Sometimes I wonder if I am doing what God wants me to do, or if I am doing what I want to do and just hoping that it's what God wants me to do. How am I supposed to know the difference?
I first spent time in Vietnam from May to August of 2011 and knew from the first day that I was where God wanted me to be. How did I know? I had previously visited Brisbane in February, when the weather was hot and sticky, and I hated it; there was no way that I could ever put up with the humidity of that city. When I arrived in Saigon in 2011, it was hotter and stickier than I had ever experienced, and I loved it. I worked hard, painting and landscaping and the hotter it got, the more I liked it. I met people from countries around the world and the one thing that we had in common, was our love for our Lord, Jesus Christ. I made more friends in that first three months than I had made in the first 60 years of my life, and they were real friends, not just acquaintances. When I returned to Adelaide after my three month stay, I could not settle down in my own home; I had a great desire to return to Saigon and my new friends and activities, and the hot, sticky climate. I knew then, that God wanted me in Vietnam to work for Him.
So, I have no doubt about where God wants me but there is still some doubt about what He wants me to do.
I believe that He wants me to teach English at the Company of Grace, because I feel so comfortable mentally and physically, teaching at the House of Grace. But, does He want me to limit my work to the Company of Grace??? Or is He leading me in a slightly different direction, towards working with orphans.
He has fulfilled my desire to teach by allowing me to teach TESOL. Is He now saying that my great desire to work with children can also be fulfilled? I know that there is a tremendous need for more volunteers to work in the orphanages in Saigon and other parts of Vietnam, and I have very good friends with whom I can work in this area. I have been asked to help them in the past and have, for some reason, declined the invitation.
I believe that God has used my time in Saigon to stretch me, or build my character into one who is no longer afraid to step out in faith. I know that He goes before me, preparing the way for whatever it is that He wants me to do. I know that if I venture into the 'unknown' and find that I cannot handle it, He will pick me up and put me where He wants me. Why should I limit my time to just one venture, when I know that I can easily handle more work than I am doing? There is no reason why I can't work in both areas.
I'm actually writing this to myself, so that I can work out what I need to do when I return to Saigon, but if you stumble across this blog and have any ideas to put before me, please feel free to add them . . . you never know; yours may be the voice that He choses to enlighten me to His good and perfect will for me.
God bless you,
Susiegee
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Friday, October 19, 2012
Here I am Lord
As I sit here in my comfortable room in Saigon, it is, in some ways, hard to believe that I have been in Vietnam for nearly 6 weeks. In another way, it sometimes seems so much longer.
I came here expecting to teach English and to do a few odd jobs as well..... God had other plans for me. I believe that He brought me here, not to just be another volunteer in this new land, but to exchange that woman who left Australia in May, for the new woman that He wants me to be.
When I accepted God's plan for me, to come to Saigon, I know that a great change came over me. I was no longer unsure of myself when decisions had to be made; I just felt a complete calm come over me as soon as I decided that Vietnam was to be my destination.
I know that He shouldn't, but God continually amazed me and still does. Right from the time that I agreed to come here, God did amazing things in my life.My TESOL Course proved to be no barrier to me. My prayer was that God would help me through the course and, faithful God that He is, He not only helped me, but He allowed me to help others who were having difficulties. I have never been a scholar and it is only through Him that I was able to do that.
This blog was written during my first term of three months in Saigon . . . for some reason, it never got finished, but it certainly is true.
I came here expecting to teach English and to do a few odd jobs as well..... God had other plans for me. I believe that He brought me here, not to just be another volunteer in this new land, but to exchange that woman who left Australia in May, for the new woman that He wants me to be.
When I accepted God's plan for me, to come to Saigon, I know that a great change came over me. I was no longer unsure of myself when decisions had to be made; I just felt a complete calm come over me as soon as I decided that Vietnam was to be my destination.
