The Beginning.

Let me tell you a story. 

Once upon a time, I spent a hot, rainy summer in Pigeon Forge. During this particular summer I was working at Splash Country and participating in a program called Discipleship Focus, growing closer to the Father with a group of other college students who were about the same age as I was. 

But I wanted more.

Each summer, thousands of foreign students come through Pigeon Forge to work and practice their English. My hope, that particular summer, was to build relationships with some of these students. But HOW would I do this while working and spending my free time at Discipleship Focus? 

This is the part where the Father did things I couldn't.

On one particular day that I happened to have off, I was told to go visit my friend Ladda, a Thai woman who was part of a program that worked with the foreign students. When I arrived, she just happened to be visiting with some Chinese girls who worked at Splash Country. 

Hmmmmm.

On that day, the Father put irreversible events in motion. He established relationships with those girls that would last through the summer and beyond. I would just happen to see them at work and they would just happen to be at Ladda's house whenever I came to visit after that. We went to shows together, played around in Gatlinburg, and even had a night of Chinese food in their hotel room. Most importantly, I saw the Father at work and felt a new tug at my heart that had not been there before. These girls were educated, intelligent, and full of smiles. What were they missing? 

Hope. 

The Hope that tells you that you are more than a number with a face. The Hope that tells you that you will always be loved, no matter how well you perform. The Hope that assures you of Life after this one is over. The Hope that makes a SMILE full. 

At the end of the summer, my girls--my Chinese sisters--left to return to their Chinese home. My heart broke into pieces for them. 

BUT DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE BEST PART IS????

The Father was at work.

Since then, two of the girls have found Hope and are my true sisters for all of eternity. My brokenhearted tears for them have turned to tears of joy over this revelation. 

And now He is sending me.

As they were sent here, I am now being sent to their home--China. Little did I know that my relationships with them would cause a whisper of Hope to be turned into a Call I am now being sent to fulfill. 

So, friends, this is not the end. It is only 

The Beginning.

(Little did I know how prophetic the picture would be. You know, other than the restaurant part.)