I Just Wanna Be a Sheep

First of all! Thank you to everyone who gave financially and prayerfully for my internship at YWAM-Tijuana. I could not go if it weren't for all of you. I am overwhelmed and blessed by all of your words, prayers, and financial help. Really, words cannot describe my appreciation for all of you. It is a blessing for me to see God providing in this way, foreign missions cannot happen without the Body of Christ at work so thank you for support in spreading the Good News in Mexico. iGracias a todos! 

In 2012 I went to the Urbana Missions conference in St. Louis, Missouri. Now this missions conference is HUGE, possibly the biggest missions conference in the world. At Urbana there are hundreds of mission organizations with tables full of information, videos, CDs, huge posters with really cute little children of every color, or women with heavy jugs on their heads or wearing hijabs. Bible verses, missions statements everywhere. Some organizations more trendy than others, with hipster looking people wearing TOMS, skinny jeans and a shirt from a thrift store, their paraphernalia clearly made by a skilled graphic designer with a Macbook. Other organizations got straight to the point and were less flashy. I remember just going to every booth that publicized inner city ministry, or Latin American missions. I think I probably gathered information from about 20+ ministries. 

Let's backtrack a little. After I graduated from Waubonsee Community college in 2011 I went to Aurora University. At Aurora there was a Christian group called Intervarsity. This is a university ministry that is all over the country in different colleges and universities ministering to college students. Intervarsity also heads up Urbana which is how I heard about it. Now, if any of you reading this are interested in missions or if you just have a passion for missions, go to Urbana, it is amazing. So here is my shameless plug for Urbana. Ask me about it! I can give you more details. 

Anyways. I remember stopping at the Youth With a Mission booth. It was huge, lots of tables and people and just, stuff. There was a huge banner with the YWAM logo on it, which looks like this: 

I remember little of my conversation with the YWAM-ers there but oh how I wish I could go back and have a conversation with them now! Knowing what I know, I could have asked wayyyyy better questions. Quick shoutout to all my YWAM-ers out there, isn't it so great to meet other YWAM-ers from different bases? It's like meeting a long lost relative.

So long story short, some magical dust was sprinkled on me and I somehow chose YWAM as my ministry of choice out of the 20+ I considered (actually now that I think about it, the first part of YWAM training is a Discipleship Training School that lasts 5 months, I figured I could do anything for 5 months, YWAM seemed to be the shortest commitment and I could handle that.) Then I somehow chose out of 1000+ YWAM bases in the world, YWAM-Minneapolis to my base of choice. Like most Minneapolis YWAM-ers, we often aren't quite sure why or how we chose the Minneapolis base, we just did. I know there is no such thing as magical dust but there such a thing as the Holy Spirit leading, guiding and compelling us. I honestly cannot tell you how I even found YWAM Minneapolis. It was nothing less than God's leading and direction. I had no idea what I was getting into. I hadn't the slightest inclination of what I was getting myself in to. But as I went to Minneapolis in faith, and now as I get ready to go to YWAM-Tijuana I am reminded ever so clearly of the Bible verses in Isaiah 26:3-4: "You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal." It is so easy now to look back and think about how "easy" it was to be Minnesota for all those months, and go to Guadalajara for two months. I think back and think, oh ya I wasn't nervous, I didn't doubt God for a second. But now as I come to another crossroad in my life and get ready to step into the unknown again, I realize how futile my strength is. I was nervous to go to Minnesota I am sure of it, it's just hard to remember because it was such a blessed experience. I do remember I thought I was making the wrong choice in joining YWAM. Now I am nervous about going to Mexico. I was certain for an entire week last week that I was ruining my life by going to Tijuana. But I am rooted to my Rock eternal. Nothing can sway us when we cling to our Rock. As Christ followers, we are like sheep, following or Shephard. Sheep don't always know where they are going but they follow their shepherd without question, they trust him. "My sheep listen to my voice and I know them, and they follow me." John 10:27. Let's all be sheep even if it's unknown! I am going to follow Jesus to Tijuana but where are you going to be led? You know his voice! He is leading!