I know that He shouldn't, but God continually amazed me and still does. Right from the time that I agreed to come here, God did amazing things in my life.My TESOL Course proved to be no barrier to me. My prayer was that God would help me through the course and, faithful God that He is, He not only helped me, but He allowed me to help others who were having difficulties. I have never been a scholar and it is only through Him that I was able to do that.
This blog was written during my first term of three months in Saigon . . . for some reason, it never got finished, but it certainly is true.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Destination Saigon
This post was obviously written some time ago while I was in the middle of preparing to come to Saigon. Please forgive me for my tardiness in not completing it. SG
Well, here it is only three and a half weeks until I leave for three months in Saigon.
I've been a busy little beaver lately. I attended my Child-Safe Environments course on Saturday and Certificate IV TESOL finishes on Tuesday. Vaccinations are well under way, and I am beginning to feel like a pin cushion at the moment.
I keep telling people that I have never felt so close to God in my life. Many would say that things that are happening are 'just coincidental' but I know that God is with me twenty four hours of every day and He continues to 'prove' His presence to me.
Well, here it is only three and a half weeks until I leave for three months in Saigon.
I've been a busy little beaver lately. I attended my Child-Safe Environments course on Saturday and Certificate IV TESOL finishes on Tuesday. Vaccinations are well under way, and I am beginning to feel like a pin cushion at the moment.
I keep telling people that I have never felt so close to God in my life. Many would say that things that are happening are 'just coincidental' but I know that God is with me twenty four hours of every day and He continues to 'prove' His presence to me.
Monday, January 24, 2011
This morning I was asked to give a short talk, on why I had chosen to volunteer to work in an English Teaching School in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Until today, I had never stopped to think about why I chose that particular place and job; I just believed that God wanted me to serve Him there and so that is why I was going. So now I have thought about it and I know why.
Have you ever had a childhood dream of what you wanted to be when you grew up? Were you ever asked, what you wanted to be when you grew up?
I always wanted to be a teacher, there was never anything else in my mind. Unfortunately, my parents had other ideas, and wouldn't even let me do the high school course that I needed, to allow me to pursue my dream. I also suffered badly from a nervous condition, which made me unable to speak clearly, and I went through my early stages of life being asked to repeat myself, or to speak up and stop mumbling - none of which helped the nervous condition.So I ended up in the Public Service, eventually sorting mail for 26 years.
But God had other plans for me. After leaving home at the age of 17, I began to gain confidence and within a few years, I was able to speak without mumbling. I was still reasonably shy, but a few glasses of alcohol took care of that. I won't go into the life that I experienced, but suffice to say, I did not live the life of a Christian. Fortunately, God still had His hand upon me and placed me in the right job, and then the right house to be led into His loving arms and find fellowship with my Church family
Shortly after I was converted, I spent 2 years living with my newly adopted parents, Bevan and Lois, on their farm. One morning, after he had attended a Christian men's breakfast, Bevan gave me a card which said, 'God has a plan for your life.' I believed it then and I believe it now.
In His Word, God tells us that He has known us forever, and that means even before that dream of mine was first dreamed. As I look back, I can see God's plan leading me to this point. Even those bad times that I went through, have proved to be beneficial to me in my new endeavour. Many of the people that need to learn English have suffered greatly in their lives, others have disabilities which make it harder to learn and are therefore pushed aside so that others may learn in their place. I don't intend to have you believe that I suffered greatly, but through my mild sufferring, I have been able to develop an empathy with those who have sufferred terrible things.
I have a great love for children and a heart for the disabled. One of my best friends at work came from Vietnam and told me of how she had to leave her country to continue studying, as her father had assisted the Americans during the Vietnam War. I felt for those people then and I still do.
I have met Hoa Stone, the Vietnamese war orphan who was, and still is, crippled by polio. He was brought to Australia and adopted by a Christian family and after severe trials and torments in his life, he finally gave his life to Christ and is now back in HCMC, and serving Christ. His plan is to enable disabled and disadvantaged young people to learn to make a living for themselves. One of the ways in which he helps to financially support his work is by running an English Teaching School.
