In All Things

If there's anything I've learned in the past months it's that I can never predict how God will work through any given situation.  Usually the things that God puts me through in my walk with Him don't make much sense to me - at least not until later when I look back on them.  In fact, there's a lot I don't understand about how God makes everything work together.

Here's a little bit of news for everyone that I haven't told yet:

Starting in February 2012 I will be serving in the Peace Corps for 27 months as an Environment and Water Engineer in the Water and Sanitation Program in Honduras.  If you're wondering how that happened, let's back up a little.

Beginning way back in April, when I was still a college kid, I started looking into this thing called the Peace Corps.  At first it was just some crazy idea I had to avoid getting a normal job and to experience another part of the world.  As I went through the lengthy application process I started to think that this crazy idea just might become a reality.  Several interviews and mountains of paper work later, I realized that I had a pretty good chance of being accepted.  I started to wonder what I was getting myself into.  Interestingly enough, it seemed that things were working out perfectly: they had a spot available in a Spanish speaking country (I just barely qualified with my Spanish coursework), it started shortly after my internship with eMi, and they were very eager for environmental engineers with some international experience and a history of volunteering.  Very interesting indeed...

The official letter inviting me to sign my life away for 2 years

Then one day a large packet came in the mail; a letter inside congratulated me for being invited to serve in Honduras.  This was exciting but shocking at the same time.  Of course I had been thinking about this opportunity for quite some time, but right then it hit me: I needed to make a choice to accept or decline, knowing it would significantly impact the next few years of my life (if not all of them).  Making big decisions is not my forte.  Even though I had a lot of doubt come rushing in, I couldn't lose the feeling that God had been setting things in motion.  Unfortunately God does not always make one direction an obvious choice.

One of my reservations about the program was the fact that it is a secular organization, not to mention run by the government.  Working with faith based non-profits has been a huge blessing for me.  The good news is that I know God will work through my efforts regardless of where I work.  But the hardest part is knowing that I will have to leave my family and friends for this 27 month commitment.  They have always been a huge support for me, and I really don't like the idea of being so far away from that.  After talking with different people and a whole lot of prayer, I felt God's presence in it all.  I accepted the invitation, only by faith in God's perfect plan.  He has given me so much peace now, and I have faith that no matter what happens, God will use it all for good.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28