(that means “Happy Birthday” in Spanish)

 I am 28 today. It is the second birthday I’ve had since arriving in Chile. Last year I celebrated my birthday by spending it with a group of Chileans in a city park for an afternoon, but it was because it was a get-together for the people involved in OM Chile’s homeless ministry. This year I celebrated my birthday by spending it in a park with a group of Chileans, but it was because that was the plan. I had a relaxed shared birthday party with two good friends and the three of us invited what ended up to be around 45-50 people to the park. We bought some bread, ham and cheese, and everyone who came brought something to snack on or something to drink (which is the custom here instead of doing gifts, and I am a fan), and it was a wonderful, relaxed time. We ate, we laughed, we played games with a ball and it was a lovely way to pass a Sunday afternoon. I couldn’t be with my family but I had loved ones all around me. I am blessed.

I feel very positive about life and how I’m living it right now, which is a great feeling to have. In evangelism training today I taught about giving testimonies. I gave mine to the group and I realized that, with having really accepted Jesus Christ into my heart as my personal savior at the age of 14, I have now been walking with Him for half of my life. It was a surreal realization to have in the midst of teaching. Half of my life. Growing up in a Christian home He always seemed to be around, but 14 years ago it really became my own personal faith. Before that I was just borrowing the faith of my parents. As a preacher’s kid I just always figured I was set when it came to the whole “heaven” thing. I mean, my dad and God are tight so obviously I must be okay. It wasn’t until one day when the doorbell rang that I began to think differently.

I answered the door to find two Jehovah’s Witnesses standing there. They greeted me and asked me if I knew if I was going to Heaven? I said, “Of course.”

“How do you know?” they asked me.

“Uhhh,” I said as my mind went blank. “Umm, well, see, my dad is the preacher down at the….” Luckily as I floundered for what to say, they realized that they knew my dad and they graciously moved on down the street. It wasn’t until I shut the door that the thought came to me:

“Oh! Jesus! Jesus Christ came and died on the cross for my sin! Jesus! That’s the answer! How did I forget that answer?!”

It was then that I realized I didn’t have my own walk with God; I was just walking behind the footsteps of my parents’ faith, and that was a big eye-opener. That summer I had the wonderful opportunity to go to a Young Life camp for a week. Young Life, an absolutely amazing ministry that is nation-wide as well as international, has camps situated around the US where (mainly) high-school students go for a week and experience the best week of their lives, and where they hear the full story of what Jesus Christ did for each one of them (Young Life also has ministries focused on middle-schoolers, teen moms, and kids and young adults with disabilities). At that camp setting, although I had heard all of the information before, it finally struck me just what it meant that Jesus had done and gone through everything He did specifically for me. I accepted Christ into my heart and told him I would follow Him.

Fast-forward half a lifetime and I’m now in Chile. Our God is a literal God 😀

I didn’t expect to be in Chile. Before January of 2010 I had never even heard of Operation Mobilization, but 8.5 months later I was flying away from the US for 3 years. Our God is a powerful God and a faithful God and He couldn’t have made it clearer that this was His plan for me. I came here to Chile without fear, although things moved so quickly and I was coming for a long stretch of time, because God made it clear without question that this is what He’d spent my life preparing me for.

I am here now, celebrating my second birthday away from my family, away from my home, friends, culture, and yet I am utterly secure that I am where I am supposed to be. The day-to-day of life can sometimes be challenging, the distance away from loved ones is definitely hard, and the question of the future is still up for grabs, but as I wind down the day of my 28th birthday, I am so thankful and blessed that I sit here calm and secure in knowing that my Heavenly Father has a plan for me, a plan  to prosper me and not to harm me, a plan to give me hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11 paraphrased).

I pray that same assuredness for you.

 He has a plan for you.

God bless you.