I fly out today!
While I have shared the story of how all this came about with many of you, there are a good number of you with whom I haven't shared so I'm going to write it all out here as it is a God story through and through.
*****
I first heard about the possibility of going to Russia this summer back in early November when my Dad mentioned it to me. Being one who loves adventures and traveling I instantly jumped at the idea. There were some initial emails and an intimidating phone conversation with, I believe it was, Vitaly Petrov over in Russia. Things were starting to look like this would be an actual possibility.
Then the emails stopped and I didn't hear a word more a good long while and it looked like the whole deal had fallen through. At this point, I was rather indifferent towards the entire trip as summer was still a long away and there were a plethora of possibilities for the summer. As time went on, I started looking into other possibilities such as working with Mercy Ships ( http://www.mercyships.org/ ) or maybe an intership with InterVarsity's 2100 Productions ( http://www.intervarsity.org/2100/ ). I was getting excited about both possibilites as both would have been incredible experiences. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, I got an email asking if I was still planning on coming to Russia.
This email threw me for a loop. Out of all the possibilities for the summer, Russia was my least favourite. It would by far be the hardest of the three, I would be going alone to a foreign country where english was not the first language. With Mercy Ships I would be on a boat filled with english speakers and with 2100 Productions I would even have to leave America!
I took my time replying to the email because, in all honesty, I wasn't planning on going to Russia anymore and really didn't want to go.
In my mind, the decision was made, but there was a tiny nagging voice somewhere down inside was telling me that Russia is where God wanted me to go. I argued with this voice for the better part of a week, telling it to be quiet and that God wouldn't want me to go to somewhere I didn't want to go. The clincher happened one morning as I was walking to class. I was, once again, arguing internally when the story of Jonah came to mind. How God gave him a mission he had no desire to do and he refused only to end up in the belly of a giant fish. Now for those of you who know me, you know that I DESPISE seafood and the belly of giant fish is pretty much the last place on this earth that I want to be so I gave in to this voice and when I got home that day and typed up a reply saying I was still willing to work in Russia for the summer. I clicked the send button and a weight was lifted off my shoulders. From all of this I was taught that I have to follow God whether I like what I'm being told to do or not.
Then in the days and weeks that followed my reply, I heard nothing back and I started to, yet again, think that something had fallen through and it wasn't going to work out. I was like, "Oh God, you're a trick one, you are. Put me through the stress of deciding to follow what I know you're telling me to do or what I want to do and then when I make the right decision you don't make me do it." I thought that since I had made the right choice God was going to "let me off the hook" and follow one of those "fun" summer plans I had dreamed of.
Then comes February and I get an email basically saying "Hey Joel, we're excited about your upcoming visit and here are some things you need to fill out so we can get all the paperwork together. From Russia with Love!"
Oh great, I wasn't off the hook.
I sent them the information and it finally dawned on me that this is actually happening and I only had 3months to get everything ready.
While I was nervous, I now knew, without a doubt, this was God guiding my life and I needed to give it my everything. So in a flurry of papers and 'coincidences' I end up here today with a plane ticket to Moscow, a Letter of Invitation from the Russian Government, a Russian Visa, a man waiting to pick me up from the airport and a bed in Kursk.
I'm still not entirely sure how it all worked out, as most of it probably should not have, but it did and I am off. Our Father has turned the initial apprehension into excitement and there is not a doubt in my mind that this is what I am supposed to be doing.
Please continue to pray for me. That I may be useful not only to Trinity Equipping Centre but also to all the people I meet during my travels.
Next update will be from Russia!
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