Prologue: The Start of An Adventure

"I'm looking for someone to share in an adventure." ~ Gandalf

The start of this journey didn't begin so eloquently. It actually began with a miscommunication. I had been sitting in my comfy seat in the Office of Student Life at Bryan College, dutifully working through my intern hours for the day. I had my to-do list and nothing else on my mind except for homework assignments later in the day. Then Eric poked his head into the office.

"When can we talk about ACTS Project?"

I looked at him blankly. I knew what ACTS Project was. It was a a mission outreach of Bryan College in partnership with OM Ministries that sent students out to the mission field for the summer. They had just made a presentation in Chapel to promote it. I should know because I was the Chapel Intern who had coordinated the details. If the ACTS Project Chapel had just happened, why did Eric want to talk about it again?

A massive and hilarious miscommunication ran round and round between us for several minutes before we actually started communicating. Someone had recommended me to serve on the ACTS Project. Eric wanted to interview me for the project. Not for the first time in my life, I was asked if I wanted to take part in a missions trip.

In the past, I had jumped at every chance to go on a missions trip. I was willing to go anywhere. But each time, the door was shut on me going. Eventually I came to accept that maybe God didn't want me to go overseas or someplace exotic. Rather, He wanted me to do His will right where I was. So, when Eric jumped me with this oppurtunity I had not been looking for, I was hesitant at first. I knew there would be many obstacles between wanting to go and actually getting there. There was a whole list of viable worries to consider. But when I went to my parents for advice and prayed over it, I was prompted to look back on my life.

God has always faithfully provided in His timing. It has taken years and a lot of repitition for me to start absorbing this lesson, but I have. I made the decision to take a step out in trust. I applied for the mission internship in Ireland with the Big Red Bus Program. I took the next step, signing some papers which made me even more nervous than applying for the position. God gave me confirmation to continue trusting and taking steps when I was accepted for the internship position.

But the next steps were the scariest: asking for financial donations. I thought that people would think badly of me for asking for money. What happened instead was incredible. I was overwhelmed with the prayerful and financial support of my family and friends. My Church family especially gave and encouraged me greatly. God taught me so much about His faithfullness through the willing hearts of people around me. In God's timing, I was fully funded and ready to get on a plane to Ireland.

The Coming Adventure

Bilbo Baggins has come to mind so often when I consider what I am about to walk into. I did not go looking for this oppurtunity, it found me. Like Bilbo, I had the choice of whether to stay in the comfort of my plans and my little world, or to leap into the unknown with no plans aside from joining in the adventure offered to him. Adventures mean leaving behind the well-known comforts and taking in the unknown road. Some days the sun is out and the road is easy. Other days the road may be too small to see, or the wilderness will crowd in. Adventure is about the journey through the mountains and the valleys. I want to be like Bilbo, casting myself totally into the adventure, with the courage to enjoy and endure anything that comes.

Updates to follow!