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God's Perfect Timing
March 27 2008 / ShareHim in Dominican Republic A, Mar. 14 - Mar. 29 '08 #258by Austin McAllister
Personal Testimony of Austin McAllister.
Hi! My name is Austin McAllister; I am 18 years old and a senior at Thunderbird Adventist Academy in Scottsdale, Arizona. I am originally from the beautiful city of Columbus, Ohio and plan on attending Andrews University in the fall of 2008. I am the younger of two daughters in a fantastic family. Last year, a bunch of my friends went on the mission trip to the Dominican Republic, and I really wanted to go as well, but the timing was bad, and I couldn’t pay for the trip. My mom and I discussed it, and decided I would go this year. In all the plans that have been made, all the financial support I have been given from my parents and The Quiet Hour, and all the preparation for this trip, I never thought I would receive so many blessings. I knew people talked about how mission trips changed you, but I didn’t expect to see the results so quickly.
Sometimes people go in search of miracles, but to be honest I’ve never been one of those people. When something goes well, I know God had a hand in it, but I’ve never really asked for Him to prove Himself to me. Although I was not looking for a miracle, or some intense spiritual moment, God gave me one on my very first night of preaching. I arrived at my site around 7:30, knowing I had to start preaching at 8 o’clock. I don’t speak a ton of Spanish, but I knew enough to get by for awhile. Fortunately, there was a woman, a church member, who spoke some English, and she helped me understand everything that was happening. I had all of my gadgets set up and ready to go for the sermon at around 7:50, but there was one major problem, my translator was nowhere to be found. The church had begun its program at 8, the time I was supposed to start preaching, but I didn’t really mind because I didn’t have a translator. I said to myself, “I am not going to get nervous until 8:15.” Well, sure enough, 8:15 rolls around, and still there is no translator in sight. I am starting to sweat a bit and become worrisome.
It is now 8:20. Well, what am I going to do? I don’t know enough Spanish to give this sermon on my own. Maybe I could pull someone from the audience and they can translate for me. Time has kept on going, and it is now 8:25. I don’t like being stressed; I just plainly do not enjoy the feeling. Your heart beats faster; your mind begins to race with all of the possible outcomes. Am I really not going to be able to preach on my first night here? This cannot be happening. Well, there was one thing I knew for sure; God is the greatest stress reliever. As I sat in a white plastic chair staring at the audience around me, in a room full of people I did not know, waiting for their special music to end, I bowed my head to pray. I said, “God, I do not want to worry about this. I am not going to stress over this. I know You can and will provide for me, so I am handing this situation over to You. I know as soon as I open my eyes, my translator will be here. Amen.” I open my eyes. Nothing happens. “It’s ok,” I thought, “God will make a way.” Within 5 seconds I feel a tap on my shoulder. It is the church member who helped me earlier. She says, “Come with me.” She takes me outside, and lo and behold, there is my translator! I nearly cried. I could not believe it, except I could because I had prayed to the Lord, and He always answers prayers according to His will. Skeptics would say it was just good timing or a coincidence, but they’re clearly lacking in their faith for our Creator. It is amazing to see how far a small amount of faith can make a great God to move in your life.
While being in the Dominican, thousands of miles from the United States, God has blessed me to the point where I can bless others back home. I remember in one sermon, there is a point where it talks about how people search everywhere else for happiness except for where it can be found. All over the world people are looking for their happiness in entertainment, alcohol, drugs, and other people, but there is no end to this search. Why? The reason is because God is the source of all our happiness. This section of the sermon really hit me. As I was preaching to everyone in my audience, I realized how often even I do this in my own life. I came back to the hotel later that night and checked my email. A good friend of mine wrote to me saying how unhappy she was lately. I knew where she was looking for her happiness, but it was not in God, it was in another person. This person was not fulfilling their friendship to her, and she was constantly having setbacks with them. She told me she needed to find something that would make her happy. I could not believe what I was reading. I had just preached this to people at my church, not thinking it might soon be useful to others in my close circle of friends. I poured my feelings out to her. I let her know where she could find the happiness she was looking for, if she would only look to Christ.
A few days later, a friend I had not talked to in nearly two years contacted me. I was ecstatic; I had really missed her. We talked and talked about everything that was going on in our lives, and she eventually told me she did not like the current situation in which she was living. She just was not happy. Seriously, was this really happening? This person was clearly walking back into my life at the right time. I was able to tell her, as well, where to find this happiness she was so desperately seeking.
