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Jaye Thompson a New Outlook to Life
For most of my life I have felt the need to serve God. I was really blessed when I met Nancy, a person who had the same vision! For years we talked about going on a mission...but where? Our plans to go to China, to Mexico, to Africa all panned out. It wasn't until we saw an ad in our church bulletin promoting a mission trip to Romania, that we knew where we should go. Go Therefore Ministries seemed to be approachable and "user friendly". I'll have to admit, I was not very confident! Would I be capable of serving the Lord? A phrase I had heard haunted me: "If not me, who? If not now, when?". An excerpt of Marianne Williamson's book boosted my confidence, "You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't save the world....We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us. It's in everyone, and as we let our own light shine, we consciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." With those thoughts in my mind, we made the trip. The Go Therefore people were terrific! We were a team of like-minded people, ready to love the children, to provide necessary supplies for the children, to share the love of Christ, to present a good image of America, and to just plain have fun! We accomplished all of that! I feel I have made a group of life long friends!
The Romanian children and people we worked with were incredible! At first reluctant, the children eventually opened up to us. They shared their stories with us, inspiring us with their tenacity and courage. The young adults were amazing! The group we worked with were planning careers in pharmacy, medicine, and geology. One leader's goal is to read all of Jane Austen's novels in English! (I'm sending them to her!) Most of them were the only Christians in their families! I feel that Romania's greatest hope is its youth. Their light will shine! I consider the work and love I shared with the young people one of my greatest accomplishments. My trip has given me a new outlook to life. I was called to Romania last year to serve the Lord. Since my return, I have taken on another mission; I choose to live my life so that others might experience Christ through me. "I'm not playing small!"
One of the young girls, Izaura, gave me a necklace she made. It is heart shaped with the words :"Jesus loves me" painted on it. I have that hanging in my sacred space in my home. It is a constant, gentle reminder of the missions I have chosen to serve in my life.