All the juicy details of how God called me to do a DTS and why I'm up and leaving for Mexico
Before you dive in to this crazy story, get caught up on some of the basic stuff so you don't get lost! :)
Here are five words I have often heard throughout my young adult life:
'You should do a DTS!'
I always shook my head and/or shrugged my shoulders. 'Maybe someday!' I'd cheerfully reply, and then move on.
Internally I dismissed it completely. 'That's nice, and good for you, but I'm good. No thanks.'
Cut scene to me at not-quite-21-years-of-age, mildly miserable while trying to survive the busy season as a hairdresser (which it turns out is harder than I idealized it to be) but nonetheless persevering, slowly beginning to see progress and hoping that I would be able to build a clientele fast enough that I wouldn't still be making minimum wage at 30. Things were not perfect but I had yet to completely despair.
Then I got sick (just a measly cold! No plague!) and was treated with some passive aggressive contempt for not already having the vaccine that my managers so desperately wanted me to have...
Hmphf.
Having been thus banned from the workplace for a while, I spent some time with a dear YWAMer Staff friend of mine. We were talking about our mutual love for Mexico and how much we miss it and those five words came out of her mouth for probably the fifteenth time...
But this time I didn't shrug it off or move on. Hmm. That actually sounds... Really interesting? I had never considered the possibility of doing a DTS in Mexico at a bilingual base where I could soak up not only the Spanish I so desperately want to improve in, but the Mexican culture and people I have come to love and appreciate so deeply.
Years ago, during one random church service I heard the word 'Mexico' very clearly in my mind. I know it was the Holy Spirit, so I waited for the rest of it. Nothing more came. Over the next months I heard it again and again but always simply just the word, loud and clear, and then... radio silence. Fine then, I thought. I'm not gonna get much out of just the word 'Mexico'.
Well, since then God has not only taken me back to Mexico several times, but He has placed a love and a spark, if you will, for the language, the culture, the people, the food, the landscape, etc of Mexico. It has become a place that is beautiful and important and dear to me.
And here I was, actually sort of (kind of, a little bit, maybe) considering a DTS there.
An industrious and determined planner to my core, I began thinking, considering, researching, looking, talking, wondering, and on and on. What began with 'Hmm, maybe I'll take a look at their website' turned into 'Well, *if* I did go, what would that look like?'. I prayed and listened and chatted with Mazatlan staff. I cried and I doubted. I was beginning to be thrilled at the idea even as it seemed impossible and not a little crazy. I stared blankly at the numbers in my bank account and wished my past self had been more scrooge-like. It felt like months of struggling to make a decision.
It was barely three weeks between that conversation with my friend and my decision to apply.
God spoke to me and confirmed His direction to me many times, but my favorite looking back was during worship practice one night. As my sister worked out the intro for the next song my thoughts drifted back to the possibility of a DTS and wondered again what God's will was for me... and then I heard:
'I am sending you.'
Simple. Straightforward. And so powerful.
He is sending me.
The peace I felt after making the decision and beginning the application process is unlike anything I've ever experienced before. I didn't feel overwhelmed in that moment. It didn't feel strange or crazy. It felt exactly right. This is where God is calling me, so this is where I'm gonna go. Duh.
Yeah, telling my boss that I was leaving wasn't fun. Turning down other cool career opportunities is disappointing. I can't count how many times I've cried at the thought of leaving my family. I still feel Gods peace but I'm definitely overwhelmed by it all as it gets closer. Who know leaving the country for half a year could be so complicated *phew*. I'm gonna miss weddings, milestones, family reunions, etc, etc, etc.
And I haven't even gotten into the thick of it yet.
But I am so deeply thankful. So grateful that God would first call me His own, and then call me to know Him and make Him known in bigger, deeper ways. I'm so thankful for the spark He's put in my heart and is now fanning into flames for Mexico and for missions. I'm so excited to get to do this. Really, I am.
If you've made it this far you get major brownie points from me, you're a trooper. I'm almost done.
Thank you for being here. Thank you for caring about this adventure and wanting to be a part of the journey. If I was telling you all this in person I'd give you a bear hug.
This is only the beginning of the beginning. There is so much that God is going to do and
I CAN'T WAIT.
Let's gooooo!!!
Here's a link to a video that you might enjoy (it'll give you a taste of where I'm headed!) and to the YWAM Mazatlan website where you can read and watch more about their mission and outreach!
Big love and big hugs,
Emma
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