"We walk by faith and not by sight;

no gracious words we hear

from Christ, who spoke as none e'er spoke;

but we believe him near."

-- Henry Alford, 1844

It has always been said, and remains true, that the Lord works in mysterious ways. My decision to leave my friends and family for Puerto Limon, Costa Rica is a perfect example of just such a thing.

Music has always been a very important part of my life. I was raised in a musical family where it was second nature to offer our praise and prayers through the music of the great hymnists. It was not uncommon to find our family in the choir loft, or around the upright piano, singing for hours around one hymnal or another. The hymns spoke to me. The Lord spoke to me through hymns. I knew that it was his will that I pursue my musical training so that I could bring that same joy and faith to others through music education and personal testimony.

Initially, I had my entire life mapped out. I graduated with a degree in Music Education from one of our prestigious UNC schools, and moved to Nashville, TN to pursue my career and ultimately start my family with my long-time boyfriend. As it would turn out, the Lord had different plans. Despite my Classical education, teaching High School music and drama weren’t the callings I had firmly believed them to be, and likewise, the relationship I had hoped would lead to marriage. Distraught in the aftermath of such disappointment, I felt a sudden burning in my heart, propelling me towards my Bible in a way I had never experienced before. Suddenly I had an unquenchable thirst for the Word of God, and I read it and prayed over it with a passion I had never known.

Then the Lord spoke, and what he said set the course for what has led me to this point. I heard him one night, while reading and re-reading the Great Commission, and he said “Give unto the Lord that which he requires, and he will not disappoint you.” I knew what he was asking- that I spend the summer between jobs serving him in whatever way I could. For me, this was saying yes to everything I was asked- serving at Church Camp every session, going to Gulfport, MS to rebuild from Katrina, and walking with faith in his great providence.

And He did provide. Almost as soon as the summer was over, I got a job working in the contemporary Christian music industry. I knew nothing, truly, about contemporary worship; I had no idea what was current or relevant in the field, but I knew enough to trust God’s placement. A week before my first day at Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing, I attended the first ever Moravian Youth in Mission Summit. For a whole weekend, mission-minded youth and young adults (quarter-lifers, as we preferred to be called) worked in groups to prepare presentations about Mission Education, as well as the ways that other Missionaries are prepared and placed through other organizations. The weekend ended with a discussion of the Antioch Project and the prospectus for the Board of World Missions for the coming year. Hearing that there was a need for musically trained missionaries for this project, my heart leapt within me. I can remember raising my hand and exclaiming “Here I am; send me!”

But there wasn’t anywhere to send me yet, and I returned to Nashville wondering if it was all just a dream and resuming my life and new job.

Now nearly two years have passed since that summer, and suddenly the path has been made clear. When I was called about this opportunity a few months ago, God’s timing was revealed in a way I could never have expected. The Antioch Project exists to help new churches create music programs in their own churches. It does this by offering classes to the would-be music directors, teaching them Theory, Hymn-writing, basic instrument skills, and how to use the resources available to the music ministry. The program will teach a more modern form of worship leading, and will allow these new brothers and sisters to go back to their congregations and lead through music.

Here is where God’s plan is illuminated in me. When I first felt the desire to be a part of this project, I had only a classical education. I could teach music theory, but I knew nothing about worship-leading and contemporary praise. Now, two years later, I work in a company that supplies contemporary worship materials to music directors all over the world. My job requires me to be up-to-date on all current trends in contemporary worship, aware of new music and artists in the field, keeps me educated in the latest resources available, and allows me to talk to men and women who have heard the same call- to serve the Lord with song, regardless of their education. I feel that no better training could exist for such a call as I have heard. Now I know why it took two years to prepare the placement I am now so enthusiastic to accept.

Here in Nashville, there is excitement for my undertaking. Friends and co-workers, who had never heard the word “Moravian” until two years ago, have given me the chance to witness and educate about my faith and doctrine, as well provided endless encouragement. People want to know what the Moravians are doing, who we are, and how the faith of so small a church can have such profound expression through their outreach. The response has been overwhelming and affirming at the same time, proving that God’s mysterious ways always have a purpose- even if we can’t see them from our current vantage point. As my Boss said when I told him of my pending departure, “The Lord is always calling, but few ever answer. Accept your call: follow Him and all the rest will fall into place. Go.”

And so I will go. Far from home, but never far from the Faith that brought me there. This blog is an invitation to walk this path with me, see the progress, hear the prayer requests, and see first-hand what a little prayer and alot of faith can do. Let's move a few mountains!