In case you ever have wondered what it must feel like to be leaving everything familiar behind to step out into the unknown, I can tell you in just one word: surreal.  The last week of 2014 was also my last week of working at Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital.  After working there for nearly 17 years, it was hard to fathom the loss of my role as an occupational therapist, and I couldn’t believe that I was really leaving it all behind.  I will admit, however, that after I was done saying my goodbyes to treasured co-workers and wiping away my tears, I felt very light and free!  I started my three weeks off before departure filled with excitement and anticipation for the journey ahead!  I enjoyed starting the packing process and visiting with family and friends.  

At two weeks left before departure, however, reality started to sink in.  I found myself thinking, “What on earth am I doing?!”  I was so busy packing up my whole house, making arrangements for a storage unit, and taking care of 101 other details, that it took me a little while before I heard the answer to my question: “You are following your dream and being obedient to God’s calling.”  Oh, yeah.

One morning as I was grieving leaving my loved ones and familiar life behind, I asked God to give me some words of comfort and encouragement.  He sent me to Psalm 126: “The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad.  Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy!  He who goes out weeping bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him” (vs. 3, 5-6).  Whoa!  I read it, and then I read it again and again!  Thank you, Lord, for your promises!  Truly, the Lord has done great things for me, and despite little frustrations, he has been present in this preparatory process sending me help at just the right times.  Lord willing, my tears, and the seeds that I hope to sow, will fall on fertile soil, and they will lead to a bountiful harvest.

Now, with just one week remaining before I leave, the fact that I’m leaving home for ten months is starting to feel more real than surreal.  I still have packing to do, people to visit, and details to check off from the never-ending list of things to do.  But, I’m also remembering the importance of just being.  During one of those quiet moments of being, I stopped to give thanks for the very many people who have had a part in making this trip possible.  I don’t take it for granted that my family is so supportive.  I am so thankful for them, my awesome friends, my work community, and my financial supporters!  I am also thankful for all of the employees at various businesses who have helped me handle all of the logistics of putting my house up for rent, getting car repairs handled, figuring out health insurance, etc. I am so very blessed!  Indeed, the Lord has done great things for me; I am glad! 

My maternal grandparents left me a rich legacy (that's my grandpa in the picture).  It’s one of adventure and obedience.  It’s one that has lead me to listen to the still, small voice of God calling me to serve Him in Latin America.  My grandparents were missionaries to Bolivia in the 1920s, and I grew up listening to their stories and also to my mom’s dreams of becoming a missionary.  In addition, I grew up listening to my dad speak Spanish and tell his stories of traveling through Mexico.  With these seeds planted in my life, it is no wonder that I developed a love for Spanish and traveling, and a heart for serving others.  Looking back over my life, I can see how God has been watering those seeds and making them grow in preparation for this moment.  Armed with my minor in Spanish and my Master’s degree in teaching English to speakers of other languages, the moment has come for me to take a big step.  After a trip in August to visit ministry sites in Guatemala and Honduras, God has led me to serve in Tegucigalpa, Honduras through an organization called Jubilee Centers International.  Jubilee provides quality Christian education to poor families in a high-risk community in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, working towards a holistic Christ-Centered transformation of children, families, and their communities. I leave at the end of January, and I am excited to spend a year there!  While there, I will be assisting the founders of JCI, Emily and David Romero, with administrative duties.  I am also going to start some outreach programs; one will be to teach English to youth and adults, and the other will be to reach out to teenage girls in the community.  At least, that is what I have planned; we’ll just have to wait and see how God plans to use me during my time there!