My last supper at Chili’s

| 2017-02-16 00:00:00 -0500

How a bout of E. coli showed a young missionary the deep love of those living in the country she never knew would be her mission field.

I wasn’t going to Nepal. I had planned for months, dreamed for years, and worked hard for the moment I would become an overseas missionary. I had recently quit my job and moved back in with my parents in order to get ready to move to Nepal. I had been raising support and planning for the last several months to move to Nepal. I was at my parent’s when I got the call that God had closed the doors on my mission to Nepal and that it was no longer safe for me to go. Needless to say, I was devastated. In the next few days, God placed a memory in my heart of my short-term mission trip to the Dominican Republic (DR) — a memory of me lying in bed and telling God, “If you ever decide to call me here, I will go.” A miraculous three weeks later, I was on a flight to the DR.

My heart swelled with joy at the understanding of what God was saying to me in that little hospital room

Even as I left the United States, I didn’t know what God had planned, but I knew He had me there for the next six months. I was going to make the most of it. I began working with a church plant, learning Spanish, counseling in the church medical clinics as a nutritionist, and getting to know the wonderful people of the DR. I wasn’t confident that God was calling me long-term to the DR, and honestly a piece of my heart was still in a place like Nepal, so I kept asking God, “Is this where you would have me?” As God often does, he didn’t answer me in my timing or in the way that I wanted, but his answer came in the most unexpected way.

It was my last week in the DR, and after six months of missions work, I was pretty tired. I had been sick with bronchitis, and I could tell my immune system was just about out of fuel. I was tired, but I thought I could push through my last few days and goodbyes. My best friend, Rebecca, and I went out for a last dinner at Chili’s in the DR. We had a wonderful time reminiscing over the past six months and how God had brought us together to serve in the DR. We said our goodbyes, and I went to bed, only to wake up with that all-too-familiar feeling of being stomach-sick. I had almost made it out of the country without visiting the hospital, but after a few hours, we all decided I was too dehydrated and needed to see a doctor. Turns out I got E. coli from my meal at Chili’s!

As we arrived at the hospital, I was surprised to see that everyone started showing up. My host family, our neighbors, and many families from the church were in and out of my little hospital room during the next 24 hours. As I looked around at all of the now-familiar and loving faces, God spoke to me. This was my family; these were my people. They loved me, and I loved them so much in return. What more could I ask for in a mission? My heart swelled with joy at the understanding of what God was saying to me in that little hospital room. This was my mission field.

So I returned home a few days after my hospital stay, prayed for three months, and decided to start the process of partnering with Reliant. I knew they were a gospel-believing and trustworthy organization, as I had known other missionaries who partner with them. I am so glad I did because with their training and guidance, I am now back in the Dominican Republic, and my heart is content to know that I am in the place that God has prepared for me all along.