This is what we're going to do....

The Lord clearly spoke to my heart when I was in Uganda in June 2011. I was sitting on a balcony, overlooking the Nile river and thanking the Lord that He had allowed me the privilege of coming to this place. In the quietness of my heart, I heard the Lord ask me "Are you willing to stay?” That question made me catch my breath. Come to stay? Leave family, friends, and familiarity because He asked me to? Jesus Christ has given everything for me. I gave Him my heart and life when I was four years old, and I haven’t been my own since. Yes, Lord. I'm willing.
“For the vision is yet for the appointed time; it hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; for it will certainly come, it will not delay.  […]  The righteous shall live by faith.”  Habakkuk 2: 3, 4b
Fast-forward almost exactly a year later and He's still slowly unfolding His plan. June 18th 2012 I returned from my second short-term mission trip to Uganda. The clear instructions I received from the Lord prior to going were to be quiet, listen, and see what He would show me. The saying “Wherever God’s finger points, His hand will clear the way” is one that has encouraged me for almost three years now.  His hand has to clear the way for me to join Him in His work there. John 3:27 says “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.” I can do absolutely nothing of value in Uganda, or anywhere else, unless the Lord is in it. So armed with that truth, I went on the fifteen day trip asking Him to show me what I should do next.
I wouldn’t have to wait long. It was my first full day on the ground in Uganda, and I sat in the same bus that had carried our mission team last year. It was bouncing down the road, avoiding large pot holes, cows, and the crowds of children that run up to it yelling “Muzungu!” (white person). I sat with an open seat next to me for awhile, looking out the windows and processing the fact that this would be my next “home” in God’s timing. I felt strangely excited about that fact and not fearful, but still wondered how in the world the Lord would make that happen. The gentleman responsible for guiding our team’s time in Uganda, Joseph, sat down in the open seat next to me.
I grew to love and respect this Ugandan man and his wife last year. Their heart for Christ and their work with vulnerable children and women challenged and blessed me. Without any prompting Joseph asked me what God has been doing in my life for the last year. I took a deep breath and shared with him what God had called me to, and how I was already moving towards it in faith as best as I knew how. Joseph, a man of few words, nodded solemnly and said “Okay.” I knew he would think about it, pray about it, and give me his counsel in time if he felt led to.
The next evening the team settled into a little hotel in the Buguiri district where most of our outreach that week would take place. It had been a long, exhausting day of travel so everyone headed off straight to bed after dinner. Joseph discretely pulled me aside and sat me down with him in the lobby area that had its doors open to the cool night air. Football (soccer) was on the TV and we sat quietly while he watched to see the score. You have to know Joseph to understand that he doesn’t ask your opinion. In a typical African fashion, he just simply states things matter-of-factly and with quiet authority. There’s nothing overbearing about it, it’s just the way it is. The common Joseph phrase is: “This is what we’re going to do…” followed by instructions. So when I sat down with him, I listened while he told me the plan. He finally said “Okay” and turned his attention away from sports and on to me. “You will stay with Anne and me. You’ll be like our daughter and we’ll have you in our home. You will stay with us while you find out what God is calling you to and we can show you different areas to serve. You need a covering and a protection while you’re here. We have people in our home all the time. A person eating one kilogram of meat a day more in the house won’t be much trouble for us.” 
Staying with Joseph and Anne had been my hope for the past year. I hadn’t said anything to anyone, but I had been praying that God would open up that door, or if not, a similar one. The Lord whispered in my heart while Joseph was speaking: “This is from Me”. I told Joseph that I knew his invitation was from the Lord, said thank you, and I accepted. He nodded and said: “Okay. Go to bed.”  I smiled and went to bed, praising the Lord for His hand clearing the way.
So what do I know so far? I’m supposed to go to a month long missions training in Colorado, starting on July 16th. When I get back from that, I’ll have a three week volunteering opportunity with an HIV/AIDS doctor who has lived in South Africa and wants to help equip me for service in that continent. At the end of September I’m scheduled to go on a medical mission trip to Haiti, giving me another opportunity to serve as a nurse in the Third World. When I come back from that, I hope to tie up loose ends for a few weeks and then go on a three month trip to Uganda. Lord willing, that will begin in November of 2012.
These are just the big bullet points of God’s plan that He’s shown me I need to walk towards and I know He’ll fill in an incredible amount of details as I move towards them. Some things may change shape slightly, but it will still be what He already has planned for me to do (Ephesians 2:10). God is very gracious to only show me what I need to know, when I need to know it. He knows that too much information makes me anxious and go into high-gear “planning mode”. I do best when I get instructions from the Lord the way Joseph puts them. “This is what you’re going to do, Joy. Now go to bed.”   Yes, Lord.