Going to Winnipeg.....errrr New York

Hello hello everyone! God is continuing to do big things in me down here, and each day is a new adventure! One of the current themes seems to be the restoration of dreams, particularly in regards to the direction my life is to take. So this is a bit of what that looks like.

Back when I did my Discipleship Training School with YWAM 5 years ago, the Lord gave me a vision of me as the head of a Multi-National Corporation in a respected industry, where I was working with the Holy Spirit to set the business direction, resulting in an extremely successful organization. The idea being that the Lord would use me to align businesses with His plans and purposes. For many years I had shelved this idea, and didn't think much of it, because I had absolutely no idea how to go about pursuing this. Part of my reason for coming here was to see if I could get direction as to whether or not this is something I should pursue, and if so, how to go about it.

Since my arrival here, I have received several words from leaders and students affirming my leadership abilities and generally pointing to this direction. One Friday evening, I got together with a few friends and we were talking about what direction we thought our lives would take when we were finished at BSSM. When it was my turn, I shared this vision, the first time I had shared it in detail in years (possibly since I initally received it on DTS). My friends affirmed that they could definitely see me pursuing this, but I still wasn't convinced. That Sunday, the message at church was about God restoring dreams and wanting to give us dreams. The first thing that popped into my mind was by business vision and it felt like the Lord was saying to me that this would be fulfilled and even more!

I could see the Lord was starting to lead me in this direction, as the activation that I have for school is "Culture of Celebration in Business." To explain, our activation is the part of our schooling where we get to start taking what we have learned and actually putting it in to practice in the community. My activation is focused on meeting up with business owners in the Redding area and bring joy and an atmosphere of celebration to their business. We also pray with them, give prophetic words, and offer business ideas as we feel the Lord's leading to do so. My activation group consists of 10 other first year students, most of whom have prior business experience and have a heart for seeing God at work in the business community.

God really showed me He was making my dream a reality when it came time to choose my mission trip for the year. I was super excited about all of the potential exotic locations He could send me! I didn't have a particular country in mind, but I was thinking I'd like to go to either Asia or South America as I had yet to visit those continents. As I read through list of options the description for a certain trip really captured my attention. It said:

 What is God's heart for the economy? What happens when Heaven invades business? This mission will take you deep into the heart of America's finance and business center where you will demonstrate partnering with God in the marketplace. We will bring Heaven into board rooms and meetings with executives, make declarations and leak Presence into the New York Stock Exchange and other significant landmarks, pray and prophesy over influential business people and add momentum to putting God back into "In God we trust."

My initial reaction was "God, seriously, you want me to go to New York? That's not very "missiony." Can't I do this and go somewhere exotic too? It says they are giving students in a certain class preference, and I haven't taken it, is it really worth applying? I guess if this is really where you want me to go, my lacking this "preference" will not be an obstacle. But really? New York?" I felt like the Fountain Tire guy who just found out he was going to Winnipeg instead of Hawaii (Going to Winnipeg commercial) or like Jonah who was being told he was off to Nineveh. However, as I read the other trips and prayed about where I should go, I knew I needed to put this as my number one choice (we had to choose 5 and would be informed if we received any of our top 5 picks, if we didn't we'd have to choose 3 more).

Once I made my selection, I felt a  confidence that I would be going to New York. I just knew that this is where the Lord wanted me for my outreach. Several of my friends also told me that as they read through the list of trips, they thought of me when they read about New York. About 1 week after I submitted my application, I went to pre-service prayer at church, and the pastor leading it came up to me. He said he recognized me from my picture and introduced himself as the leader of the New York mission trip. It took a minute for the implication of his statement to sink in, and I actually went back to him to ask if that meant I was on the New York missions trip. He confirmed that I was, and as we talked he recalled details of my application and mentioned that mine stood out as someone to be included even though I was not in that "preferred" class. I was ecstatic! The Lord had definitely made a way for me to go to New York! And to top it off, I was able to receive the news in person 5 days before the "official" missions confirmation letters were sent out. I no longer felt like I was being "sent to Winnipeg," instead I was not eagerly anticipating what God was going to open up for me when I got there! God is showing me that He knows my dreams, and now that I have placed it in His hands, He is bringing it about! I'm not sure what this looks like going forward, but I definitely am excited to see what this next step in that direction brings!

Because I was unsure as to what would be happening with the missions trip, I did not particularly budget for it, trusting that the Lord would supply and provide for wherever He wanted to send me outside of Bethel. So as my friends and those who have taken an interest in what God is doing in and through me here at school, this is an opportunity for you to support me in a more tangible way. I am already incredibly appreciate of all the prayer support I know I am receiving, and I will continue to this more and more and the Lord continues His work in me. Also, if the Lord lays it on your heart to support me financially for my mission trip, it would be greatly appreciated! I will be in New York from April 8-15, 2013. The best way to get that to me is to send it to my parents. Please comment and I will send you their address. Unfortunately, only US donation receipts are issued for contributions to missions trips only (not for school expenses) and I'm not familiar with the rules for their deductibility on Canadian tax returns. If you still would like to contribute online, here are the links:  

online school donations: https://www.ibssm.org/a/donate/secure-form?student_id=214845&target=tuition

(non-receipted, can be used for missions or expenses)

online mission donations:  missiontrips.ibethel.org

(US tax receipt, only used for missions, excess can only be transferred to another student's mission)

Please know I'm just making this information available for if you would like to support me. There is no expectation or obligation - I'm just wanting to keep you up to date with what is going on :)

To wrap up this entry, I just want to say how very excited I am with what God is doing in me and where He is leading. I have no idea where this will all lead, but it is very encouraging to know that the Lord has given me dreams and is now starting to show me how He is going to fulfill them! This adventure of life with Him is the best ride in the world!