Note from the editors: Katy joined a short term missions trip facilitated by Wycliffe Bible Translators. As a linguistics students, she felt called to be a part of this work in translating the Word in a remote region of Nigeria. We’ll be sharing excerpts from her updates over the next few days. Keep up with Katy’s Team here.
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Date: Mon, May 6, 2013
Subject: Nigeria 2013 – Another Update
This past weekend was spent with all nine of us teammates under one roof, getting to know each other and doing pre-field orientation. Up until now, we’ve been on schedule – but, unfortunately, without our visas, we will not be able to get onto that plane tomorrow evening.
However, these last 50ish hours or so have been an amazing time of bonding & fellowship, learning, and lots of prayer. Definitely, if it weren’t for this obstacle in our way, we would not have felt such desperation and motivation to keep praying hard and with fervour – something that God has been teaching us all. Honestly there have been LOTS of lessons learned this past week and just the last few days, but I will save that to share at a later time.
In Christ,
Katy :)
Date: Fri, May 10, 2013 at 12:27 AM
Subject: Wycliffe 2013: God is good, all the time.
After long days of wrestling through our thoughts, searching through Scripture, and praying out constantly and desperately to God, we – all of us teammates, the Nigerian partners, as well as the Wycliffe head office in Calgary (people more removed/external to the situation) – decided that today, May 9, would be the final, decisive day of waiting… that, as difficult as it is to think about, God might actually be saying NO.
There is the LONG story which I hope to tell soon, but the short story is: we are NOT going to Nigeria anymore. We were not able to get our visas, and we have no choice but to stop here, accepting God’s answer no matter how painful it is, because this is all ultimately for Him.
We will prepare how to later explain this to all of the wonderful people who have been praying and supporting us, because despite all the disappointment and confusion, God has taught us a LOT about missions, prayer, waiting on Him, faith and many other things in just one week; and on both our side and the Nigerian side, this has not been a “waste”.
With His abundant love, grace and mercy,
Katy :)