Praise the Lord, I can be a teacher after all. Thank Your Lord, for putting me in the right place at the right time. Thank You for being my Potter and moulding me, as clay, into the vessel that You created me to be.
This will be my first involvement in volunteering overseas. I believe it will serve as a great experience and if God wants me to serve in Malawi or Mozambique next, then so be it and all the praise and all the glory will be His.
I would love you to pray for me. It has been many years since I last studied and I am commencing my ten week course in TESOL, on February 1. Please pray that I will be able to set up a schedule, whereby I can fit everything in and still allow time for the large amount of study that I will need to do. Pray also, that I will have a clear understanding of what I am being taught. Pray that I will be diligent in my work and do more, rather than less than is required of me. Above all, please pray that by my actions, I shall show the love of Christ to all I meet and that I shall never be afraid to tell of His great love for us.
Your sister in Christ, Susiegee.
Have you ever had a childhood dream of what you wanted to be when you grew up? Were you ever asked, what you wanted to be when you grew up?
I always wanted to be a teacher, there was never anything else in my mind. Unfortunately, my parents had other ideas, and wouldn't even let me do the high school course that I needed, to allow me to pursue my dream. I also suffered badly from a nervous condition, which made me unable to speak clearly, and I went through my early stages of life being asked to repeat myself, or to speak up and stop mumbling - none of which helped the nervous condition.So I ended up in the Public Service, eventually sorting mail for 26 years.
But God had other plans for me. After leaving home at the age of 17, I began to gain confidence and within a few years, I was able to speak without mumbling. I was still reasonably shy, but a few glasses of alcohol took care of that. I won't go into the life that I experienced, but suffice to say, I did not live the life of a Christian. Fortunately, God still had His hand upon me and placed me in the right job, and then the right house to be led into His loving arms and find fellowship with my Church family
Shortly after I was converted, I spent 2 years living with my newly adopted parents, Bevan and Lois, on their farm. One morning, after he had attended a Christian men's breakfast, Bevan gave me a card which said, 'God has a plan for your life.' I believed it then and I believe it now.
In His Word, God tells us that He has known us forever, and that means even before that dream of mine was first dreamed. As I look back, I can see God's plan leading me to this point. Even those bad times that I went through, have proved to be beneficial to me in my new endeavour. Many of the people that need to learn English have suffered greatly in their lives, others have disabilities which make it harder to learn and are therefore pushed aside so that others may learn in their place. I don't intend to have you believe that I suffered greatly, but through my mild sufferring, I have been able to develop an empathy with those who have sufferred terrible things.
I have a great love for children and a heart for the disabled. One of my best friends at work came from Vietnam and told me of how she had to leave her country to continue studying, as her father had assisted the Americans during the Vietnam War. I felt for those people then and I still do.
I have met Hoa Stone, the Vietnamese war orphan who was, and still is, crippled by polio. He was brought to Australia and adopted by a Christian family and after severe trials and torments in his life, he finally gave his life to Christ and is now back in HCMC, and serving Christ. His plan is to enable disabled and disadvantaged young people to learn to make a living for themselves. One of the ways in which he helps to financially support his work is by running an English Teaching School.
Praise the Lord, I can be a teacher after all. Thank Your Lord, for putting me in the right place at the right time. Thank You for being my Potter and moulding me, as clay, into the vessel that You created me to be.
This will be my first involvement in volunteering overseas. I believe it will serve as a great experience and if God wants me to serve in Malawi or Mozambique next, then so be it and all the praise and all the glory will be His.
