Cameroon

On a very different note, as I crossed the footbridge over the roaring rapids above the falls, my attention was captured by what appeared to be a small reservoir of calm amidst the tumultuous rapids.  Water was rushing past with tremendous power and speed, and yet sheltered behind some debris was this boulder covered in green. 

How could something green and living possibly gain a foothold in those rushing waters?  The pile of debris caught behind the boulder provided protection and created an environment in which that specific type of plant could not only survive, but thrive.  Doesn’t He do the same for us?  He is our shelter.  It is human nature to so easily see the debris of broken relationships, loss, and personal struggle trapped in the midst of the rushing waters of life around us.  We have a God who sees our individual struggles, each piece of debris, and each dip and crest of the waves, submerged obstacle and looming precipice.  More amazing than that, He has purposefully put each one exactly where and when it must be in order to work together for OUR good so we can glorify Him.  We don’t have to create the shelter.  In fact, we can’t.  He has provided the way.  He has put us where we need to be.  He has established the foothold and enabled us to stand.

Today a bunch of us at PFO (PreField Orientation) loaded on a couple of busses and spent the day at Niagra Falls.  Wow!  How can you stand at the edge of such power and magnificence without comparing it to the far greater, far more magnificent, and infinitely more mighty  God?!  One of my favorite verses is from Ephesians 3 where we are assured that God is capable of “immeasurabley more than all we ask or imagine,” but in this context I can’t help but be reminded that He also IS immeasurable more than we can fully comprehend.

The Lord has started me on a journey, and with the beginning of this blog, I invite you to join me!  In summer of 2010, I will be traveling to Yaounde, Cameroon where I have been given the tremendous opportunity to be a part of the lives of missionary children while teaching at Rain Forest International School.  I am sure this journey began long ago in ways I cannot see, but let me begin with last fall when God began to work in my heart regarding ministering to missionary children. 

During our annual missions conference in fall of 2008, Lance and Debi Rundus (and their 5 kids) visited my church.  In the midst of visiting with Lance, he mentioned the great need for teachers overseas.  Now, I have always understood that families who choose to serve the Lord in a cross -cultural setting face many challenges, but I had never stopped to consider that many of these families reach a point where they feel torn between obligations to their mission work and the desire to meet the academic needs of their children.  The shortage of teachers further complicates issue to such a degree that qualified missionaries who have successfully assimilated into the cultures they have been called to serve are choosing to LEAVE the mission field.  Hmmmmm…

Having recently completed a graduate program, I and been asking God what the next step would be and wondering if some changes were in store.  That discussion planted a seed that has grown over the past year as God has worked on my heart.   After much prayer and consideration, I have been appointed for a two year term to serve as a missionary to Cameroon, teachign at Rain Forest International School.