Trust and Obey
But Samuel replied: "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice,and to heed is better than the fat of rams
I recently returned from a mission trip to Guatemala. There were many aspects of this trip that I learned from and was bless by. But, I think there was a particular reason that God wanted me to be on this trip. My experience was much different than many of the others who were on the trip with me. This story is a testimony of what God accomplished in me as a result of this mission trip.
It began for me in January at an informational meeting for parents of those going on the trip. I wasn't even required to be there because my older daughter, while planning to go on the trip, was out of the youth group and in college and my younger daughter was not even old enough to go even though she cried to be able to go. I was there, I guess, because God convicted me of the need to be there. It was during this meeting that God called me to go to Guatemala. It was way past the time to sign up and I told our Youth Minister that if it was not possible for me to go that was ok. It wasn't in the going that God was requiring of me, at least not at this point, it was in the willingness to go. This also meant that my youngest could go too. This was a huge step for me because prior to this I was too afraid to leave the country, no matter where we were to go. So, it was only by the conviction of the Holy Spirit that I was even willing to go. It had to be of God or I would never have even asked to go!
So preparations were all made, and we were off to Guatemala. Our destination was an orphanage in HueHuetenango. This is a city about a 7 hours drive from Guatemala City. We arrived in the late evening and made our way to the orphanage (Fundacion Salvacion) to get acquainted with the children. We only had a couple of hours to spend with them because we needed to eat and prepare for VBS for the next day. We were told that we would be going to the fair in the morning and doing VBS in the afternoon the next day. So, our first full day would be on Tuesday.
We got up Tuesday morning. Took the bus ride to the orphanage, picked up the children and off to the fair we went. Some of the workers went with us as did three girls who were there for the summer as interns from Pepperdine. Since I work with university students at my church, I was interested in talking to these three girls. In the conversation I asked where they were from. One student in particular caught my attention. She was from Utah, and having grown up in Idaho, wanted to know more about her. I asked where in Utah she was from and somehow in the conversation I asked her about her faith. She told me that she had grown up Mormon, but had recently decided to become a Christian. Now that intrigued me and I began to ask her questions about how and when she had decided to become a Christian! I wanted to know if she knew the difference and if her experience of salvation was real. I was and am convinced that she truly is a Christian and that she has made Jesus her savior.
Now, this may not seem to be a big deal to you, but let me explain some things. Here I am in Guatemala (outside the U.S.-- way outside my comfort zone), with the Youth Ministry of our church (I teach University students), having grown up in Idaho with Mormons, talking to a University student who grew up in Utah (the home of Mormonism) as a Mormon recently becoming a Christian. I am not saying that I am the only one in our group who could have talked to her, but maybe the only one interested enough to talk to her. I don't know for sure, but think she decided to become a Christian about the same time God called/convicted me to go on this trip. I had taken a book to read that God had impressed me to take, and while there told me to give it to this student. When I gave it to her she took the book and said thank you. She then went to her room and read the back cover and came back and thanked me again saying it was the perfect book for her to read right now. You see, she had just finished reading the gospels and this was the book by Charles Swindoll,
Jesus. Coincidence? Not likely!
When this journey began I had no idea why God wanted me to go to Guatemala. I couldn't speak the language, I was afraid to leave the country, I was with High School students--nothing fit for me. What was my purpose for going? I had no idea! For me it was an act of obedience. God called and I went (I obeyed). But God's will is perfect. His ways are beyond my understanding. And, His thinking is above my ability to comprehend. Only as I walk in faith, and obey His call will I ever understand His purpose. So, as the hymn says, "Trust and obey, for there's no other way, to be happy in Jesus. But to trust and obey!"
The story's not quite over. I have kept in touch with my new friend. She has moved back home to finish her degree. She will be telling her family, who by the way are generational Mormons, that she has decided to become a Christian. I have given her contact information for some University ministers, a Pastor and a church, who she says she will contact. I will stay in touch with her and encourage her as well. Please pray for her that God would lead her to Christian friends who can help her grow spiritually and give her support in her new found faith.
"As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:9
Judy K. Williams
