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Not my will, but Yours be done

Posted on Tuesday, August 24, 2021

If you had asked me earlier this year if I were planning to stay in Mexico past my two-year commitment, I would have told you, "No, I don't think so. I'm returning to the U.S. at the end of the summer to apply for grad school." Now, if you don't know me very well, I am a planner. And I don't mean just planning for the next few weeks or even months, but YEARS. Going to graduate school had always been my plan for years, long before I set foot in Mexico, so this was my automatic response whenever someone asked me about my plans after serving in Mexico. Well, it turns out that God has plans of His own, as He always does!

Because of the pandemic over the past 1.5 years, my ministry has looked quite different from my initial expectations. Rather than living in Mexico with a host family and being immersed in the culture and language the entire two years, I ended up spending ten months working remotely in the U.S. Not exactly what I had in mind! Once I finally returned to Mexico in January, began living with a Mexican host family again, and started teaching in person, I was reminded of some of the best parts about ministry in Mexico! All the precious moments of sobremesa (hanging out at the dining table after meals) with my host family. All the side conversations I've had with my students and fellow teachers that have allowed me insight into their personalities. Things that I wasn't able to experience during hours and hours of Zoom calls. Curiously, although I had been teaching my students online for the majority of the school year, I didn't really get to know them until we began in-person classes in March. As the end of the school year slowly approached, I found myself grieving over the fact that we had so little time left together. The school year would end in June, and a few months after that, I would be on a one-way flight back to the U.S. I couldn't bear the thought of leaving so soon, and I realized how attached I have become to my community in Mexico.

It was this realization that prompted me to consider staying a bit longer in Mexico. I had never seriously considered it as an option before, but I became more open to the idea. I prayed about this decision for several months, earnestly seeking God's plan for my life and surrendering my own agenda to Him. "Not my will, but Yours be done" became a regular prayer. After several conversations with my team leaders and countless prayers, I sensed that God was inviting me to stay in Mexico and continue teaching at IME for one more semester. Finally, I decided to stay in Mexico through the end of January 2022! I am beyond grateful to God that He has allowed me this opportunity and extended time in Mexico. Now, I wait expectantly of what God will do in and through me in these coming months.

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