A Letter: The Decision

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     TRIALS & FAITH: 

 

        

 

       Dear friend of mine,

It has been a while since I have written to you.

I hope your soul is well. How have you been doing? Have you been managing well? I know that depending on which state or country you live in, we may be seeing the effects of COVID-19 at the minimum, the optimum, or the maximum. Either way, I hope you’re well. Thank God, my family and I are doing fine. I’ll be 23 in nearly a month, and I don’t know if it’s just me, but I feel like this year and summer have gone by so fast. 

I have been living in the most uncertain months of my life; working for my community in the #1 hotspot town in my state, questioning how things will progress or digress due to COVID-19, and questioning if my trip may be canceled or postponed. In the uncertainty and in the waiting, I’ll admit that I tried at times to find comfort in things other than God. 

I want to share with you verses that came to mind along with a short reflection on these past months and finally share the news for what is happening in October (2 months from now).

 

• Ephesians 4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were
  sealed for the day of redemption.
• James 1:2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,”
• Psalm 27:8 You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you,
  “Your face, Lord, do I seek.”

So far with the various trials of 2020, I at times did grieve the Holy Spirit; I had used the testing of my faith as an excuse to cling to sin instead of Jesus. It has been a constant battle to seek the Lord when I wish I didn’t have to wait so long for answers. It’s a battle to find joy in valley seasons. It’s easy to become blinded by the emotions felt during various trials and forget that our faith is actually being tested. Hebrews 10 and 11 came to mind too:

• “But my righteous one shall live by faith…” (Heb 10:38).
• “…faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (Heb 11:1).

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       WHAT DO I DO?!

 

     

 

I waited for months to know the decision from Adventures In Missions on my trip, and I finally received a response 2 days ago. I thought that my 11-month trip would be canceled or postponed, but to my surprise: NO, it wasn’t. Yet, the route was changed due to the COVID-19 border restrictions in the countries we were going to do ministry in. Interestingly, I was given 3 options.

• 1. To leave in October 2020 but to stay in the U.S. for 4 months to do mission work in different states, and later on to be launched out to different countries in around January 2021 (this would still be an 11-month mission trip)

• To leave in January 2021 to an 11-month mission trip to 11 countries

• To leave in August 2021 to an 11-month mission trip to 11 countries

 

 Just so you know, this decision was hard… but after praying and meditating to understand where God was leading me to, I decided after 2 days.

 

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           THE DECISION:

Jesus led my heart to stay and leave for the October 2020 route.

 

I am sad because my group and I of +50 had been getting to know each other for so many months; I also met some from our squad on a trip to VA during the month of July.

 I have been told by our advisor that we are the most connected group he has seen during his 8 years of working for Adventures in Missions. We are torn by how things have turned out in the sense that we wish we could do missions together, but at the same time we are so thankful to Jesus for the friendships and the connections He has built for us through this, and we are rooting for each other whichever route we are led to choose.

 

I am a little over $10,000 away from being fully funded for the trip and I pray that if you haven’t yet, that you may prayerfully consider supporting me financially for this trip. I will be working in the United States and internationally to make Christ known. I am uncertain of everything I’ll be doing but I know it will involve life-changing projects for many communities. Would you prayerfully consider financially supporting me? Thank you to my home church, local churches, family, and friends, and new supporters for your love and support. I am 100% sure that the Lord will provide through many more. 

To end my long letter, here is the recent message I sent out to the original Oct 2020 squad on my decision. I love them very much. I hope you enjoyed my letter my friend. With much love,

 

J <3

 

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             100% TRUSTING

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“Ok moment of truth. 

Since last year when I applied for this route, I remember seeing the U.S. route… and I think it was unavailable by the time I had applied. I thought of how amazing it would be to do missions in the U.S.

The Costa Rica to Indonesia route caught my eye and I said yes to the trip. With all that has happened and with the 3 options that we have, I have decided, with great joy, that I’ll be leaving in October. I see it as the best of both worlds (Hannah Montana theme song) to serve in the states and internationally. I love all y’all, and I am so happy you guys are part of my life story… and it was hard to make this decision because I feel very close to you guys. I’ll be rooting for all of you in whichever route y’all take BECAUSE our work is for our Lord and King!! In my personal life, God is working in me specifically with my control issues, anxiousness and lack of faith (at times) by allowing me to walk——in my opinion, into one of the most uncertain routes. I mainly debated in going in Oct because of how the COVID situation has kinda slowed me down with fundraising projects aka money. That said, I’m 100% trusting that our amazing God will provide for me. 

Again, I’m so encouraged to see how the Lord is leading you all in your decision-making. For those still debating: PRAY. It’s your decision but no one can give u the ANSWER expect God.”