"Before they call, I will answer..."

With some members of our first mission team of the  year.

First, I want to thank all of you have been praying for me, and specifically for those who prayed for God to guide my next steps.  Shortly after I wrote my last blog post, I was able to discern God’s next direction for my life (or, so I thought!).  It became very clear to me that I was to return to Michigan according to plan on March 18th as opposed to extending my time in Honduras.  It wasn’t as easy of a decision to make as some might think, but I had peace about it. Even though I felt nervous about re-establishing my life in Michigan, I felt confident that God would lead the way.

And, so it was that with just two weeks left in Honduras, I started to prepare my heart and mind for a big transition.  That Saturday, I received an e-mail from my property management company that informed me that the people renting my house wanted to extend their lease until they could get into their new house…on May 16th (they were supposed to be out on March 31st).  My heart just sank.  Of course I could tell them, “No way!  Get out of my house!”  But, really?  Who does that?  Make a whole family go through the stress of moving twice?  I felt frustrated but resigned myself to a few more months of living with friends and family because, even though the thought crossed my mind that perhaps I was to stay in Honduras, I still felt strongly that I was to go home to Michigan. Even so, my heart felt so unsettled as I thought about this change in plans!

Getting ready to visit the Taulabe Caves

On the following Monday morning, I mentioned to Emily what I’d found out about not being able to move into my house until May.  She didn’t miss a beat in saying that perhaps I should stay longer in Honduras!  We discussed various options including, “What if you still go home as planned, but then come back?”  That seemed like a great idea!  If I had the money.  Which, I didn’t.

Monday afternoon when I got home, I received a message from a former patient: “Amy, are you still in Honduras?  If so, could you put a donation to good use?”  I’m pretty sure my jaw hit the ground, and I felt hesitantly hopeful as I replied, “Yes and yes!”  With supposedly firm plans to settle back into Michigan, I sure hadn’t been doing any fundraising, so the only way to explain this seemingly random donation is that God was working through his people!  As I messaged with my former patient, he informed me that he was inspired to give after seeing a video on a friend’s FaceBook page encouraging people to do random acts of kindness in honor of her birthday!  

Because the donation was made on line, within an hour I found out how much had been donated: enough to cover another plane ticket and then some!  I think I knew right then that I’d be going back to Honduras for a third time, but it was such a quick change in plans, that I really had to sit with it a while.  I ran it all past friends and family and prayed a lot!  By Thursday, I felt confident that God was definitely opening the door for me to return to Honduras!

Cutting into my "hasta pronto" cake!

I stood—and still stand—in awe of how God’s been directing my steps as I learn to trust him more and more!  Not only does this change in plans allow me to move into my house in Michigan before starting a new job, but it also allows me to finish several projects that I didn’t have time to get to in Honduras.

I remember going through my teen and young adult years feeling like I didn’t have a testimony.  God has redeemed that lie and has shown me that, indeed, I do have a testimony.  It’s a testimony of how mightily he’s working in my life and guiding my steps all for His Glory as I learn to trust him more and more! Hallelujah!

"Before they call, I will answer; while they are still speaking, I will hear." 

 Isaiah 65:24