The Last Missing Piece

     One year ago today, I was called to this ministry in India without realizing it.

Last fall, I went on my first Passport trip with AIM. I spent three months in Ecuador having the time of my life serving in Portoviejo and Loreto. As our time drew to a close, I was on fire. I felt that I could do missions forever. On the last day of our trip, we stayed with a Gap Year squad that was in Quito at the time. They were really kind and friendly and welcomed us into their times of worship and fellowship. I still remember what song we sang “May we never lose our wonder…”. Some of them mentioned that they had only a couple weeks left in Ecuador and were about to leave for India. Something about that just grabbed my heart. The idea of staying behind with that team and going to India for another three months was all I thought about that evening. I was just so sure that I was supposed to go. Practically though, it couldn’t happen. My family was expecting me. You can’t just join a team three months in when they still had six months left to go. And there was no way I could fundraise for all that while on the field. I told my team how I felt, but I knew it was unrealistic, so I just let it go.
     Soon after I got settled in back at home, I checked the Adventures in Missions website for trips to India. I found two; a one-month summer trip, and three-month in the fall. It took me a few weeks to decide. I had a fear and apprehension about taking another semester off of school. I was intimidated by fundraising that much again. I didn’t know if I would want to be away from my family for that long and miss out on holidays again. Ultimately though, I felt that the longer trip was what God wanted for me, so I applied
     I was accepted and committed so much quicker than the first time around. Suddenly I had the whole rest of my year planned out. I started fundraising and preparing right away. Before I knew it, September had come and it was time to head out again. Even through the first couple weeks of the trip, I felt so unsure that I was really supposed to be there. I missed home; I had already been gone for almost 3 months with only 2 weeks at home before the trip. I had a lot of doubt that God had really called me to this place. I thought I should be at home working or studying like other people. Ultimately though, I knew that those doubts were lies from the enemy, and certain situations began to confirm the calling in my heart.
     So here’s the cool part. One of our locations for this trip was a town in the mountains of Mizoram called Saiphai. We spent almost two weeks there doing school ministry and prayer walks in the town. We got to spend a lot of time with the kids who lived in the hostel at the school. After a few days, a couple of the kids noticed a resemblance between our teammate Courtney and a girl from a world race team that had been there the previous year. I thought I recognized the name, but assumed it was one of the people that I had read some blogs from.
     But then, a few days later I posted a picture on Facebook of myself and an elderly retired pastor from the town. I was without internet for a few days after I posted it, so it was about a week later when I got wifi again and noticed that I had a lot of comments on my post. The girl that the kids thought looked like Courtney had commented and tagged some of her teammates. I realized that I recognized the name because we were Facebook friends; I had met her in Quito when we stayed with the Gap Year squad. She recognized the old man from the picture. That team had been in the same town, at the same school, meeting the same people. I was so ecstatic at that moment! There I was a year later, in the very place that I had felt so strongly drawn to, and I hadn’t even realized it! It was like finding a missing puzzle piece to my journey. I knew then that I was exactly where I was supposed to be.
     God uses so many ways to communicate with us. He blesses us in through the most unexpected things sometimes. I would have never expected to be so encouraged and reminded of my original call to India by a simple Facebook comment. God really has been so incredibly good to me this whole 3 months; He constantly has reminded me that He loves me, and He is in control.
     In just a couple days, I will be going home to a season of change and uncertainty. It is so comforting to know that my loving Heavenly Father has plans that are so much bigger than my own. They are so complex and amazing that I could never imagine them, yet so simple in the way the puzzle pieces fit together once I submit to Him and just follow.