The “BUT GOD” Scouting Trip

The “BUT GOD” Scouting Trip

I was blessed this last week to go on a scouting trip back to PA to survey the land, community, look for a job and get a clearer grasp of God’s heart for the region and my call to the Northampton County.

This entire journey has been a fast-paced roller coaster with ups and downs, unexpected turns and twists, BUT GOD still accelerated me forward by His divine providence!

Despite my initial excitement back in January, there were times where I got discouraged and wrestled with the LORD on how this move was going to be possible.  I found myself getting a little overwhelmed with the reality of having to be an independent “grown up” and move all the way across the country with no family, BUT GOD  continually gave me peace through one divine confirmation after another. He has been so faithful to confirm His calling on my life for PA!

took a random walk on the beach with some friends a few weeks before my trip and ran into a lifeguard tower that said “PA”. Gotta love God’s sense of humor in confirming His will!!!

Since coming back to Cali in January, the support raising process has been significantly slower than hoped due to the fact that I am still learning how to transition as a full-time missionary in a legal manner. It’s been an interesting journey working with my cousin and the lawyer to obtain non-profit status so that there can be long-term credibility and accountability. Because of that, I didn’t have enough funds to make a scouting trip back out to PA this spring to further get plugged into the community and look for housing and a part time job, BUT GOD put it on the hearts of some dear friends of mine back in March to give me their unused flight credit that was meant for a mission’s trip they were unable to take! Funny how God works all things out right?

Now I wish I could say the weeks leading up to the scouting trip were filled with joy and anticipation…and in a sense they were, but the two weeks before I just seemed to get hit with a lot of personal warfare and fear. The Lord began to share with me about how He was challenging me to be completely vulnerable right at the beginning with this new community and wear my heart and testimony of my sleeve! For some strange reason, all the pain and hurt and shame and confusion started flooding my mind and I was in a personal state of despair. I was literally bombarded with the lies that the people out there wouldn’t accept me or like me, BUT GOD filled my heart with strength and courage.

I wasn’t really sure of how to organize my itinerary, but I did my best and made a list of the people and places I needed to visit. I had one “definite” meeting on my schedule and funny enough it got canceled, BUT GOD used that freed up time to really give me an opportunity to meet with him in prayer and be filled up with the courage and strength needed for the encounters He had in store! After that all the meetings seemed to just fall into place.

Campus Bible Study at NCC

As each day passed, I got to meet with new people, make new friends, strengthen budding friendships, and connect with several older men who may very well be prospective mentors in the faith for me! With each conversation, letting people get to know me and hear my testimony became easier and easier. I could see how instead of repelling people away it was actually allowing God’s love to unite us together just like it promises in 1 John 1:7! I thought people were going to judge me for being weird or crazy, BUT GOD proved me wrong and He blessed me with favor! I am very excited about getting to do life with this new group of people.

Some of the highlights of the trip include meeting with my future pastor, getting offered a free place to live, setting a budget, orchestrating a campus bible study, participating in a campus movie apologetics outreach, evangelizing at a college town water outreach, and sitting down for practically an hour with the owner of the Chick-Fil-A out there giving my testimony and being offered a job! If that sounded like a mouthful just reading it, trust me it was a lot to swallow experientially! BUT GOD makes it so worth it…I find it live-giving, not draining. I love that I get to say that this is my full time job!!!!!

Water Evangelism at Kutztown with peeps from Campus Crusade and the Campus Christian club

In closing, I went out there with a lot of fear and anxiety, BUT GOD proved Himself faithful. I wasn’t sure how I was going to financially make it, BUT GOD proved Himself as my Provider. I wasn’t sure if I was going to “belong”, BUT GOD put me in a new spiritual family. All I can say is I want less of me and MORE of Him until He is my ALL IN ALL. I want to rest in Him all the days of my life.

Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.  But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. ~ Matthew 6:32-33 ESV