I have been in a strange place for the past two years. It may not be strange to you, but I have been in a season of “no” followed by “wait”. You see, one of my greatest passions is traveling and more importantly, missions. Going into a culture that is not my own with a language that I may or may not be able to speak. To enter into a world of poverty, desolation, and hopelessness- that is where I find myself complete. To see the smile on a child who I gave a toy, see the joy of little girls playing with my blonde hair, the tears rolling down the face of someone given food…there is no greater joy. Even with the toil, hardship, frustration, or lack of response, I’d still prefer to be there than here.

But for two years, God has had an interesting journey I have been following- different than what I had expected. August of 2009 marked the last missions trip and international journey I had been on, though since I had tried to go on others. During these two years, trip after trip I tried to plan, yet my God kept telling me “no” then “wait”. Talk about testing patience and have your heart ache because that which you love most, you cannot do.

I could not understand how quickly though I felt an immediate “yes” response to this trip to Costa Rica. A dear friend of mine told me how she was planning on going back to Costa Rica. Immediately I said I wanted to go because in my heart I finally felt release. God was allowing for me to return home… Okay you might be saying that home for me is obviously in New Jersey. But home is the place that I consider most at peace in my heart and in the place I know God has me. To me, home, is my missions. My journeys. It takes me all over the world, but it is where God holds my heart. So arriving in Costa Rica was such peace, deep within my heart, because it was exactly where God wanted me. My waiting had finally come to an end [at least for now].