The Decision. The big one.

I am overjoyed to announce that after much prayer, the Lord has called me to extend my contract (that was originally over in July 2013) with Makarios & stay in the DR until December 2013. A HUGE/GRANDE thank you to all of my loved ones who have spent the last 21 months praying for me, keeping up with my life, "liking" photos of our beautiful students, and much more. 
And now I humbly ask for prayers as I enter my last 7 months on the island (AH!).

Another 7 months of loving on these beautiful students.

Read on for a glimpse into how the Lord brought me to this decision, and the beautiful way he opened my eyes to him being my Shepherd. 

Around December of their 2nd year is when all the Makarios missionaries begin their "Oh my word, I have to tell the Austin office in 3 months whether I'm leaving at the end of July or extending my contract" freaking out process. So I freaked out, and prayed a bit. Then I freaked out a bit more, and then prayed some more..and this process continued until mid February, a mere few weeks before I had to make my decision. I knew I wasn't because of my busy schedule I wasn't spending an ample amount of time praying about it,  so I intentionally went "away" for a weekend with the Lord (unplugged, free of distractions). I stayed in a hotel I was familiar with in Cabarete (an hour away) and there had one of the most beautiful times I've ever had with the Lord. Per Margaret's encouragement, I didn't pray specifically about the big decision. Instead I prayed overall regarding my time here, for the Lord to lead me as he always has,  listened to s a great sermon series and just read whatever scripture the Holy Spirit prompted me to read. It's always the most beautiful thing when the Lord orchestrates different things to display one beautiful solitary concept. That concept was simple: The Lord is my shepherd. Those 5 words encompassed a lot for me that weekend in February. He was my shepherd when I was once a lost sheep-- calling me to first come to know him as my Lord & Savior in my 2nd grade Sunday school class, he was my shepherd when he prompted my 16-year-old self  to "rededicate" my faith and start actually living for him, he was my shepherd when I made the decision to attend Syracuse University (thereby causing me to get involved in CRU, strengthen my faith, meet amazing friends and continue my love for missions), and he was my shepherd when he led me in the most crazy way possible to be a missionary with Makarios. He loves me. He loves me as His daughter, even though I did nothing to deserve it (Ephesians 1:5). His grace is overwhelming. Even though I am imperfect and fall WAY below his standard of Holy, he called before the foundation of the world me to know him (Ephesians 1:4), and not only know him... but to SERVE him. He's already planned in advance how I am exactly going to serve him (Ephesians 2:10). Wait, so his is a God who loves me more than I can imagine and already knows how I will serve Him? Why in the WORLD am I freaking out about a mere decision. He already has it figured it out.  My role is to continually seek him, and wait patiently as he reveals his will to me. He is my shepherd. He always has and always will lead me. And he already knows whether or not I'm going to extend my contract.

(Picture taken during my weekend away with the Lord. Sitting in the sand, listening to worship music & enjoying the sunset.)

The Monday after my weekend I made a decision about my future with Makarios- to extend my contract and stay through December. Also per Margaret's encouragement, I didn't tell anyone about that decision for about two weeks. Instead, I sat with the decision.. praying that the Lord would give me peace if it was his will, or speak to me if it wasn't. Throughout those two weeks I felt a continuous growing peace about my decision. More than that, I felt led to make the official final decision to pursue a Master's of Education, to "officially" learn how to teach students. I had been toying with the idea for that past year, but it was during those two weeks of prayer that it became a reality. The grad school decision also fit in perfectly with my other decision to leave the DR in December.
After I leave the DR in December I will have 6 months to transition back to life in America and Lord willing, I will start grad school in June 2014 (or August, pending the program). After completion of my program I will continue to serve His kingdom by loving/educating/teaching the gospel to the children that need it most!