It was just last year that I realized those verses were also for me – God has plans for me. On the trip to Belize this year, I learned that even though I had plans for our week, God had even bigger and better plans. I believe the key to those plans unfolding were the prayers of God’s people. For over a year, our congregation had been encouraged to pray for this trip. Each team member had asked people to specifically pray for them during the trip. In fact, our church held a prayer meeting for our team at 1:00 a.m. before we left for the airport on the day we traveled to Belize.
Our team had carefully planned for each assignment we had been given including VBS and two Youth Outreach nights. A week before we were to leave, we were asked to change one of the youth nights to a leadership training. I was ready to tell Thirst Missions that everything had already been planned, purchased, and packed, but another team member quickly said, “I can plan that.” And with the help of our minister and much prayer, a wonderful leadership night was planned. That night, some of the most deep relationships were built, and God was truly glorified.
Our first morning in Belize was to be spent working outside to help build a concrete wall around the church. Plans quickly changed when it poured! The back-up plan was to go to the high school where the pastor at our host church also worked. One of our team members was able to modify the original youth night lesson and plan a message to encourage the youth. But it had rained so much that the classrooms were flooded and school was cancelled for the day. Back-up plan #3 was to visit a Christian radio station. We didn’t know until we arrived there that some of us would be asked to speak on the air. God was gracious and didn’t allow us to have time to be nervous. He also allowed that restructured lesson to be used on the air, and reach even more people for Christ! God took what we had prepared and magnified it for His glory! At the end of the first evening, we texted our home church and put posts on Facebook asking our friends to pray for the rain to cease so that the wall could be built. The next day, there were only a few showers and work on the wall began. It did not rain for the next two days either. There was a 90% chance of rain each of these days! I firmly believe that God stopped the rain for 3 days so that the wall could be built. I have never before witnessed the awesome power of God in such a direct way!
There are several more examples of how God used the things we had prepared in even bigger ways than we imagined throughout the week. As one of our team members said, “God bent us so we would grow and rely on Him, but He never broke us.” If everything would have gone just as we planned, it would have been so easy to be prideful and say, “Look what we accomplished on our trip!” But instead, we stand in awe of the power of God and say, “Look what God accomplished on our trip!” He receives all the glory! I was just thrilled to be there and witness the work of our amazing Lord!
Ephesians 3: 20-21
Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.
Linda Baker
First Christian Church of Neoga
