Weeks 3 & 4: Dec 19, 2012- Jan 1, 2013

2012 was a momentous year for me. As I look back on the person I was one year ago, I see a different person-- not only circumstantially, but spiritually as well.  My resolution for 2012 was to worry less and trust God more. This resolution was tested from the get-go. At the beginning of the year, as with this year, I was charged with raising up $3500 for the Ghana project in March. Although I had raised that money for past trips, it always seems like an insurmountable sum. With only a few weeks left before the trip I still needed over $2000 in to go on the project. I was resolute and assured myself that if God wanted me on the project, the money would be raised. Sure enough, at the last minute, I had raised every penny needed and I was able to go preach to thousands of Ghanaian peoples. Due to the project, I had missed a crucial week of classes during my final semester of college. Yet despite the warnings of my professors, I did not worry. I trusted God and I graduated in May with a Bachelor's Degree.

After school came summer, and the toughest test of my resolution yet. God was gracious enough to give me an internship in my major right after graduation. After only 3 weeks however I was faced with a decision. I wasn't making any money during this internship, the work was making me miserable, and to top it all off, my boss had asked me to lie. I had been told over and over again that to make it in my chosen field, I needed internship experience. I gave it up to God. He told me I needed to quit. I didn't have a backup plan. I had no other jobs lined up. There were no internships available. I stood firm on my resolution however and I listened to God and spent no more than hour worrying. While the prospect of post-graduation unemployment seemed incredibly intimidating, I felt completely at peace.

After a month of hearing nothing from prospective employers, I was connected with an insurance company that needed a sales assistant part-time. I was wary of this job (it paid only on commission) , but I felt God calling me to it. After about a month of working with this company, I had made no money. I had no food in the cupboards. I had no gas in my car. I was broke. Yet I didn't worry. I trusted God. Somehow, my car never ran out of gas. Somehow I had three meals to eat every day. All told after the entire summer (May-September), I had earned a total of about $250 dollars. There was no logical reason for me to have gotten through that summer, but by the Grace of God I did. 

This brings me to my present situation. As I said in my support letter, I was called to join the ministry of EPI. Even though they couldn't pay me, I knew God wanted me here. I knew he wanted me to trust him completely. Well after a worry-free year of obstacles and barriers, I can say that trusting God during strife is far more satisfying than trusting myself during prosperity. 

Here's to another worry-free year.

God Bless,

Andrew