Without coming to the Dominican, I would not have had these opportunities to experience God’s blessings in abundance and then be able to bless others. How great it is to bless yourself, people in a different part of the world, and those you love and hold close to your heart! I have a more solid faith than ever before in the One who created me and the ability to really share Him with others and that is what this is about. I can safely say, God is not like people in this universe. There are no setbacks with God. He never fails. All He wants is to spend eternity with us and to love us forever. I am so beyond grateful for this experience. God said He will open the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing you will not have room to receive, and He surely has.
Sometimes people go in search of miracles, but to be honest I’ve never been one of those people. When something goes well, I know God had a hand in it, but I’ve never really asked for Him to prove Himself to me. Although I was not looking for a miracle, or some intense spiritual moment, God gave me one on my very first night of preaching. I arrived at my site around 7:30, knowing I had to start preaching at 8 o’clock. I don’t speak a ton of Spanish, but I knew enough to get by for awhile. Fortunately, there was a woman, a church member, who spoke some English, and she helped me understand everything that was happening. I had all of my gadgets set up and ready to go for the sermon at around 7:50, but there was one major problem, my translator was nowhere to be found. The church had begun its program at 8, the time I was supposed to start preaching, but I didn’t really mind because I didn’t have a translator. I said to myself, “I am not going to get nervous until 8:15.” Well, sure enough, 8:15 rolls around, and still there is no translator in sight. I am starting to sweat a bit and become worrisome.
It is now 8:20. Well, what am I going to do? I don’t know enough Spanish to give this sermon on my own. Maybe I could pull someone from the audience and they can translate for me. Time has kept on going, and it is now 8:25. I don’t like being stressed; I just plainly do not enjoy the feeling. Your heart beats faster; your mind begins to race with all of the possible outcomes. Am I really not going to be able to preach on my first night here? This cannot be happening. Well, there was one thing I knew for sure; God is the greatest stress reliever. As I sat in a white plastic chair staring at the audience around me, in a room full of people I did not know, waiting for their special music to end, I bowed my head to pray. I said, “God, I do not want to worry about this. I am not going to stress over this. I know You can and will provide for me, so I am handing this situation over to You. I know as soon as I open my eyes, my translator will be here. Amen.” I open my eyes. Nothing happens. “It’s ok,” I thought, “God will make a way.” Within 5 seconds I feel a tap on my shoulder. It is the church member who helped me earlier. She says, “Come with me.” She takes me outside, and lo and behold, there is my translator! I nearly cried. I could not believe it, except I could because I had prayed to the Lord, and He always answers prayers according to His will. Skeptics would say it was just good timing or a coincidence, but they’re clearly lacking in their faith for our Creator. It is amazing to see how far a small amount of faith can make a great God to move in your life.
While being in the Dominican, thousands of miles from the United States, God has blessed me to the point where I can bless others back home. I remember in one sermon, there is a point where it talks about how people search everywhere else for happiness except for where it can be found. All over the world people are looking for their happiness in entertainment, alcohol, drugs, and other people, but there is no end to this search. Why? The reason is because God is the source of all our happiness. This section of the sermon really hit me. As I was preaching to everyone in my audience, I realized how often even I do this in my own life. I came back to the hotel later that night and checked my email. A good friend of mine wrote to me saying how unhappy she was lately. I knew where she was looking for her happiness, but it was not in God, it was in another person. This person was not fulfilling their friendship to her, and she was constantly having setbacks with them. She told me she needed to find something that would make her happy. I could not believe what I was reading. I had just preached this to people at my church, not thinking it might soon be useful to others in my close circle of friends. I poured my feelings out to her. I let her know where she could find the happiness she was looking for, if she would only look to Christ.
A few days later, a friend I had not talked to in nearly two years contacted me. I was ecstatic; I had really missed her. We talked and talked about everything that was going on in our lives, and she eventually told me she did not like the current situation in which she was living. She just was not happy. Seriously, was this really happening? This person was clearly walking back into my life at the right time. I was able to tell her, as well, where to find this happiness she was so desperately seeking.
Without coming to the Dominican, I would not have had these opportunities to experience God’s blessings in abundance and then be able to bless others. How great it is to bless yourself, people in a different part of the world, and those you love and hold close to your heart! I have a more solid faith than ever before in the One who created me and the ability to really share Him with others and that is what this is about. I can safely say, God is not like people in this universe. There are no setbacks with God. He never fails. All He wants is to spend eternity with us and to love us forever. I am so beyond grateful for this experience. God said He will open the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing you will not have room to receive, and He surely has.