Stay Connected: For I Know the Plans

Dear ADRA Connections family,

How long have you been under a “shelter-in-place” order? For us, it’s been about one month. One month of working from home, one month of wondering when we’ll see our friends and family again, one month of praying over the trips we’ve had to postpone at ADRA Connections.

Although this month has been full of waiting and uncertainty, there are pockets of hope and blessing all around us. Pollution and greenhouse gas emissions have fallen across continents as countries try to contain the spread of the new coronavirus. In Venice, the famous canals are so clear residents report seeing fish! In New York City, levels of pollution have decreased by nearly 50% due to measures to contain the virus. All over the world, the daily rush has stopped, families are gathering together for dinner once again, and baking is a new favorite past time.

In these moments of hope, we see God at work. He has a plan. Not just a big plan to see us through this pandemic, but a more specific plan for what He can do in us as, maybe for the first time in our lives, we have nowhere to go, not a lot to do, and a lot of time to listen.

When we wait faithfully on the LORD and take time to listen, big things can happen. Cassie, ADRA Connections coordinator, experienced God’s leading when she graduated from Andrews University.

“As a recent college graduate, I was still uncertain about what the future might hold for me. Like most business majors, I had spent much of my final spring semester applying for jobs, tightening up my resume and networking with affiliates for companies I was interested in joining. I had put a lot of faith and hope in what God would lead me to do, but I was nervous and wondered if I had heard Him correctly.

In choosing a possible career with ADRA, I turned down a prestigious opportunity to work for a banking software company in downtown Chicago. I hadn’t even officially heard back about whether ADRA was offering me the job, but one morning I remember waking up and feeling unusually collected about the decision, despite being completely on the fence just the night before. A few days later, I received the offer letter for the position to help run the ADRA Connections program. It appeared I hadn’t misheard the call after all.

Two weeks after I moved from Michigan to Maryland and started working full-time, I left for my first two-week ADRA Connections trip to Manaus, the Amazonian region of Brazil. Together with nearly 200 youth from schools around the U.S. and Brazil, we successfully finished the construction of a school campus in the middle of the rainforest. For me, this trip meant much more than I could have imagined. Not only was I able to see my own hope of a good career come to fruition, but alongside others I was able to help bring the hope of a better education to children in another part of the world.

It was nearly two years ago that I accepted the call to join the ADRA Connections program and help shape the way volunteers serve alongside ADRA; connecting passionate, mission-minded people to the field work we do globally. It’s truly amazing where God will send you when you put your faith and hope in His perfect timing and allow Him to lead the way—even if that means to the Amazon jungle.”

God is always speaking, but we don’t always have time to listen. Now that the world is a little quieter, take this time to ask for God’s leading in your life, and listen.

“For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11