How I Got Here

Have you ever had everything planned out and known how your life was going to go, but then one day realize that God had a bigger plan for you than you had for yourself?  If I could describe what happen to me in one sentence that would be it.  I grew up in a Christian family, went to a Christian school, and pretty much had my life all planned out, but God, I guess, had different plans.  About 5 years ago my parents went to Bulgaria on a mission trip and felt called to go be missionaries there, but thought they would do it when we were in college.  After that trip 2 years later they went again and still felt called.  So two years ago they told us we, my parents and my brothers and sister, were moving to Bulgaria.  Truthfully, I didn’t believe them at the time.  I had the mindset that they were going to back out at the last second and not really go.  After they told us, I kind of just went on with my life until one Wednesday night I went to church and all my friends were talking about going to New Orleans for a week to do mission work.  Of course the first thing that came to my mind was “a week away from my parents and a week with my friends!”  What I didn’t know was that it was going to be the hardest week of my life.  We were there doing hard labor like pulling weeds, painting a house, and laying brick.  There was an 80 year old man doing more work than I was.  So during the week in New Orleans,  Thursday evening was the day of looking back at what we had done so far and the work we had finished.  During worship time, the youth pastor’s wife came up to me and asked if she could see me outside.  I was thinking about the week to think if I had done anything wrong.  As I sat outside waiting for her to come, I was kind of scared for what was about to happen.   She walks outs with a bowl of water and sits it at my feet and says, “Jessie, you have a calling on your life that no another girl your age does, it’s not only the work your parents will be doing, but it’s the work you are going to do.”  She began to wash my feet.  
It is amazing to me that God wanted to use me and I am just "me", but I was willing to listen to what God had in store for me and what He still has in store.  Ever since that day I have let Him lead the way in my life and not live in fear because He has done amazing things in my life.  Since I stepped foot in Bulgaria 2 years ago, He has done such great things like putting amazing people in my life and providing me with a home.  Every day you can tell that God wants us here in different ways.  I wanted to make this blog not just to show what He is doing in my life, but the life changing things He is doing in Bulgaria and the little part I play in His giant plan.