I have grown up in church, but I am not the little girl that I once was. I am changing each day, and I finally feel that at twenty years old, I am becoming the woman of God that I have always wanted to be. I have learned a lot about myself lately, and it is my desire to share my heart with you. When I was little, I dreamed that Prince Charming would ride in on a white horse and save me. Now that I am older, I see all too clearly that the most wonderful and perfect Prince has already come and already saved me from every evil that I will ever have to face. When I was little, I did not like to do school work. Now that I am older, I find that Colossians 3 directs me to do all work (even homework) as though I am doing it for the King. When I was little, I read the Bible to impress my Sunday School teachers. Now that I am older, for the first time, I wake up in the morning and I am yearning for The Word of God. All this time up until recently, I have been waiting for my life to start. But I finally realize that this is it…this is my life, right now. It started the day I asked Christ into my heart. I know that I’m here for a reason. I know that God has put me in this decade, in this country, in this state, in this church, for a purpose. The hope that Christ brings is the best news in the world. It is my desire to share this news with everyone that I am fortunate to come across. I tell you this to explain the actions that I have been taking for the past 6 months. I began to research missions opportunities last fall and after many late nights and many desperate prayers, I applied to three organizations. I received a call last Thursday from a group called Campus Crusade for Christ. I leave for Salerno, Italy May 16th. I will be gone for 6 weeks, during which I will be preaching the truth to a nation that believes that Jesus Christ lived, but not that He was the Messiah. I will be speaking of a religion that goes against what their traditions tell them, and offering a lifestyle that is not at all what they are used to. This mission trip is unlike anything I have ever done, and I will be completely out of my comfort zone. I will have to be strong enough in my faith to speak about Christ, show Christ in my actions, and respectfully preach the truth of Jesus Christ to the people of Salerno. I am not going with a group from my college, but this organization will pair me with several other college students from the southeast. This will not be a glamorous vacation in the most romantic city in the world, this will be a very difficult journey that I will take in a surprisingly fallen region of the world. To tell you that I am scared would be an understatement. I am afraid of the things that I will face, and I am afraid of how I will handle the people in Salerno, Italy. I find comfort however, in the fact that I serve a God who is so much bigger than my fears. I am excited to see how God will use me and I am anticipating leaps and bounds of spiritual growth. I will admit that I am slightly worried about the financial aspect of this trip, as well. I am facing a giant in the form of $5,000. I am a college student, and because I travel every weekend, it is impossible for me to have a job during the school year. I know that God is good, and that He can’t plan the end and not plan the means. I trust that God will provide, and I am so excited to see how He does this in the months to come. I have a huge financial obstacle ahead of me, I am preparing to face spiritual trails, I will need prayer for safety in a foreign country where I do not know anyone, and on top of all of that, I know that Satan will try to bring me down and prevent me from serving God in the way that I want to. These are difficult problems to carry on the shoulders of anyone, especially a college student. Thank God that He sent His son to carry a heavier burden on His shoulders in the form of a wooden cross.
