Wow, so I almost forgot that I even had this blog, lol. It's been two years (almost to the date) since I started this blog and made my first posting! So much has changed since then!
I think now, more than ever, the title of my blog is appropriate. I have seen God's plans for me unfold and change so much in the last two years, and it has been amazing! Where to start? Well, I never did find a teaching job in Lake Charles. I kind of got frustrated and a little bit mad at God because not only did I not find a job, I had not heard anything from either grad school! I signed up to substitute teach in Calcasieu Parish, but I was still pretty frustrated since school had already been going on for a week at this point.
That Sunday, a former youth director at our church (who had known me since I was a little kid) had just moved back, and I was talking with her about how frustrated I was. She said that she was going to pray me into a job, and that she was confident that God was in control. That stuck with me, and that night in my quiet time, I surrendered it all to Him. The very next day, I got a letter in the mail from UALR telling me that I was accepted into the Master's program in Gifted and Talented Education, which was amazing news! The only down-side was that I had to be there in two days for the start of classes! Mom and Dad were able to help me move, though, and we saw God's hand in everything. He provided a graduate assistant position, which covered my tuition and paid me a stipend for living expenses, and I had some awesome friends and family in the Central Arkansas area as well.
That Sunday, a former youth director at our church (who had known me since I was a little kid) had just moved back, and I was talking with her about how frustrated I was. She said that she was going to pray me into a job, and that she was confident that God was in control. That stuck with me, and that night in my quiet time, I surrendered it all to Him. The very next day, I got a letter in the mail from UALR telling me that I was accepted into the Master's program in Gifted and Talented Education, which was amazing news! The only down-side was that I had to be there in two days for the start of classes! Mom and Dad were able to help me move, though, and we saw God's hand in everything. He provided a graduate assistant position, which covered my tuition and paid me a stipend for living expenses, and I had some awesome friends and family in the Central Arkansas area as well.
God also provided an amazing and wonderful church family for me. I absolutely love my church here in Arkansas! I started visiting because it was where my cousin and her family were, and her husband was on staff there, but I continued visiting and eventually joined because of the wonderful people there who reached out to me and made me feel at home, including our pastor! I began to get involved in different ministries, starting with Bible Drill (big surprise, right, for those of you who know me well, lol), and also orchestra. I also was able to begin working in childcare, with various ages of kids. This year, I started teaching in 1st-2nd Grade Root 66 (the equivalent of Bible Buddies) on Sunday nights. I have really grown to love working with all of the kids that I have, and I learn from them often!
I also became involved in the BCM on campus here, starting with just Bible study on Thursday nights but eventually growing to become more and more involved throughout my time here. I have really grown through this ministry! Last fall (2010), in our small groups, we were going through the Experiencing God collegiate edition study, which talks quite a bit about God's will for your life. God really started working on me, both through that study, and through my quiet times and sermons and Sunday School lessons at church. I had been planning to go on for a PhD in Gifted Education after I graduated from UALR (largely due to the influence of my professors, both current and previous, who encouraged me to do so). Well, as I had my quiet times each night and studied the Experiencing God study, I began to feel like God was leading me away from a PhD. I wasn't sure why or what He had in store for me, but I just didn't have a peace about it. Gradually, God started to reveal His plan for me.
One of the lessons in the Experiencing God study talked about God's will in circumstances and looking back at spiritual markers in your life. Well, God reminded me of some pretty important spiritual markers in my life that I had pretty much forgotten or ignored. When I was in the 4th grade at GA Camp at Tall Timbers, LA, I felt like God was calling me into missions or ministry of some kind. At the time, because I was so young, I was encouraged to wait and see how God would continue to lead me through time. I didn't think much else about it until I was in the 7th grade. I went to Super Summer at Howard Payne University in Brownwood, TX, and I again felt like God was calling me into missions or ministry of some kind. This time, I made my decision public to my church family. I continued in this direction for a long time, until somewhere around my junior or senior year of high school, when I began making decisions about college and a major. I started listenting to what others thought I should do instead of what I knew God had called me to do, so I started college as a music major. I eventually changed my major to Social Studies Education and planned to go on for a Master's degree in Gifted Education after graduation.... and from my last post, you know the rest, lol.
Anyway, God reminded me of all of this. I was still pretty unsure about what to do, so I sought Godly counsel from some very dear friends and family at church and at Metro (the BCM). (Thank you, Meridy, Ashley, Laurie, Pastor Rick, Bit, Stacy, & Krystal!) I finally decided to obey God, and now know that He is calling me into missions. I also have a passion for kids (I always have-- have wanted to be a teacher in some form for as long as I can remember), so I am not exactly sure how all of this is going to turn out, but I know that God is going to use both passions to work together in ways that I can't even imagine! I love God's promise in Ephesians 3:20! I am planning to attend seminary in the fall and get a Master's in Christian Education with a double concentration in Missions and Children's Ministry, and I am hoping to one day serve God as an M.
I've had some amazing opportunities this semester to grow, which God has used to confirm even more the call He has placed on my life. In March, I had the opportunity to go to Haiti during Spring Break with Brad & Krystal from Metro and Krystal's teammate, Monica from when they were J-men, along with a group from the BCM at U of A Fayetteville. Krystal, Brad, and Monica were leading a training for local CPs, while the rest of us were going out into the villages.
While we were there, God stretched me WAY out of my comfort zone! I am a pretty shy person by nature, and it is hard for me to talk to people I don't know well. The three of us on the BCM team went out into several villages while we were there and just talked to people, played with kids, etc. The first day we went, we had two translators and three Americans, so I was with another person and ended up letting her do most of the talking. This bothered me because I knew that I was not supposed to stay quiet, and I really began to pray 2 Tim. 1:7 because I knew I needed to let go of the spirit of timidity I'd had and trust God to give me His spirit of power, love, and self-discipline.
The next day, we had three translators, so each of us had a translator with us. This meant that I actually had to talk, lol! Well, God was faithful and really showed me His power! In the first house that we stopped, I had the amazing opportunity to pray with a woman to become a Christian! Wow! God gave me the words to say, and He was faithful to use my weakness for His glory! Throughout the week, I got to pray with two others to become Christians also, and each time, God gave me the boldness to share and the words to say! Between the three of us on the BCM team, we got to pray with a total of six people to accept Christ! How amazing! I am still in awe of God and what He did in Haiti!
I have another opportunity for this summer that I am really excited about! I applied through the Company to go to South Asia this summer for six weeks! I will be teaching English there and helping the people work on their conversaitional English skills. If you could just be lifting up me and the team that I will be meeting up with, I would greatly appreciate it! Ask that our conversations will be God-ordained, and that He will get the glory.
For me personally, remember 2 Tim. 1:7-- this is definitely a verse that I have had to hold on to all the time! I know that He has not given me a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline, and I am holding on to this promise! Ask also that I will be able to raise the support that I need-- with all of the expenses together, I am going to have to raise just over $6,000! I know that God is going to provide, though! He is so faithful and amazing-- He provided every penny that I needed to go to Haiti, without me having to do much at all! I didn't even have to send out support letters-- wow! So, I know that $6,000 is nothing for God!
Anyway, this is all for now! I am planning to actually update this more often (much more than twice in two years, lol), and even post updates this summer as I work in South Asia!
-Mary Lin-
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