One thing about God is that He is constantly at work, even when it seems unclear to us. He alone is the one who works all things for good in this life. He surely has in mine!
When I was in high school, I surrendered my life to missions by the prodding of the Holy Spirit in my heart. Now, around seven years later, I can see my dreams unfolding before my eyes. Through a long period of waiting and praying, I faced many ups and downs in my spiritual walk, but God continually makes clear the path He would have us to follow. In college, He moved my heart toward the country of Cambodia. Shortly thereafter, God used a friend of mine to introduce me to a whole Cambodian congregation about an hour away from Jacksonville. I called to see if I could be involved in some way and it turned out they were looking for someone to teach their children. God knows what He is doing!
 

Through working with the Cambodian congregation at Parkview Baptist Church, I was able to become exposed to a little of the culture, language, and life of the Cambodian people. God blew me away once more when I received a call from Denise Peters (’96) asking me if I would like to go to Cambodia with them for the whole summer. Of course I jumped on the opportunity, but I had no idea how I would raise the funds. God moved mightily, and in less than three weeks, I had received about $6000 to cover the entire cost of the trip. I even got my passport in time! When I boarded the plane, I knew my heart would be challenged and changed in these three short months.

While I was in Cambodia, I had the opportunity to live with a national pastor and his family in a student center that Parkview had built called Hope House. The purpose of our trip was to officially get Hope House up and running so that I could oversee daily activities for the few months ahead. I also had the opportunity to teach the children English.

As I was living there, my heart continued to break over the lost people in Cambodia. Buddhism was in every part of the culture and the darkness was almost overwhelming at times. I began to pray that God would work out a way for me to go back to Cambodia and spend my life reaching into the hearts of the people there. God did just that! Upon my return, I was immediately asked to continue working at Hope House for another year term. Once my year is up, I will return to the states on a sort of furlough to see what else God has planned for the rest of my life in Cambodia. Through prayer, I have decided to return once again to Cambodia in April 2013, and now I am in the process of learning all the ins and outs of fundraising. Daniel Warren put it perfectly when he introduced me in the single’s service. “Six months ago, she had never been on a missions’ trip, and now she is a missionary.” I am overwhelmed by the love and support I have received through this process and I look forward to all God has planned for me in the future.

 
God works in marvelous and mysterious ways. He is the only one who will never let us
down.

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