My Testimony

On December 13, I was welcomed into Peace Christian Reformed Church. At the service I gave my testimony. Our advent theme was "God Breaks In." Pastor Blaauw asked me to talk about how God broke into my life and led me to the Dominican Republic. I decided to start my blog by posting that testimony. It is kind of long, but I feel like it is the best way to introduce myself and explain how I was led to the DR and the journey that my life has been for the past several months.

TESTIMONY – PEACE 12/13/09


"God broke into my life last February when I lost my job. I am teacher and had been teaching Early Childhood Special Ed for three years. When my boss informed me that I would not have a job the following school year, I immediately knew that God had a plan. I knew that God would lead me to something new.

Shortly after that meeting, I found a Bible passage that I have gone back to several times since. It's Revelations 3:7-8. “The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens. I know your works. Behold I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but a little power, and yet you have kept my word and not denied my name.”

I knew that God had a place for me and that only He knew where it was. I decided to make myself available to every opportunity and let God close the doors He wanted to close and open the doors He wanted to open. I decided to spend my summer looking for opportunities to serve God instead of spending it worrying and being anxious. I signed up to help with a couple vacation Bible schools and found a mission trip to go on. When my mission trip was postponed, I remembered that I saw in the green sheet that Peace was taking to the Dominican Republic in August. I didn't know much about Peace and I didn't know anyone who was going, but I felt strongly that I should go, so I joined the team. I never could have imagined where that one decision would lead. That it would not only lead me to a new country but a also to a new church.

The next few months were a lesson in faith. I knew that God had a plan, but I had no idea what it was. Over those months God taught me that I didn't need to know what his plan was. He taught me to stop trying to control things that I had no control over. He taught me patience. He taught me to trust in His time table instead of my own. He taught me to trust that He was in control and the no matter where I ended up, He would take care of me. He taught me lesson after lesson on how to relinquish control of my life and give it to God completely, to follow Him wherever He led me. And when I did, I found a peace that I had never known. He continues to teach me this everyday. To let go of doubt and worry and follow Him. He taught me that no matter how much we plan, we all have an uncertain future, and instead of worrying about it and being anxious, we should have a peace because we know that God is there leading us. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare, and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11

When we left for the Dominican Republic in the beginning of August, it had been almost six months since I began my journey. I thought for sure that I would have known by then what God's plan was, but I was still waiting. While I was in the Dominican Republic I thought a lot about what life would be like down there and about the strong feeling that I had that I was being called there. I started asking questions. I found out that it was, in fact, a Spanish-speaking school and that all the teachers were Dominican women. It seemed that there wasn't a place for me there. But then on Sunday afternoon Shelley approached me about coming down to help and told me that it was ok that I couldn't speak Spanish and that they really could use my help.

By that point, I knew that it was not my decision to make. God was in control and I surrendered to His will. He had put an open door in front of me and if He wanted me to go, then He would make sure that everything worked out, and no one would be able to shut that door. It is not an accident that I went on that mission trip and found out about the need that was there at a time in my life when I was completely available to go. It was not an accident, it was all in God's plan.

After I returned from the trip, God continued to lead me and provide for me. He started opening doors that made it possible for me to move down to the Dominican Republic. He found me a job, where I could work until it was time for me to move, and He lead me to Peace. After we returned from the trip, I had the opportunity to get involved with a couple of groups here and continue to get to know the members. One evening, a member of the DR team, who knew a little about the struggles that my previous church was having, came up to me and told me that I had a family here and not to hesitate to call if I need anything. Over the next couple months I came to realize that it was true. God had given me something that I had been praying for for a long time. He gave me a church where I fit, where I had a family in Christ, a group of people who welcomed me and supported me.

Today marks ten months since that meeting when my life was turned upside down and my future is still uncertain. I will be getting on a plane and moving to Santiago in three weeks. The ticket is booked, but a lot of the details are still unclear. I am not exactly sure where I am going to be living, I still have a lot of funding to raise, and I don't have a visa yet. But what the last ten months have taught me is that there is no reason to worry, because this is God's plan and He will work it out. If I can't get there in January, then that is in God's plan, and there is a reason for it. Over the past 10 months God has taught me to be at peace knowing my future is uncertain and to be excited about the many possibilities that my future could hold.I have dedicated myself to the rest of this school year and the whole of next school year. After that, I will just have to see where God leads.

The most important thing I learned through this whole experience is how to lean on God in everything. To accept that without Him, I am lost. That is something that I will definitely need to do as I move to a new country with a new culture and a language I don't speak. I have my moments of doubt and I start to get scared and anxious. I think that I have gotten myself way over my head. Who am I to be called for this? I am weak and I make mistakes and I stumble every single day. I am a sinner. How is it possible that I have been called to work for the kingdom of God? But I know that I just need to keep leaning on Him. Because He is strong, He doesn't make mistakes, and He doesn't stumble. And I know that, although I am a sinner, I have been forgiven and God will enable me to do things that I could have never done without His help, so that it will be for His glory. Just as he has given me faith and patience and peace, he will give me courage and strength as I continue on the path that God has made for me."