Luke Learning to say "Yes"

With both my parents growing up in Nigeria, Africa has always been a place I dreamed of going to. This past winter, however, was the first time a real opportunity presented itself, and that was to work with African Leadership in Cape Town, South Africa. Through a series of emails with different people, I got into contact with Pastor Ohm, one of the leaders in Cape Town for African Leadership. He said he would love to have us and John and I immediately started training sessions with one of African Leaderships coordinators, Angie Song. I was immediately excited about this trip and the fact that I would get to do it with my best friend John. We wouldn't be going with either of our home churches, but we were going with each other, so we were super excited. But as the training for the trip really began, God started testing my faith a lot and really shook my spiritual foundations. I began trying to really explore who God truly is and I struggled with doubts and found holes in my faith. But as spring came, God help me with this struggle and cemented my faith in Him more and more. Then John tore his ACL. That kind of shook my world and I immediately took a step back. Was John not going to be able to go on this trip? Then I had to face a question I had avoided since the beginning of the process. I felt God ask, "Luke, what if I called you to cancel this trip to Cape Town and stay in Nashville to minister there, would you follow me?" This question knocked the wind out of me for a few days, and it really burdened me. Finally, I decided the answer was "Yes God, if thats your will." Then immediately after I said yes, it was like God said, "Ok cool, your committed, lets go to Cape Town then." Unfamiliar people and unfamiliar places are way outside my comfort zone, and possibly going to Cape Town without John was the last thing I wanted to do. But I knew God had confirmed for me to go to Cape Town, regardless of whether or not John was able, so I went ahead and bought my plane ticket. Then, before I knew it, John was recovering at amazing speed, had bought his ticket, and gotten support letters out. With each step of this trip, God tested my faith, seeing if I would say yes to his will, and then immediately provided. Now we are 48 hours away and I can't believe its already here. I pray that I can continue to be obedient to God's will for me and that John and I will be able to experience and spread his love throughout Cape Town.
-Luke