What if..?

I can only imagine what my mom thought about me when I was in her womb. Did she ever wonder what I was going to be like? I know that I was called baby Al because they didn’t want to find the sex out. Did she ever dream about me being a teacher or a nurse? Did she believe that I was going to do something else with my life? I ponder these kinds of questions, as we get ready for our trip. Did my mom ever believe that I was going to be a missionary one-day? I am sure that she knew that I was going to change the world one day, but did she believe that I would do it in that way? There are days that I still don’t believe that I am going to be a missionary. I still contemplate if that is what God is calling me to do.

            I have definitely had my doubts of if I am doing the right thing or not. But I believe that I am doing the things that God has called me to do. I am at a school where my professors really care about me and we have one of the best Intercultural Studies programs. I couldn’t ask for any better professors than Mike and Rob to teach me about missions. They have served on the mission field and they now want the best for our lives. I know that when I graduated high school that I did not listen to God and what He had planned for my life. I definitely had my own plan and it didn’t matter what God wanted. My grandpa had just passed away and all I wanted was to be with my family. Family has always been something that has been important to me and it always will be. God has really been working on me lately about how it is okay to leave our families. Since I went to Urbana over Christmas break last year, He has been working on me to leave my family. It has been getting easier as time goes on. I believe that God called me to camp over the summer so that it could help prepare me for the missionary life. As I was just talking with my parents, I was reminded that there are going to be important things in my life that I may just have to miss. Its not because I don’t love the person, but it is because I just can’t always leave the mission field.

            As, I just said that I felt that camp has prepared me for the missionary life, I believe that to be very true. I have been praying about an internship that I was offered next summer and I feel that God is calling me to it. As it has been said in chapel the last couple weeks, “You can run, but you can’t hide!” I really don’t want to run this time. I knew a little about the internship before I came back to school, but I knew that I was going to hear more about it when I came home for family camp. My thinking before I got to school was that I would be staying in the states and traveling around to raise support for the ministry. I thought that this was going to be great because I will have to do that in the future… Well, I was wrong about that thinking!! When I talked to Mark and Helen, they quickly told me that I would be staying in Zimbabwe for the summer! As I was shocked about this, I am not sure who was more protective… My mom or my brother! He definitely had about the same reaction as my mom. Adam has always been protective of me and can't thank him enough for that!  I am so excited to be taking this journey and I can’t wait to see where God takes me with it. I would never have guessed in a million years that I would be going to Africa… Let alone twice in one year. As my mom has reminded me many times, I have always said Africa, but I never knew why..  As I told Mike about going to Zimbabwe for the internship he said, “Well you have some Africa in your blood!” I think that he is right about that and it may be that I go back after my trips. I am not going to say that I won’t ever go back because I have learned to not say you won’t do something.

            So, I kind of left you on a cliffhanger about my internship. I can give you a little more about it. We have not worked out full details, but I know a little bit. I will be working alongside of Simba, Taka, and Hermann at Hunnington Retreat Center.  This is the camp that Hanging Rock Christian Camp is sponsoring the next 3 years. I am so pleased to be a part of the ministry in Zimbabwe. If you want to learn more about the camp, you can check out the website. It is www.zimoutreach.org . God has been preparing my heart for a while and I just didn’t know it.

Blessings to all!

Ally