I would love you to pray for me. It has been many years since I last studied and I am commencing my ten week course in TESOL, on February 1. Please pray that I will be able to set up a schedule, whereby I can fit everything in and still allow time for the large amount of study that I will need to do. Pray also, that I will have a clear understanding of what I am being taught. Pray that I will be diligent in my work and do more, rather than less than is required of me. Above all, please pray that by my actions, I shall show the love of Christ to all I meet and that I shall never be afraid to tell of His great love for us.
Your sister in Christ, Susiegee.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Semi-retired
Well, here it is, the last day of November for 2010 and I feel the need to write.
I have been unemployed now for just over a week and, already, I feel the need to go back to work for a rest! It's OK, I'm not really going to do it, but I am planning to study in the early part of 2011. (How easily that rolls off the tongue - 2011)
As I have written previously, I believe that God has great plans for my future and I have prayed believing that He would reveal them to me.
I am going to enrol in a course for teaching English to speakers of other languages. That will probably take up the first half of the year and then I will find out for sure, just where God wants me. I still feel strongly, that it will be Ho Chi Minh city. If you happen to wander on to this blog, maybe you can pray for that part of God's plan to be made definite for me.
Now to what is happening in my life at the moment. I am responsible to my Church Council for the Ministry of Children and Youth, I'm teaching Sunday School, running an after school club once a fortnight, on the Church Carer team and lead Worship Services occasionally. Fortunately, no one cares if my housework doesn't get done on time.
As we approach the time of the year when we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, I think of the billions of dollars that will be spent on presents for young and old and I lament. Oh Lord, how many lives could be saved by even half of that money? How many families could be fed, clothed and housed? Lord, I just pray that in the hustle and bustle of this Christmas season, people will stop and think of how He, for Whom this holiday is remembered, would celebrate it. He, who healed the sick, fed the hungry and raised the dead but who also cleared the temple of those who used it for the wrong purpose: how would He celebrate this season?? Would He be up early on Christmas Day, looking under the Christmas tree for some expensive gifts? I think not.
What about you? Will you take the time and make the effort, to show the love of Christ to those who do not know it? Will you sacrifice a little of your time and money to make someone else's Christmas special? Will you show others, Christ through your actions? I pray for our Lord to help me to do just that!
No matter how you spend Christmas, I pray that Our Heavenly Father will truly bless you as you praise Him and give Him the glory for the great things that He has done.
Have a happy and safe Christmas.
I have been unemployed now for just over a week and, already, I feel the need to go back to work for a rest! It's OK, I'm not really going to do it, but I am planning to study in the early part of 2011. (How easily that rolls off the tongue - 2011)
As I have written previously, I believe that God has great plans for my future and I have prayed believing that He would reveal them to me.
I am going to enrol in a course for teaching English to speakers of other languages. That will probably take up the first half of the year and then I will find out for sure, just where God wants me. I still feel strongly, that it will be Ho Chi Minh city. If you happen to wander on to this blog, maybe you can pray for that part of God's plan to be made definite for me.
Now to what is happening in my life at the moment. I am responsible to my Church Council for the Ministry of Children and Youth, I'm teaching Sunday School, running an after school club once a fortnight, on the Church Carer team and lead Worship Services occasionally. Fortunately, no one cares if my housework doesn't get done on time.
As we approach the time of the year when we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, I think of the billions of dollars that will be spent on presents for young and old and I lament. Oh Lord, how many lives could be saved by even half of that money? How many families could be fed, clothed and housed? Lord, I just pray that in the hustle and bustle of this Christmas season, people will stop and think of how He, for Whom this holiday is remembered, would celebrate it. He, who healed the sick, fed the hungry and raised the dead but who also cleared the temple of those who used it for the wrong purpose: how would He celebrate this season?? Would He be up early on Christmas Day, looking under the Christmas tree for some expensive gifts? I think not.
What about you? Will you take the time and make the effort, to show the love of Christ to those who do not know it? Will you sacrifice a little of your time and money to make someone else's Christmas special? Will you show others, Christ through your actions? I pray for our Lord to help me to do just that!
