I am from an island. For the past five years I have lived at most five steps from the beach. Then I moved to college and came to Corban, which is about 2.5 hours from the coast. This past weekend, I went home to the water.
I went to the Breakaway Retreat sponsored by True North Corps and spent two nights in Newport. I saw incredible, beautiful sights; I made new friends I would never have bonded with outside of this weekend; I saw God in new ways, and I got to refresh myself with a sense of homecoming standing on the sand with the waves crashing against my legs.
The two missionary couples who came and spoke at Breakaway were Orin and Rosa Kidd, and Willy and Angela Brandle. Angela was the missionary who stayed in my room during World Outreach Week (WOW), so it was nice getting to see her again and catch up on what God’s doing in her life.
All four spoke about the faithful provision of the Lord they have witnessed in their lives and ministries. At one point, Willy was speaking about his call to Angola and the opposition he faced not knowing how he would succeed in ministry or even get a work visa to stay.
“It takes courage to leave. You know where you’re leaving, but you’re going into the unknown,” he said.
Like every one else, I am struggling with thinking about the future and possible career moves I can make; the countries I will visit or live in; whether my major is the one for me; relationships, to be or not to be. But at that beach, with my feet in the sand as I stared off into the horizon watching the sun set and the sky turn to a gorgeous shade of pink, it did not matter.
This weekend God reminded me I don’t have it all figured out. I will never have it all figured out. Moreover, I have all I need to carry on in my life. I have the Lord. Listening to the testimonies of the missionaries I was reminded the road ahead, following the Lord, is a hard one full of obstacles and potholes. However, like Willy so often said, “I want to be a fool, as long as I am the Lord’s fool.”
Ellen Kersey says
Beautifully said, Angie.