Mission in Zambia: Staying until September

I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free. (Psalm 119:32)

You know the feeling when you find the words or a quote that totally encapsulates your every emotion at a certain point in time? The sun greeted me through my east-facing windows with these words this morning, and I felt complete. I have never before in my life been so sure that I am exactly where Biggie has intended me to be, then I have been these last months on The Scholar Ship and being in Zambia. And any moment - any second - of doubt that flitters across my mind, is immediately relieved with Biggie’s reassurances. Truly I am running to keep up with doors He is opening for me here, and my heart relishes its newfound freedom.

Earlier this month, I prayed and fasted about staying in Zambia or returning to the US, I sought Him with all my heart and soul for I truly wanted the decision to be His and not my own. Before I continue, allow me to ask you a question:

If you were given a choice between two paths, one that was simple, fun-filled, carefree, and easy – basically the dream life that many of us seem to hold on a pedestal, and the other that was assured to include suffering, distress, difficulties, sleeplessness, and unfathomable challenges – basically the epitome of walking through fire, which would you choose? What if only one of these paths promised fulfillment, and it happened to the latter path mentioned - would you choose it?

Soon after Biggie concretely revealed to me His will for me to stay, He promised me, guaranteed me even, that not only did want me to stay, but that He was calling me to stay in order to endure a fiery trial (1 Peter 4:12) here at the Coptic Mission in Lusaka, Zambia. But He was also promising and guaranteeing exceeding joy, not to mention a path that was beyond anything that I had ever asked for or even thought about.

What could be such a path? Ah, yes, the responsibility of integrating the mission spirit – a true atmosphere of love – into the Coptic Hospital and all that we do here at the Coptic Mission. To facilitate this responsibility, I accepted a part-time position as the Public Relations Manager and Program Coordinator for the Coptic Hospital. As I have long been searching for new dimensions of love, this perhaps is an appropriate next step for me. All I know for sure is that I have been called and the path has begun, and through Him, I am rising to the journey.