The Ethiopian Eunuch

"My question is, 'Are you aware of where the Holy Spirit is speaking to you?  When is the last time you had a sense that he is sending to a place, or calling you to something, or putting something into your heart to say to others? Are you even listening?"

The First Short Term Mission - J.D. Greer, Summit Church 

On my drive to Richmond this afternoon, this question from J.D. Greer's sermon wouldn't stop repeating over and over and over in my mind.  This past week or so, I have been going through so many ups and downs, trying to figure out what exactly it is that the Lord wants me to do with my life when I get back from Fiji.  Do I work in the business world? Or do I opt for pursuing missionary work?  Do I stay in Charlotte? Do I move to another city in the US (mainly Denver, CO)? Do I go super crazy and just move to  a country that the Lord's been placing on my heart (Turkey)?  There are just so many questions and I have been stressing like crazy trying to figure out where he is leading me.

In his message, JD was going over the story of Phillip and how he was sent to Africa to minister to this Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:26-40).  Phillip was told by the Spirit to travel 165 miles (on foot.......which makes my 24 hour plane ride to Fiji look like nothing!).  When Philip arrived in Africa, he saw a eunuch and the Spirit immediately spoke to Phillip. When the Spirit told him to go and talk to the eunuch, he listened.  He obeyed without questions (SO much we can learn from Philip in this, like listening without letting our own doubts and fears and wants to creep in...).  In this moment, when the eunuch asks Philip to explain a reading in Isaiah, we see that God sent Philip to this place over 165 miles from home, in a land where he felt extremely uncomfortable in order to save ONE person.  This eunuch gives his life to Christ and is baptized after learning the good news of Jesus Christ.  How beautiful and amazing to see the lengths God goes to in order to bring people to him! He used Philip to help reveal who He is and that caused this eunuch to receive salvation.

But that wasn't all! Because of Philip obeying the Lord's call, this Eunuch's servants also heard the story of who God is.   One historian, Eusebias, credits this eunuch and his servants for planting the first Christian church in Africa.  After hearing this story for the first time, all I can think is what would have happened had Philip not listened and made himself available for the Spirit to speak into his life?

The whole time during this story, I felt that the Spirit was moving in my heart and soul.  It confirmed to me that I truly believe God has called me to go out and reach these people that he has prepared for me.  Like he prepared the eunuch for Philip, he is preparing others for me to meet and answer their questions and hopefully help them give their life over to God. JD started mentioning statistics concerning how many people don't have access to the gospel.  They don't even know who this Jesus Christ is.  I felt a horrible, nauseating pit in my stomach.  Tears started streaming down my face when I thought of the peoples who don't know about the love that Jesus has for them.  They don't get to experience this freedom that Christ gives to us - the weight that is lifted off our shoulders when we realize how imperfect we are, yet we are still loved perfectly by God because Jesus gave his life on the cross for us.

I knew in that moment that the Lord wants me to go.  I prayed to him over and over, "Here am I, send me."  I don't want to be held back by my fears about fundraising, leaving my family, putting off relationships, etc.  I want my life to be fully dedicated to God's great commission.  I want others to experience this grace and love and mercy that God has allowed me to experience.  I still don't know where exactly this means I will end up, but I am praying he reveals that to me.  I only have life because of what his Son did for me, so it only seems right that I give my life to him as a small sign of appreciation.  I owe him so much more, but that is all I can give.  I am so excited to see Him revealing himself to me throughout my journey, and I can't wait to see what he has in store for me!



Prayers

• Pray that the Lord continues to reveal his will for me, especially upon returning from Fiji - staying in Charlotte, finding a Long-Term Mission opportunity, moving to a new city.country. 
• Pray that I continue to be open to listening to the Spirit.  Pray for discernment so I am able to clearly hear and see where He needs me.
• Pray for the Pioneers group! They are still super busy prepping things for the trips.
• Pray that the Lord is using the Spirit to prepare those in Fiji that I will be able to meet - like He prepared the Eunuch's heart for Philip's message.

Praises

• I am SO incredibly thankful for my church family.  They are helping to organize a garage sale in order to raise funds for my trip! I am continually blown away to see the Lord working through them.  I truly consider them my family, and I am so grateful that God has allowed them to be a part of my life! 
• Those who continue to support me in prayer and finances - I can't say THANK YOU enough! It means so much to me to see how the Lord is working in your hearts to help spread his gospel.  Y'all are awesome!!!!!

As always, if you would like to partner with me in what the Lord is going to be doing during my time in Fiji, follow the links below! :)

• Send your donations directly to Pioneers using the support slip, which can be found here.

• Give online at www.pioneers.org/give/missionary using my account #175146.  Please note there is a 3% deduction from your donation amount if you use a credit/debit card.  There is no service charge when using an e-check option!