{August 2015}
I had just spent two amazing weeks in Czech Republic. I couldn't have asked for a better team. I think we laughed and cried together more in those two weeks than I had all summer. We ran two English camps for local children, and met and worked alongside wonderful believers from all over the world. I was content with my time there- while I had loved it, I was content to come back and start my freshman year of college.
{February 2016}
I glanced around. I was at work, sitting at my desk outside the Dean's office. It was one of the rare times that everyone was out of the office- the Dean, the Assistant to the Dean, and the Administrative Assistant had all gone to lunch or taken the day off. Surely it wouldn't hurt to put some music on while I worked on this Excel project. I scrolled through Spotify and chose one of my favorites- Bethel's "You Make Me Brave" live album. As I typed, "We Dance" began to play, and a hundred memories of Czech Republic came racing back to my mind. I smiled, remembering how I had had this song on repeat the entire time we were there. Later, I flipped through some pictures of our trip, and reposted a few of them on Facebook. "Missing Czech Republic today!"
{March/April 2016}
"Yeah, my tuition went up too...I'm thinking Disney will have to wait a year or two," said my friend. Naturally, I was a little bummed that our girl's trip to Florida in December was off, but it wasn't too big of a deal. We're all college students with tight budgets, so it was completely understandable. I left the "Florida" savings bucket in my checking account alone though, thinking it would be nice to have some money put aside next time we wanted to take a trip.
{May 2016}
I clicked on the tab that had been open in my browser and in my mind for the past few weeks. God, do you want me to do this? I scrolled down. It was just such a big commitment. As much as I would love to go on a mission trip to Romania, I wasn't sure I could put together a trip from scratch. This organization was doing great things in the country, but they asked so much of a team leader. I clicked back to the previous tab and finished my homework, the idea still rolling around in my mind.
{June 2016}
Pulling back my crazy bedhead into a ponytail, I stumbled down the stairs, eyes still adjusting to the light. Grabbing a bowl of cereal and enjoying the rare quiet of the house, I picked up my cell phone. I saw my mother's Facebook chat bubble open. That's odd, I thought, setting down my breakfast. I knew that my family, my mom included, had all gone to the early service at church while I had planned on attending the later one. Mom never texts during church. I opened the message.
"God told me you should stay the course with ___" It read, naming a specific situation I was struggling with. I didn't know how to respond to such a statement over screens, so I decided to wait until after church to ask her about it.
A little while later, she returned home from church, and I asked her about the message. "I was sitting in church today and praying, and I just really felt like God wanted me to tell you to stick with it, even though it's hard. God's doing something really big in your life, and so of course you'll face spiritual opposition."
I was surprised by her words. While I felt like I was in a good place with my relationship with God, I had no idea what this "big thing" was.
{June 2016- approx. 2 weeks later}
It was about 11:00 at night. I pulled opened my favorite Bible study app, She Reads Truth. I flipped through some old reading plans. I found one that I had done while in Czech Republic. I opened it up. I am a very "sensory" person when it comes to memories- music, smells, foods, etc that I enjoyed during a certian period of my life will always bring back memories. So naturally, I figured this would bring back memories of Czech Republic. It was a great devotional though, so I began to reread it. After reading the day's section, I had an overwhelming desire to return to CZ. It wasn't a feeling of "Oh, it'd be nice to go back some day!" It was more like "I HAVE to get back there!"
{The next morning}
My dad and I were in the kitchen chatting as he washed the dishes. Company was coming, and a brisket had just come out of the smoker. While we are Texas transplants, we've readily accepted the local cuisine and so of course a celebration or company of any sort calls for smoked meat (God bless Texas.)
I believe the topic of conversation was barbecue sauce. There was a slight pause, and my dad looked up at me. "Since you're not going to Florida in December, you should go on a mission trip."
I stared at him, gaping. "Uh, um, yeah, I was actually thinking about it." I said slowly. "That was random," I added.
"I know." He went back to the dishes.
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