Remember When....

Remember when…

First college game- SAU, 2013
Thankful for this year- the many
laughs, friendships, trials and triumphs-
Without them, I wouldn't be who I am today.

Remember when I played college soccer at Spring Arbor University?

Remember when I was extremely homesick, disliked playing soccer, and hated being away from home?
Remember when I decided to leave SAU, move home and attend community college instead?

Remember when I started coaching?
Remember when I fell in love with soccer all over again?
Remember when I went to Honduras on a mission trip for a week in July, 2015?

Remember when I went to DeSales?

Remember when I joined the women’s soccer team and had the opportunity to play college soccer again?
Remember when I took a semester off from school to move to another country?
Remember my first day of teaching when: 1, a kid yelled during rutina 2, a kid was in 2^nd grade instead of K4 for half the day, 3, Isis ran away (to lunch before it was time to go, and I couldn’t find her), and 4, a girl threw up? ALL on the first day of school?

Because I sure do….. and so does God.

So, maybe it’s a little wordy, but you get the point…A LOT has happened and changed in the past 3 years.

And you know what I’ve learned? God knew all of that was going to happen. Not only this, but it was part of His plan for my life. (Jeremiah 29:11)

Was it my plan? No, of course not.

Would I change the past three years? Would I rather go back to SAU, so that I could call myself a national champion alongside my best friends? (I mean, yes- that’d be awesome, and I miss those friends A LOT). But do you want to know my honest answer?

No.        I wouldn’t change it.

God provided an amazing group of teachers,
who quickly became some of my best friends. So thankful
to serve alongside of these sisters in Christ.

I wouldn’t change anything that has happened over the past three years, because it has brought me to the place I am at right now. The place where I am the most content I’ve ever been. The place where I have found (and am continuing to find) my joy and identity in Christ. The place I have called home the past five months. The place I have met amazing people who have quickly become some of my closest friends. Friends that challenge me, listen to me, give me advice, pray for me and love me. The place where I was put so far out of my comfort zone, I didn’t know what hit me. 

The place where I realized why the past three years of my life had gone the way they had... to prepare me... for this. 

“You couldn’t last in Michigan, what makes you think you could go to Honduras?”
“You are quitting school? I wish I had that kind of courage.”
“You’re moving to another country? Out of all of the people in our class, I never would have imagined YOU moving to another country.”

These are all statements I received. And all of these statements are true. (Except quitting school-- because I didn't quit, & taking a semester off is part of the best decision I ever made). But, the truth is, I agree with all of them.
I couldn’t last in Michigan. I was so homesick. I was 9 hours from home, and I had some of the hardest days and nights in that dorm room. Crying out to God asking why I was at SAU, and why I couldn’t go home.  

My K4 class-- I LOVE seeing their improvements
each and every day! So proud of how far these kids have come.
They will always have such a special place in my heart. 

Deciding to take a semester off was also a hard decision. After having a successful soccer season as a team and individually, why would I want to leave? The soccer program was (and still is) at a pivotal point, why would I leave that?

Deciding (and even initially considering) moving to another country. WHAT. Me? 

             I’m not equipped. 

            I don’t speak Spanish. 

           I’m not a teacher. 

But,

I took a GIANT leap of faith- trusting this is what God was calling me to... And wow, am I glad I did.

I’ve lived on my own here in Honduras for five months now. I was only supposed to be here for four, but here I am, starting month six, praying to God there is some way I could stay for all ten. Who would have thought that me, this homesick, unequipped, English speaking gringo would be living in another country at the age of 20, teaching at a school, and living on the property of a children’s home?
I’ll tell you who, God.

Other than him, NO ONE, not my parents, myself, my coaches or my friends could have ever imagined I would be doing this. If you would have told me that 3 years ago, I would have laughed in your face.. . But you see, God has a sense of humor, and this was as much a part of his plan three years ago as it was before the beginning of time. (Side note: How crazy that the God of this universe cares that much about me?!)

As I sit here typing, I am absolutely speechless, amazed and reminded how good God is, and all that has happened in the past five months.
How could I be doing all of this? I’M NOT. It is only by God’s grace and through His strength that I am a part of this. It is NOT my doing, but God’s (Phil 1:6). It is not my strength, but Christ’s (Phil. 4:13). 

Ephesians 3:16-22, which is titled “prayer for spiritual strength”, has become one of my favorite passages in scripture. (Side note, this passage was given to me by TWO people on index cards on my first overseas mission trip to Guatemala in 2013—verses 16-20 on day 2, and verses 21-22 on day 3—how crazy?!) It says this:

“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father…that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love may have strength to comprehend with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do FAR more ABUNDANTLY than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us. TO HIM BE THE GLORY in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Isis (pronounced like Reeses,
without the R)
This girl has my heart,
& is a MAJOR source of my joy

Let me tell you, Christ has done soo much more than I could have asked or imagined. I have become a new creation. I have shed so many fears, insecurities, lies, and doubts. Looking back I can now see WHY I went through the hurts, struggles, and pains that I did-- they were preparing me for this.

Slowly but surely, I am being transformed-- I am a new creation!
2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "If anyone is in Christ he is a new creation! The old has passed away, behold, the new has come."

If there’s anything I would tell my 17 year old self (although less than four years ago), it would be this—trust God. Trust HIS plan for your life. Don’t try to plan on your own, because I’ve learned it NEVER works. I never would have imagined myself here, but I’ve never been happier.

Loving these kids is the greatest gift ever, and I’m so so thankful Christ has called me to love and serve these children.

 
God, 

Thank you for transforming me. Thank you for loving me at my low points. Thank you for caring about my life. Thank you for working in my heart, and changing the direction and path of my life. Thank you for wanting a relationship with me and pursuing me. Thank you for remaining faithful, even when I'm faithless. Thank you for calling me to Honduras, and giving me the courage and wisdom to answer your call. Thank you, for making me a new creation.

“For From Him, Through Him, and To Him are all things, to Him be the glory forever.”
Amen.