Cross in the Sand

We had a great day this Thursday!  Nick, Gilly and I had a phone call with one of our contacts in Kenya.  There we were, all huddled around Nick's desk at work, ready to make our first phone call halfway around the world.  We were like 3 kids waiting to open presents on Christmas morning, I could almost feel the giddy excitement in the room.  I made the phone call, placed the cell phone on speaker and laid it on the Nick's desk. "Hello, Nick, how are you?"  the first words from our contact were endearing and emotional.  Simon greeted all of us (including Gilly) and we talked for 20 minutes about the possibility of a clean water ministry and an initial visit to Kenya.  Simon closed our conversation with a beautiful prayer, asking for God's blessing and guidance involving our ministry possibilities with His people in Kenya. After I returned home, I began to pray, "Gracious, heavenly Father, thank you for this joyous opportunity, thank you for the honor to serve You and Your people.  Lord, grant my family the strength and diligence to do as You ask, lead us where You need us most and protect us in this time of seeking Your will. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.".  "Your will", that struck me as I was praying, "Your will". What is "Your will", God's will, where does this feeling come from, how do we know what is God's will and what are our own desires? During this time of discernment, there are so many questions and doubts: Am I listening to God, am I doing what He has asked or leaning toward my own selfish desires?  How do you know???  Does God give us signs? I believe so.

I have always loved the beach and a few years ago, Nick and I were ready to sell our home, enroll Gilly in school and were seeking jobs in Port St. Joe, Florida.  During one of our many visits, we were viewing property to build a home on the beach (sounds exciting, right!?). This was shortly after one of the hurricanes on the Gulf and land was cheap, very cheap.  As we walked down the beach, we noticed that one of the homes that had been completely destroyed in the hurricane had left something behind. Engulfed in one of the sand dunes were two large, metal I-beams.  This was all that was left of the home. The I-beams were rusted and stood about 12 feet tall and were nesting in a beautiful sand dune - and, these I-beams were left in the shape of a cross.  At this moment I realized, this was my sign. The beach would be my sacrifice, the self-denial of what I wanted would be replaced by God's call into His service. I knew that God was calling me, I just wasn't sure where or how. But, I knew he was calling me to make a sacrifice, to give my life to Him and fore-go my personal desires.  He was asking for ALL of me and He made it very clear.
So, fast forward about 3 years, Nick and I are attending our Candidate Assessment Week at The Mission Society (TMS), and the founder of TMS was telling us of his call to be a missionary (this gentleman, HT, is in his 80's but was recalling details like he is 20!).  He told a story about his service in Kenya and a visit from his father, whom was against his son's call into the mission field. He described a journey he had taken with his father on the last day of his visit, he described the dirt road they were traveling on with tall grass blowing in the wind on both sides, the blue sky with billowing white clouds and the sun shining on them. Then he said "we were headed to the beach to do some snorkeling." Huh, what did he say? You could have heard my brain come to a screeching halt. SSCCRREEECCHH!  I leaned over and said to Nick, "Is he still talking about Kenya?" Nick said "Yeah, shhhh I'm trying to listen."  HT painted a beautiful picture of a land I thought was all desert, dust and mud huts. HT chose to share his story of the beach.  He chose to tell about his Father's heart being changed that day and ended the story weeping because his father told him "I should have bought a one-way ticket."  The beauty of Kenya and his son's missionary life had changed him. Needless to say, I was in tears along with almost everyone else in the room that evening.  When Nick and I joined TMS, we told them, "We are putting our yes on the table, help us discern where God needs us."  For months, we had no feelings or nudges to serve in one place or another.  On that night, I believe God had given me a second sign, a sign that could only speak to me and my desires. So, Nick and I are pursuing a life of service to the Kenyan people. A blessed life that started with a cross and ends in paradise, sound familiar?  I don't know if we will be called to live and serve on the coast of Kenya, but it is a possibility we are looking into.................... :)
http://safari.go2africa.com/kenya/kenya-beaches.asp