No matter how you spend Christmas, I pray that Our Heavenly Father will truly bless you as you praise Him and give Him the glory for the great things that He has done.
Have a happy and safe Christmas.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Direct My Paths
Well, it's been quite a while since my last post and I'm not really sure where I want to go with this one. God knows though, so I'll just let Him lead me to His end.
I guess things have become a little exciting since I last wrote, as I haven't been to work since about September 18.
I had my arthritic thumb operated on and so have been on sick leave since September 20 and it will be approximately 6-8 months before I regain 100% use of my left hand. I have definitely decided that I am not going back to work (a) because I cannot continue to use my hands to do the work and (b) because I believe that God wants me to work for Him. I believe that for some time now, in fact, for most of my life, God has been preparing me for semi-retirement. There is a lot of work for me to do, both here in Australia and also overseas.
I am seriously thinking of teaching English to migrants, although I would have to do a course of study to qualify for that. There is also the ongoing wish to work with children and young people in some capacity and the desire to provide care and comfort to elderly folk. Only the Lord knows what I will do and when I will do it.
If you happen to stumble across this blog, I would love you to pray for me, that God will direct my paths and that I will be His obedient servant.
I guess things have become a little exciting since I last wrote, as I haven't been to work since about September 18.
I had my arthritic thumb operated on and so have been on sick leave since September 20 and it will be approximately 6-8 months before I regain 100% use of my left hand. I have definitely decided that I am not going back to work (a) because I cannot continue to use my hands to do the work and (b) because I believe that God wants me to work for Him. I believe that for some time now, in fact, for most of my life, God has been preparing me for semi-retirement. There is a lot of work for me to do, both here in Australia and also overseas.
I am seriously thinking of teaching English to migrants, although I would have to do a course of study to qualify for that. There is also the ongoing wish to work with children and young people in some capacity and the desire to provide care and comfort to elderly folk. Only the Lord knows what I will do and when I will do it.
If you happen to stumble across this blog, I would love you to pray for me, that God will direct my paths and that I will be His obedient servant.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Trust In The Lord
I used to have a little dog that was a cross between a Pekingese and a Shitsu. Many people thought she was an ugly little thing with a pushed in nose and huge under bite but I loved my little Jasmine to bits…. she was my little girl.
Now, you don’t know my ‘adopted’ parents, Bevan and Lois, but they used to have a large property where they grew almonds. Just after my conversion in 1989, they unofficially adopted me and I lived with them on their property for two years.
Jasmine , or Jassie as she became known, came with me and was soon converted too, not to Christianity, but from a city dog to an ‘almost farm dog’. She used to go out with Bevan on the tractor or run around behind it, or sometimes ride with him on the motor bike. She had to get used to having a bath under the cold water hose instead of in the laundry trough with warm water. She had to learn to shake herself dry instead of having a blow dry with my hair dryer, and she had to get used to not sleeping on my bed. But she did enjoy the almonds that ‘accidently dropped’ from the sorting belt. I’m pretty sure that dad would ‘drop’ them on purpose.
Because I worked nights, I would see Jassie when I came home from work but then I’d go to bed and Jassie would hang around outside or she would follow dad around the farm while I slept. If she went out on the tractor with dad, she would often run behind the tractor when he came home.
Well, one day I heard the tractor coming home and greeted dad, expecting Jassie to be not far behind him. But as some time passed and she didn’t come home, I asked him if he had seen her. She had been with him but he thought she had come home. Well, maybe she had gone to visit one of the neighbours …. No we couldn’t find her at the neighbours.
