The Journey Begins …

So, I guess this is the first time I am actually posting something on a blog.  Not really sure how to do one, but let me see how the Lord will lead this post … how He will lead this journey, this new beginning as a mission volunteer.

Before making the decision to become a mission volunteer, I was actually unsure if I was going to apply or not.  I still remember the first time I ever thought of the idea of becoming a full-time missionary, a full-time pastoral worker.  This was back in April 2012.  I went to Vancouver for work purposes.  Little did I know, something in me felt an urge to serve, to serve God somewhere far away from home, somewhere outside the comfort of the city where I have lived in for more than 17 years.  I met up with Ate Lissa Untalan while in Vancouver, who at that time was a FTPW, and I spoke with her about what was going on through my mind at that time.  We had a very good, and deep conversation, about our spiritual lives.  Then conference came, it was in Ottawa.  It was there where I felt a strong calling from the Lord, as if He wanted me to go, to come to Him, closer to Him, a call to serve Him totally and completely.  It was then when I first expressed a desire to possibly discern if full-time work was what God was calling me to do.  I spoke with Butch Baria, as well as John Acosta concerning these desires that were being stirred within my heart.  I then found out that to be an SFC full-time pastoral worker, one needed to have completed some sort of post-secondary education.  This was a big blow to me, since at that time, I had not finished my university degree.  So there was a decision I needed to make, whether to go back to school (which I dredded at that time), or take some courses to obtain a certification of some sort, or … well I wasn’t sure what to do.  I prayed hard, and thought about it through and through.  Until finally, I made the decision to go back to school and finish my degree, which would take approximately 2 years, finishing by the spring of 2015.  I enrolled for school, I got into the classes I registered for, and I felt a peace within me, knowing I had made the right (or best) decision.  Then John Acosta made a visit here and we were able to talk about the program.  Funny thing is, he eventually told me that if I wanted to apply to become an SFC FTPW, there were exceptions and that I would no longer need to have post-secondary education.  This made me laugh, since I had already registered for school.  So my discernment continues …. the MV program is finally in effect, and here I am, taking that step, not sure if it’s a big or small one, but nonetheless putting my feet into the water of where the Lord is leading me in my life.  What am I expecting in this program?  I don’t know, I don’t know what to expect.  Can I see what’s going to happen in the future?  No I can’t, I can’t see and I don’t know where this program will take me.  But what I do know, is that the Lord is guiding every step of the way, and I leave it up to His VERY CAPABLE Hands, and wait, and see, where this road will take me.  It’s a very fitting start to the year, with the theme of BEHOLD and PONDER, which allows me to have this grace to be able to behold the work of the Lord, and ponder on His works and His power in my life to make all things possible.

May God be praised.