I am at that point in my life again....
This is what I wrote back in June in this post about why I moved back to Augusta:
"I wanted a place that I could be at for a year or so, a place somewhat close to my family, a place where I could finish school, get a "real job" (I had never had one before), save some $, be involved in a church, and start learning Spanish. I also wanted to spread my wings a little bit, if you will. While I was in Michigan, I lived with Christians, worked with Christians, all my friends were Christians, and well you get the picture. I want the chance to grow, to get out of my comfort zone, to be in the place where I would only see God as my refuge."
In the same post I shared a little bit about why I want to learn Spanish fluently:
"I love America. A strange place to start, but please let me explain. By traveling around the country, I have meet so many different people with stories to tell...all people who need Jesus Christ as their Savior. Many of them believe that there is a God, that the Bible at least contains truth, that there is a person called Jesus who supposedly rose from the dead, that they are people who are not perfect, and the list goes on. If that person dies without Christ, they will spend eternity in Hell. They do not realize that Jesus Christ is God, that He died and rose from the dead, for THEM. That He wants, longs for, a relationship with THEM. So many people just need someone to share the good news with them, and then they will accept it. Of course there are many who won't and still others who have never even heard the name Jesus Christ, and they need to Lord too. But it breaks my heart to think of those who know so much, but are so confused.
On top of that, I have spent the past 20 years learning American culture. I am American. I know what they think, how they think, what is going on in society. I do not have to spend years getting to know a new culture,m because, well, I know this one already. This is where the Lord has placed me.
But there is another culture that us becoming a part of our American culture. Anywhere that I have gone in America....a rest stop in Ohio, downtown Kansas City, California, New York, even the Masters in Augusta, I have always met people who I have not been able to talk to, because I do not speak Spanish. I mean, I took it in highschool, but that meager bit was just enough to cause me to embarrass myself whenever I tried to speak Spanish. Ever so slowly over the past few years, my desire to learn Spanish has only increased. Increased to the point that I think I would be wrong if I did not pursue it. I think the best way to learn another language is to be around it all the time...to live in it."
Like I said then, and like other people have told me, the best way to learn a language is be completely immersed in it. For about four years, the desire to live in a Spanish speaking country for a few months, has only grown for me. But as I shared in the post about why I moved to Augusta, I had my list of things that I wanted to accomplish before that time came.
I have loved my job this summer and think it is one of the main reasons God had me move to Augusta. It has been indescribable. I have learned so much. Been blessed. Cried. Laughed. Labored. Witnessed pain. Loved children. Shared the gospel. Had friendships. Organized. Gotten frustrated. Worked with and for people. Learned to pick my battles. Seen what really matters. And the way I view life has been refined because of this summer. But the summer is almost over. And with the end of summer, comes the end of my summer job. The last week of day camp starts tomorrow.
The question, "what next?" has come again.
But I never would have imagined the answer.
One night, about a month ago, as I tried to go to sleep, I kept getting the idea that I should spend time with the Lord. I tried to ignore it, but finally I gave in, turned on the light, and grabbed my Bible and journal. Through writing everything out that night, I got the idea that maybe God wanted me to spend time in a Spanish-speaking country sooner than I thought. A bit of what I wrote that night:
"Lord, if this is what you want me to do, make it perfectly clear to me. Please give me the option to either obey or disobey...nothing in between. Work everything out. Give me the information that I need. Oh, God, give me wisdom! Show me where to go, what to do. Place wise counsel in my life...my elders, my parents. May their hearts and my heart all be in unison....one with Your's."
I also thought a lot about my sister, Ashlyn, that night. What would the Lord have her to do? Would she be playing any part in this?
I prayed and kept things to myself for a couple of weeks, then when I went up to Teen Camp, I sat down with Ashlyn and shared my thoughts with her. Immediately, she said that is something she would be interested in. We prayed together that day, holding hands on a bench in the middle of the afternoon at camp. We prayed similar things to what I prayed a couple of weeks before. "God we want to do what You want us to do. Open doors and close them. Help us distingush between our will and Your's."
The next Wednesday night, I spoke with a woman at my chapel who had been a missionary along with her husband, in Mexico. I mentioned to her, that the next time they went back, Ashlyn and I would be interested in going with them, and maybe even for longer than a couple of weeks...potentially 6 to 9 months. The next week, she asked me if Ashlyn and I could have dinner with her and her husband the following Sunday.
During that conversation the following Sunday, they told us of some native missionaries, and the chapel they are a part of, in Mexico that might be willing to host us for a few months. We told them that we could leave as early as September. When we left that day, we all agreed that we would keep praying, Ashlyn would apply for her passport, and they would contact the people in Mexico. But they also told us it may be several weeks before they heard back.
Well, that was last Sunday. This past Wednesday, the couple came up to me and said that they had heard back from the people in Mexico, and that we could go in September if we wanted! I as nothing short of ecstatic!
So, we would like to leave at the end of September, but many things would need to work out for that to happen. We also understand that God's will for one of us, may not necessarily be His will for both of us. Those many things are doors that the Lord could either open or close. And God knows what's best, so we are trusting Him to lead.
I do know a few more details of what life would look like for us down there, but I will share those at a later time when and if things keep moving along.
Please pray for us!
And please feel free to ask questions. You can leave a comment here, or email me at kathleenboudet@att.net
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