Seek the Lord With ALL Your Heart

First of all, I stink at blogging! I have tried this a few times, and failed miserably! So here I am once again at square one! Starting over. I have to be serious about it this time though, and actually keep it up! At this point, I have told entirely too many people the can count on me to blog frequently as a means of them keeping up with me. Ha!

For months I have been praying, seeking God's guidance.  However, I'm not so sure I have been seeking whole heartedly, because I am pretty sure I have known the answer all alone. During my summer trip to the Philippines, I felt that God painted me this crystal clear picture of His plans for me. In my heart, I knew He wanted me to once again leave my family and friends, and stay even longer in the Philippines. I spoke with Mr. Bob about it, and he assured me it would be an incredible opportunity for me. So before I even returned home, I had already began planning another trip in January 2011. However, after I got home, I got back into the comfort of things in America. I began college, made new friends, and spent time with old ones and family. Life was very busy, but great. All the time though, I had the Philippines on my mind. God never once let me stop thinking about it. I wanted to go, don't get me wrong, but I just wasn't sure the timing was right. (Lesson #1...God's timing is always right). I didn't want to hurt the people who loved me by going away again for an even longer period of time. At one point, I remember asking God to please make it very clear to me. If it wasn't His will, remove it from my mind completely, but if it was...put it on my mind and heart so much that it hurt. God never fails at answering prayers. The days to come were not fun for me. It was on my mind more than ever. I could hardly focus. Everything I saw and heard reminded me of the Philippines. I knew it was the Lord's will, and I had to do it, but there was one more thing. I had to have absolute support and happiness from my family. This one was tough for me. My family supports me 100%, but I wasn't so sure about the whole happiness thing.  I know it brings them sadness whenever I am gone, and I understand that. So, I took my problem to Christ. He give me peace.

Now, a few weeks later....
My family is smiling at my decision, because they know that for now, this is the Lord's will for my life! My mom has always said to me, "I had rather you be there in the Lord's will, than to be here and be out of the Lord's will!" I will be leaving near the end of January. I will be with a few Americans the first two weeks, preaching in the schools. Then, after the leave, I will go to the orphanage, and stay there about another month! I am very excited to return to the beautiful country of the Philippines! It has very much become like a second home to me, and my heart is overjoyed! Please keep myself, my family, and this ministry in your prayers!

More to come later...