Simple Obedience Changes History

 

This story is one in progress. It is still in its beginning but it is one worth telling. 

 Disaster Relief

 It was something that was spoken over our team as we were beginning to get ready to leave for this trip. We were told by Bob Mudd (the president of Adventures in Missions) that he had heard disaster relief as he prayed over our team. I didn’t really think too much about it at the time. I had so many other things to occupy my mind at that point in time. It wasn’t until about 5 weeks later when I had a conversation that would change the course of our team’s time in Florida that I started to think more about those words. 

 We were living with our friend, Sara, in Ft. Benning, Georgia. We had been doing most of our ministry out in Columbus but one night we got to share about our trip with a small group of Sara’s friends. After worship and sharing, we just hung out and fellowshipped. As I was speaking with one gentleman named Walt, he began to share that when we were traveling from Orlando to Pensacola, we would be driving right by where he had been doing disaster relief the week before. 

 This man had no clue what had been spoken over us. He also had no clue that we just so happened to have a window of 10 days that we had no ministry planned. He had no clue the part he would end up playing in this journey we are on, but it was through this conversation that our route changed.

 As we spoke I asked him all the questions: Who did you work with? Where did you stay? How can I get in contact with them? 

 As a team we prayed into it and decided it was worth it to look into the details and see what we could do. I started contacting the organization that Walt had recommended but soon found out that this would not prove to be an easy task. You see, the problem was that we could not find housing. With the hurricane destroying the area, housing for displaced people was the number one need. So finding a place to house 9 volunteers proved to be much more difficult than we anticipated.

 My teammate, Alex, and I spent day after day calling around. We called churches, retreat centers, organizations, personal references, and even the fire department trying to find housing. We were willing to sleep in a tent, but with so many already displaced people, tenting would cause more problems for the city and we were not allowed to do that.

 At one point, I had a conversation with a teammate about possibly throwing in the towel. Were we just chasing after this so hard because it was spoken over us? Or was it because we were truly called to go? I knew that even if I had never heard it spoken, I would still feel just as strongly about figuring out a way to make it work. I felt like I was still being called to walk in obedience of trying to figure it out. Days went by and still no luck in finding a place to stay and we were running out of time to make this work.

 Yesterday while at a teammate, Amber’s, aunt’s house, I was calling more contacts and I finally found someone who said they could fit us in. I was so excited! Then she told me the price of what it would cost for us to stay and I knew we were back to square one. She said that she would hold the unit for me until tomorrow just in case. Our budget just didn’t allow for the cost of housing there, but it did give us an idea that we had yet to think of. AirBNB! As we skimmed through the site and options we quickly realized that nothing we found would fit in our budget. It was time to face the facts that we might have to call it quits. Amber’s aunt offered for us to be able to stay with her for the time we had been planning on being in Panama City if we couldn’t find housing. We scheduled a team meeting for this morning to make a decision on what we should do.

 This morning, we started with worship and then explained to the team the options we had. Either we could go to Panama City with no place to stay and hope that the Lord provides something for us, or we could go to Cocoa Beach and stay with Amber’s aunt and do ministry there. We spent time in prayer asking the Lord for clarity and direction. Then we shared what we felt the Lord speaking to us. Then after hearing from each other we prayed again before discussing our thoughts. 

 We discussed pros and cons and ultimately had to go around and ask each person what they wanted to do. I said that I was willing to fail big for the kingdom. Meaning I was willing to risk going to Panama City and not finding housing or ending up sleeping in the van if it meant I was following what I felt the Lord calling me to do. I was amazed to see my thoughts echoed in some of the voices of my teammates. Ultimately the decision was made to trust that the Lord had called us there, and that he would provide for us. We were fully prepared to arrive in Panama City with no place to stay and just see what happened.

“There’s a yes in our hearts and carries through eternity. Simple obedience changes history!” -Take Courage by Lindy Conant

I left the meeting to go spend time with the Lord and receive a phone call from the woman holding the housing from the day before. Apparently someone else had called and wanted the unit so if I wasn’t able to claim it she would need to give it to them. I let her know that we would be unable to stay there. She understood and quickly ended the call.

Soon after making the decision to go where we felt the Lord calling us to go regardless of what that might entail, I receive a text saying we had found housing.  Little did I know that while I was spending time with the Lord, one of our logistics leaders from the office started making calls along with our financial coordinator. Funny enough the place they found us housing was the same place I had found the day before. Apparently, my teammates were on hold while I was called to see if I wanted the unit. We didn’t know until later that we were speaking with the same person. The unit was still out of our budget but someone had decided to donate towards us being able to stay there since we felt so strongly about the Lord calling us to Panama City. 

 In Matthew 10:11 it says :  “Whenever you enter a city or village, search for a worthy person and stay in his home until you leave town.”  

 This was the first place we had found that had welcomed us, and a second time they had welcomed us in. We had received so many no’s at this point that it felt like this is where we were meant to stay. 

 So on March 1st we head for Panama City. We will be partnering with Samaritan’s Purse and helping out with the disaster relief effort that is still ongoing from hurricane micheal back in October. Please be in prayer for my team as we go. Some of us will be doing manual labor alongside Samaritan’s Purse, while others will be praying and asking the Lord for direction during this time. I hope to be able to update you guys on what happens with the rest of this story soon!

Before I end this, I wanted to remind you all that I am still fundraising for this trip. I am currently around 40% funded, which is incredible! I ask that you prayerfully consider helping support me either financially or through prayer as I continue to travel the states this year. If you want to support me financially just click the donate button at the top of this page! Thank you guys for everything and I can’t wait to tell you guys what happens with all this! Until next time…