Moments with Megan the Missionary: Biggest Fan

As I packed up to head home for Christmas break anticipation left me having dreams every night, not sure what was going to happen next. How will they react? What will they think? Will they jump for joy when I walk through the door? I ended up coming up with millions of scenarios as to how my friends and family would react when they would see me. I would be lying if I said that I was not proud of myself for keeping such a good secret a surprise for SO long. Since this past October I knew that I was coming home for Christmas to surprise my loved ones…the best part: they had NO idea. The months from October to December were significantly hard to keep my mouth shut as various individuals had conversations with me that included phrases such as “I’m really sad that you won’t be here” and “we’ll be thinking and praying about you during this time away from your family.” Little did they know…

Above: (left) Danica and Ryan on Christmas morning; (right) Dad and Mom with our Christmas Tree

Christmas Dinner with the whole family :-)

Normally when something good happens you cannot wait to tell the world about it, or at least those closest to you. However, the multiple times that I sat down to write this blog entry I found myself without words and unsure what to write. Not because my time at home was ill-spent, or even because the surprises weren’t what I expected. It was actually quite the opposite. There are definitely PLENTY of words that I could use to describe the GREAT feeling of seeing my parents, friends, family, and siblings for the first time in about 5 months. Everything went so much better than expected, and even though most of my break back in the United States was emotional, I would not give up any of the fantastic moments that I had while being there.

With the help of some close friends and family members I was able to surprise four groups of friends and family while being home – yes, four. It was a great feeling knowing that I was giving most people something for Christmas that they definitely were not expecting: Faith. Faith in knowing that God truly does care and provide for His children; Faith in knowing that He is constantly there for them, thinking of them while they are going about their daily lives; Faith in Him as our Father, our best friend, and biggest fan. I cannot express in words what a privilege it was to be used by God in order to reach out to others. This, by far, was the most emotional part.

My close friends and I at my "skyping party" aka Surprise Party

Coming back from Christmas my relationship with God was challenged and strengthened as I came back with renewed faith, stronger feelings towards Him, and a sense of comfort knowing that Germany is now my home. Coming back had me thinking about my time at home. Time spent with friends, time spent with family, and my feelings towards all of it. All these events and mixed emotions guided me towards some new thinking and realizations…

Mike, me and Steph during the Surprise Party

Those close friends of ours that we love and get excited about seeing or spending time with, sorry to say – but they are NOT our biggest fan. Our biggest fan is not our mother, our father, or our boyfriend/girlfriend; not even our husband/wife. Our BIGGEST fan will always be God. HE is the one that is constantly wanting to spend time with us, wanting to know what we are doing, wanting to shout OUR praises to the world. However, we need to give Him a reason to shout.

Eating some Pizza in Genova, Italy

Just like a mother and father are proud of their child for their latest artwork, or the recent roll they scored in the school play, God desires to share our accomplishments with others. God wants to shout our praises from a hilltop because WE are HIS children. We are His pride and joy. Unfortunately, however, we fail time and time again, leaving Him with nothing to put on His “fridge.”

Sammie and I at the leaning tower of Pisa in Italy

After realizing this I wanted to dig deeper. I wanted to dive more into the subject of glorifying Him, worshipping Him, and spreading His love and words to others. We cannot do it alone, we will ALWAYS need His help with reaching out to His people, reaching out to our brothers and sisters. It is from here that I realized it all begins with us. How are WE supposed to reach out to others when WE ourselves have not been preparing? How would those in the Old Testament have been ready for battle if they had not trained ahead of time? First we need to prepare our minds, hearts, and souls in order to reach out to others with the proper mindset – encouraging them while doing so.

What better place to start then the Bible. The one book that God left for all of us to get to know Him better, to be able to connect with Him daily. However, as said in the Bible – this time with Him cannot be just another event in our lives. This time is to be special and ONLY spent with Him. Do not get me wrong, it also states in the Bible how we should be in community with one another and share His word outwardly and openly with others, but it has to start somewhere.

Town of Pisa, Italy

It starts in a quiet room where we are all by ourselves, excited about our time with God and His desire to be with us. Matthew 6:6 states, “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” Unfortunately as humans, sometimes we feel as though we have something to prove to everyone else, we feel as though it is our duty to sing our own praises. Why do we feel as though this is our duty? This is what God takes joy in doing…we just need to let Him. So go. Go to your quiet place and spend quality time with your Father. Spend time with Him and allow Him to speak to you through prayer, through His words, and through that specific time He has set aside for you and only you.

Cinque Terre, Italy (you can walk through five town via this walkway)

One of my long-term goals that will never be accomplished is to become closer to Him. No matter how much I read, how much I pray, and how much time I spend with Him – it will never be enough. There will always be something new to learn about Him, about myself, and about our unique and special relationship with one another. HOW COOL IS THAT! It is like a movie that NEVER ends! No matter how hard we seek or how hard we pray, there will ALWAYS be something NEW to learn about Him, something NEW to learn about me, and something NEW to learn about my undying and never-ending personal relationship with Him. What a great feeling it is to be one of His children, the one that He takes pride and joy showing off to the rest of the world in order to glorify Him. Lord please use me, use me in whatever way you may need in order to glorify you.

Monte Carlo, Monaco

Please join me in prayer as I look forward to serving our Lord, once again, next year at Black Forest Academy as a middle school mathematics teacher. God has been teaching me SO much within these last 6 months, and I cannot WAIT to see what else is in store. Through His creation, words, and actions He continually has me in awe of who He is and what He represents to us.

Things to look forward to in this upcoming Month:

AGIS teacher's conference in Hannover, Germany

Meetings for our Brest, Belarus missions trip

Speaking in chapel for Middle School

Trip to England with some close BFA friends over a long weekend

Roommates and I house sitting for one of the families here at BFA

High School Retreat (where I will be spending time with my small group girls)

Praises: Personal time in the word, My mom's boss started chemotherapy and has been responding well, The arrival of our last middle school teacher, The ability to have my sister and brother-in-law here over Christmas break, My ability to see family and friends over Christmas break, Time with great friends here at BFA, God's constant provision over our lives, wonderful roommates, the continual support of those back home -- I love you all so much!

Prayers: For more personal/along time with My Lord, Teaching two new classes this quarter: Health for grade 6 and a Games elective, My mom's cousin who recently passed away from Leukemia, One of my Best Friends who is getting ready to give birth, Spiritual growth for those on BFA missions trips, and my friends back home that are serving in Haiti in the near future.