finding purpose in life

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." - Jeremiah 29:11

One of the questions I get asked the most is, "when are you coming back to America to start your life?" I always feel a little unsure about how to answer that but here are my thoughts.

I feel a lot of times we get stuck on certain things we have to do to actually have lived life and then we get to the end and realize we didn’t really live life at all. Something I have here that I never had in America (I realize I’m young and that statement might not hold a lot of weight but for me it does) is purpose. I know every day when I wake up that I have something to do that matters. I may not be able to change lives or make a difference by myself but God is. And He’s able to use those experiences to work on my character.

For me personally, this is where God has called me. He might call someone else to go to school or start a career and minister to the people in their own country but that’s not what He’s called me to do right now. Learning to be content with the things that God has planned for your life can bring you the most joy. The place you’ll be happiest is in the center of God’s will no matter how hard or uncomfortable that might be.

One really hard thing for me is seeing the hurt and pain in the lives of the kids we have. Seeing where they don’t know how to truly trust people or express and deal with their feelings and emotions. Seeing them coming to terms with what’s happened in their lives and helping them learn how to use it as something to propel themselves forward instead of letting it hold them back (something that everyone is learning).

But with that, I get to see what it is for someone that didn’t know Jesus learn about who He is and how much He loves them. You see their eyes change and their smiles grow and some of that pain of rejection s-l-o-w-l-y starts to fade when they see how wanted they are. I’ve gotten to see God take the time to show them firsthand the power of prayer.

One of those times was when some of the boys were in bed and all of us had gone back to the other side of the pond to get ready for bed too. One of the boys got out of his bed to do something and stepped on a cobra. He immediately informed the other boys that they had to evacuate and so they all ran out the door and into the other boys' room. One of the boys from the other room suggested that they kneel down and pray that an adult would come (we always have an adult sleep in the dorms but the person that was on that night wasn’t over there yet). They all agreed.

I had been the one that was watching them and walked back to my house to shower. When I finished I realized that I had left my water bottle on the dorm side and decided I was thirsty enough to go and get it (something notable about this is that I usually don’t worry about getting it and I had no other reason to go back over). As I was walking past the first boys' dorm room I realized it was empty. I thought maybe they had gone over to play in dorm room two so I walked over to check. As soon as I opened the door all the boys started talking at once.

They told me they had just said amen when I opened the door. They then explained the cobra situation and I immediately knew what I had to do (anyone who knows me knows that my worst fear is snakes, especially deadly ones). I called Robbie. He came over and took care of the cobra while I held the door being as ‘helpful’ as I could.

God showed both the kids and me how powerful a simple prayer can be and how much He cares about us no matter how big or small. The kids knew that God answered their prayer that night and I knew that He had answered mine and revealed himself to them.

My opinion is that to truly live life you have to follow what He’s calling you to do. I know that I’ve learned more about what life truly is here than I ever would in America. I’ve seen where my purpose lies and I couldn’t be more thankful for that.