer before my senior year at The University of Oklahoma, I went on a week-long mission trip to Trujillo, Honduras. I served at an orphanage called the Farm of The Child, or Finca Del Niño. While I absolutely loved my time there, I did not think that I had a future in missions or that I would ever be returning. As it turns out- I was wrong. I spent my entire senior year giving myself all sorts of excuses as to why being a missionary was not a practical or good idea for me. I was going to be a teacher here in the United States close to my family and friends. As you can probably guess, the Lord had other plans for me.

Since accepting a missionary position with the Finca Del Niño, I have been asked many questions about my mission. The post popular being: “Do you know anyone that is going with you?” and “Do you speak Spanish?” The answer to both of these questions is the same- no. That answer is greeted by nervous looks only to be followed with “well you graduated with a degree in elementary education, so you will be teaching right?” At the beginning of the summer I was fairly confident that this would be true. I had not been assigned my job yet, but surely since teaching was all I knew, that is what my job would be. But surprise- the Lord continues to keep me on my toes! During a conference call late July I was told that I will be the social worker serving the younger kids on the farm. When I first heard this I was a bit nervous.  The Lord was already asking me to give up constant communication and close proximity to my family and friends, the comfort of my American life, and my English language, and now he was asking me to give up the only job that I had any sort of prior knowledge on.

            With all of that being said, throughout this entire discernment process I have had an odd calmness about me. My mind wants to freak out when I am reminded about how unprepared I am, but then the Lord shows up and reminds me that He is in control. Despite my lack of knowledge, I have been provided with so many people who are willing resources for me with regards to my future job and mission in general.
            Recently at Mass at my home parish of St. Peter’s in Boerne, Tx, our Priest, Father Norm gave a homily on Faith. He gave many definitions of the word “faith” one of them being that “Faith is trusting in the mystery.” Those words have really stuck with me. Those words can apply to our lives as Christians in so many ways. For me personally that was another instance of the Lord telling me that in my life there will be so much unknown- so much mystery, but in the end the Lord has a beautiful plan for each of us that he is stitching together piece by piece, I just need to trust Him.

So here I am, a whole year of discerning later.

·      Do I know anyone that is going with me? Not in person, but we have texted and video chatted and I can’t wait to do life with them.

·      Do I speak Spanish? Not much, but I’ll learn.

·      Do I know how to be a social worker? Not at all, but I am so so excited for this opportunity.

·      Am I excited about this future that the Lord seems to have planted in my life?

You bet!! I am thrilled, clueless, excited, and nervous all at the same time. I may not know what I am doing, but the Lord does. So here’s to many more life experiences, realizations, and (hopefully) blogs written to document my experiences. Thank you all who have stuck with me through this whole jumble of thoughts. A huge thank you to my home parish, St. Peter's Catholic Church for their very generous support of my mission. Please continue to pray for me and feel free to reach out to me with thoughts and prayer requests of your own.