Some of you know that I was supposed to leave for Cambodia in a few short weeks. I was signed up to be part of an amazing project for one of the most heart rendering ministries I have ever heard of. A ministry that assists children rescued out of human trafficking situations. I was ready. I had been reading up on Cambodian culture and I had read books on children in the sex trade that broke my heart in half. I wanted to give human trafficking a face and a name, to experience some of the heaviness, to feel the pain, and to hear stories of fragile hope for young people who were finding their way out, and soon I would be able to.
But all that was not to be. Flights had been booked, and a team fully recruited, but at the midnight hour, right before Christmas, some property issues meant the project was cancelled. I was so disappointed, as were the rest of my would be teammates. But as disappointed as we were, the ministry, must be experiencing disappointment of a whole other level. They aren't going to be able to have their transition home designed and built on the same schedule they thought they would. In fact, at this point, it is postponed indefinitely, as they have to start the search for land to build right from scratch.
A couple weeks later, an opportunity for a new project came up. This time in Guatemala. A much different culture than Cambodia, and to be honest, I wasn't really that excited about the thought of going there. Perhaps this sounds vain, but it didn't sound exotic or adventurous enough. I mean, everyone and their dog goes to Guatemala. At least that's how it seemed. But at the end of the day, after a lot of deliberation and talking to God, I decided this was the project, this was the team I was supposed to be part of. And I trusted that God would somehow use me in this place I would have never gone to otherwise. And as momentum builds, I am getting excited about going and the ministry we'll be working with there, and meeting new kids to love in a whole new country. Sometimes beautiful things come from the most unexpected places. Is it possible that God will use me in some small way in this project that somehow seems like Plan B? But maybe it's not Plan B at all. Maybe the whole time I was making plans to go to Cambodia, God knew he wanted me in Guatemala, for reasons perhaps, I might never even find out. And so, a few weeks from now, let's get this party started, Guatemalan style, every single beautiful, unexpected part of it.
http://www.emicanada.org/projects/projectprofile_10050.shtml
But all that was not to be. Flights had been booked, and a team fully recruited, but at the midnight hour, right before Christmas, some property issues meant the project was cancelled. I was so disappointed, as were the rest of my would be teammates. But as disappointed as we were, the ministry, must be experiencing disappointment of a whole other level. They aren't going to be able to have their transition home designed and built on the same schedule they thought they would. In fact, at this point, it is postponed indefinitely, as they have to start the search for land to build right from scratch.
A couple weeks later, an opportunity for a new project came up. This time in Guatemala. A much different culture than Cambodia, and to be honest, I wasn't really that excited about the thought of going there. Perhaps this sounds vain, but it didn't sound exotic or adventurous enough. I mean, everyone and their dog goes to Guatemala. At least that's how it seemed. But at the end of the day, after a lot of deliberation and talking to God, I decided this was the project, this was the team I was supposed to be part of. And I trusted that God would somehow use me in this place I would have never gone to otherwise. And as momentum builds, I am getting excited about going and the ministry we'll be working with there, and meeting new kids to love in a whole new country. Sometimes beautiful things come from the most unexpected places. Is it possible that God will use me in some small way in this project that somehow seems like Plan B? But maybe it's not Plan B at all. Maybe the whole time I was making plans to go to Cambodia, God knew he wanted me in Guatemala, for reasons perhaps, I might never even find out. And so, a few weeks from now, let's get this party started, Guatemalan style, every single beautiful, unexpected part of it.
http://www.emicanada.org/projects/projectprofile_10050.shtml
