Big Dreams. BIGGER GOD.

Before telling my adventures this took place in Haiti, it is only fair that I give praise to my Father for what He did so that I could go. While God did a lot in my life while I was there, He had also done big things to allow it all to happen. For quite a while, my dream has been to be able to go on a foreign mission trip. I just never had the opportunity or felt the Lord leading me in that direction. This past year, God really taught me a lot about dreams. And what I remember, specifically from a message by Louie Giglio, is that it’s a great thing to dream in God, BUT, you have to let Him decide when and how He wants to make those come true. It was really hard for me to take that in, and it took a lot of faith for me to say, God, here’s my dream, its now fully Yours.
Ever since the earthquake took place in Haiti, the country has been a huge passion of mine. Its been my burden and my heart has broken for what they have had to go through. God had really given me a love for the people, and I wasn’t sure how He would use that love he developed in me. My immediate thoughts were of things that I could do here at home to help the people of Haiti. Little did I know, God had other plans.
This summer, I worked CentriKid for my third summer and we do eight weeks of camp. Our last week was really small and we did not need a staff of 24. Our coordinator called some of us and asked if we could go home a week early, and my first response was…yes. I thought I could use an extra week of vacation and just some extra time to get ready for school. I had no set plans of leaving a week early from camp.
Two weeks later, I got a Facebook message. The subject line read…Free Trip to Haiti. My jaw dropped open and I was confused for a few minutes. Most of you probably know that when you go on a mission trip, it’s not usually free, so this was a big shock for me. As I read on, I learned that they wanted eight people from our local colleges to venture to Haiti to do VBS and camps for kids. Anyone that knows me knows that this was right up my alley. I instantly replied to the email and said yes, I would love to go. I didn’t know at that time if I would be selected or not and just gave it over to God.
I don’t have to tell the end of the story, because everyone knows what happened! I was one of the eight selected and went to Haiti last week. As childish as it seems, dreams do come true. I gave my dream over to God and He took care of everything. I could have never planned it out the way He did, but He took care of that. I am so thankful to Christ for having blessed me with this opportunity that I will never forget. This was just the beginning of an incredible journey, and I cant wait to tell you guys all about it!

Holding Open His Door,
JB