So, I guess this is for real...

This past week God has confirmed several times that I am supposed to go to Thailand. These confirmations are much needed, as the actual reality of me becoming an MA can sometimes seem impossible, especially when I think about my budget. I'll only share a few of the encouraging, maybe even providential, events of the week.

As anyone who has read this blog or talked to me knows, raising my budget is the biggest challenge to becoming a missionary associate. I've been taking Zumba, a Latin/international dance aerobics class, for several months now and have previously considered asking the all-women group to consider supporting me. But during class on Thursday night, I decided to go a bit further than that. Kathy, the class instructor, is currently planning a Zumba-thon to raise money for her daughter's tennis team and a local food pantry ministry. While dancing, it struck me that I should ask her if we could do a similar event to help my budget. She agreed and seems really excited about it. There are more than 60 women involved in Zumba at First Baptist (the church where the classes are held) and the event will be open to anyone who wants to attend, even guys. Kathy and I still need to plan the details, but I'm so grateful for her enthusiasm. I'm going to promote the idea as "women helping women," since my work in Thailand will mainly encompass ministry to women. I'll be praying too that others will be inspired to support me financially or in prayer.

Recently, I started attending the young professionals Sunday School class at Central, which is held at a nearby Panera. This morning, my friend Carrie, whom I usually sit by and who also designed my amazing prayer cards (more about that later), was out of town, so I sat down at a table by myself, hoping to meet someone new. A few minutes later, a girl (well, she's probably about ten years older than I am) sat down at my table. Soon after introducing ourselves, I learned that she is missionary and currently itinerating. I was so, so excited when I found out that her missions work is devoted to working with girls who are the victims of sex trafficking. My heart has been drawn to those types of ministries recently, especially knowing that I am going to Bangkok, where it is a catastrophic problem. It was such a blessing to hear about her work and her advice on raising support. She admitted that the missionary/missionary associate process can be really rough sometimes, but one thing that she said stuck out to me and inspired me. My paraphrase won't do it justice, but she said that her life and the work that she does is so much more than she ever thought it would be. Wow.

I wish I could have written that the way she said it, but her words resonated with me and helped to solidify the purpose that I feel God is building for me more and more each day. I don't know all the specifics, but that's okay. My new friend (I feel weird using her name, since she doesn't really know me yet) gave me her card and encouraged me to email her with questions about the MA process, etc. I'll be doing just that early this week.

All of this to say, I'm so thankful that God is sovereign and guides our paths, placing people and opportunities where he knows they best belong. I've been encouraged this week and I look forward to our Southeast Asia group meeting on Friday night, which I'm sure will be another powerful and encouraging night.