So off we went in the ute to look for my beloved dog. Out to the area where dad had last seen her and then slowly back toward home with eyes peering from both sides of the car. We were almost home when my eye caught sight of something …. I couldn’t quite make out if it was her or not, but we decided to have a closer look ….. Oh Lord thank You it was my little Jassie …
As we drew closer to her, I expected her to run up to the ute, but no…. she sat rigidly still in that one spot and then we saw why. Up in the sky, not far away, was a crow. Jasmine had obviously upset it somehow and it had turned on her. Now Jasmine was petrified with fear. She knew that I loved her but she didn’t realize that I loved her so much, that I would do whatever it took to save her from that big bird. I had to get out of the ute, and with one eye on Jassie and the other on that big bird, walk over to her and pick her up. As I held her in my arms I could feel her trembling with fright and tears of relief rolled down my cheeks. It was an experience that neither of us would want to go through again.
Life is like that isn’t it! We can find ourselves in all sorts of trouble, whether it is in the area of finance, health or spiritual well being, and we can be overcome by fear and worry. But do you know what? Just as Mum, Dad and I went searching for Jasmine and brought her home to safety, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ is always with us offering His help to cope with any problems that we are facing. There is absolutely no problem that is too big when Jesus is on our side.
So don’t be like Jassie and be petrified with fear ….. Trust in the Lord who has promised ‘never to leave you nor forsake you.’ He is our rock, our fortress and our hiding place ……. He is Our Saviour.
Now, you don’t know my ‘adopted’ parents, Bevan and Lois, but they used to have a large property where they grew almonds. Just after my conversion in 1989, they unofficially adopted me and I lived with them on their property for two years.
Jasmine , or Jassie as she became known, came with me and was soon converted too, not to Christianity, but from a city dog to an ‘almost farm dog’. She used to go out with Bevan on the tractor or run around behind it, or sometimes ride with him on the motor bike. She had to get used to having a bath under the cold water hose instead of in the laundry trough with warm water. She had to learn to shake herself dry instead of having a blow dry with my hair dryer, and she had to get used to not sleeping on my bed. But she did enjoy the almonds that ‘accidently dropped’ from the sorting belt. I’m pretty sure that dad would ‘drop’ them on purpose.
Because I worked nights, I would see Jassie when I came home from work but then I’d go to bed and Jassie would hang around outside or she would follow dad around the farm while I slept. If she went out on the tractor with dad, she would often run behind the tractor when he came home.
Well, one day I heard the tractor coming home and greeted dad, expecting Jassie to be not far behind him. But as some time passed and she didn’t come home, I asked him if he had seen her. She had been with him but he thought she had come home. Well, maybe she had gone to visit one of the neighbours …. No we couldn’t find her at the neighbours.
So off we went in the ute to look for my beloved dog. Out to the area where dad had last seen her and then slowly back toward home with eyes peering from both sides of the car. We were almost home when my eye caught sight of something …. I couldn’t quite make out if it was her or not, but we decided to have a closer look ….. Oh Lord thank You it was my little Jassie …
As we drew closer to her, I expected her to run up to the ute, but no…. she sat rigidly still in that one spot and then we saw why. Up in the sky, not far away, was a crow. Jasmine had obviously upset it somehow and it had turned on her. Now Jasmine was petrified with fear. She knew that I loved her but she didn’t realize that I loved her so much, that I would do whatever it took to save her from that big bird. I had to get out of the ute, and with one eye on Jassie and the other on that big bird, walk over to her and pick her up. As I held her in my arms I could feel her trembling with fright and tears of relief rolled down my cheeks. It was an experience that neither of us would want to go through again.
Life is like that isn’t it! We can find ourselves in all sorts of trouble, whether it is in the area of finance, health or spiritual well being, and we can be overcome by fear and worry. But do you know what? Just as Mum, Dad and I went searching for Jasmine and brought her home to safety, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ is always with us offering His help to cope with any problems that we are facing. There is absolutely no problem that is too big when Jesus is on our side.
So don’t be like Jassie and be petrified with fear ….. Trust in the Lord who has promised ‘never to leave you nor forsake you.’ He is our rock, our fortress and our hiding place ……. He is Our Saviour.
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