Awestruck by Grace and Glory

I can recall walking down the hallway toward my first plane from Midland to Houston, and the only thought in my head was, "Oh my goodness! I am really about to do this. God, You are CRAZY for calling me to go to the nations like this! Who in their right mind would do such a thing?" And then, in less than a split second, the LORD responded, "I have gone before You. I will lead and guide You. Trust Me. I love you." Simple words, maybe, but the magnitude of their worth brought comfort, as if the Father Himself was holding me...which, He was and is!! So, there I am, walking to the back of the plane, the VERY back, and I am to sit by this man. He looked pretty nice, so knowing I only had a little over an hour on this plane ride, I decided to start up the conversation early. I asked him why He was going to Houston. He said he was actually headed to Pennsylvania, and it was going to be a LONG flight. Then, he asked me where I was going, and I said, "India". Then he responded, "Wow. Pennsylvania ain't got nothin on India." From there we launched into a heartfelt conversation where I was able to learn about his life and share as well about mine and how the LORD was allowing me to be a part of bringing His kingdom to India. It is just so wonderful how God can use exciting new things in your life to spark a conversation about Him. I even discovered that he was a computer geek and liked my transformers pillow! When I reached Houston, I had no trouble getting the rest of my boarding passes, and I sat there being able to journal, and receive encouragement beyond belief by my best friend's blog! I cannot even begin to explain how much it was needed and how much it was appreciated! Then, I headed to Germany. This time, the person next to me did not speak English, so I was unable to communicate, but I still was able to pray for him. He seemed to hate flying, so I said a little prayer for no turbulance, and God answered (that was somwewhat of a selfish prayer too, b/c I HATE TURBULANCE!!). Next flight, TO INDIA! When I headed to my seat, the man sitting next to it asked if I would switch with his wife, so he could be next to her, which was no problem for me, and ABSOLUTELY no coincidence either. I ended up sitting by a woman named Kativa. I noticed from the beginning that she was reading an English book, so I knew I would be able to speak to her some. It was going to be an 8 hour flight, and I needed to try and stay awake as much as I could, so I wrote a lot and read one of my FAVORITE books right now, that I would DEFINITELY recommend to anyone called "Radical" by David Platt. At one point, I asked the LORD to give me words to speak to her, but He just told me to sleep some. So, I did. Then, I woke up and dinner had already been passed out, so she asked the flight attendant to bring me mine. When they tried to get my tray open, it was stuck, so they felt really bad. They decided to offer me a bottle of wine or champagne for the inconvenience, and I told her thank you, but I did not drink. She wouldn't take no for an answer and ended up bringing me a bottle of champagne to give to a friend. My first thought was, "Oh no! I am going to be caught in the Indian customs with champagne and a Bible. I will surely be put in jail now!", but still laughing it off! :) Well, when there was only about an hour and a half left in the flight, I began talking to Kativa. She told me about how she worked for a non-profit that deals with children's rights. I asked her why she did what she did, and her response was, "Because I like it". She was a genuinely nice woman, but lacked the Spirit of God. I told her about my travels, and in the end we had started a friendship. She ended up giving me her business card and cell phone number in case I needed anything while I was in Bangalore, and she told me to come visit her office to see what she does. Her office is 2 hours away from Bangalore, but I am in the process of working out a way to get there for a day. I don't think God is done using me in her life! So, I get off the plane, and it is so obvious to me that God has gone before me, He will provide for me, and I know to trust Him because He loves me! I made it to the hospital okay with my crazy driver, Mark who asked a million and a half questions, obviously trying to practice his English. Then, I was able to shower and get into bed by 3 AM, only to wake up this morning at 6 AM!

So here I am now, in complete awe of our great God, as I sit here in Bangalore India on one of the four computers in their library. This facility is one of the "best", but still NO WHERE NEAR any "dump" hospital in Texas. But on the bright side, people are being helped and they are grateful for what they have. I am somewhat in "observation mode" right now, but Sister Flora is even talking about having me possibly teach a nursing student class while I am here! Haha! That would be fun! I am keeping my heart open to hear from the LORD, and keeping my hands engaged in the work He has set before me! I cannot wait to see what the LORD has in store for the rest of my trip! What a faithful God we serve.