By Jenny Riggs, OMS missionary candidate to Ecuador

I found myself looking at my life, which appeared comfortable on the outside, but on the inside; something was not right. I was not at home in the lifestyle I had found myself in. People were telling me how amazed they were that a recent college graduate could have so many things so quickly. I was unhappy, however, and not sure why. It was time for another change, so I applied to eXtreme Walk, OMS International’s 10-month program for young people. When I applied, I knew deep down in my heart that I would go. There was no doubt in my mind that God was calling me to serve Him full time. I kept telling people that I was going to Ecuador for 10 months with OMS, but that the mission doesn’t know it yet. But God confirmed it to me throughout the year before I left that He wanted me to go.

One day, I was teaching my Spanish class about South American countries, and I had just pointed to Ecuador when one of my students blurted out, “You’re not going to be here (teaching) next year, are you?” God used a 13-year-old boy to confirm once again that I was going in the direction He wanted me to go. When OMS called me to say that I had been accepted, I nearly shouted for joy. Yet even though I knew that God was leading me, the doubts came my way. “What are you doing leaving this job? Do you really have the courage to go to a new country on your own and share your faith? You don’t have what it takes to witness to others.” But the joy and excitement of following God was bigger than my fears, bigger than my insecurities and bigger than my dreams for my life.

Days after I moved to San Carlos, I was listening to the song from the movie Aladdin called “A Whole New World.” I realized that I had been trapped behind castle gates, wanting and wishing to know what was on the other side. God came along and took me for a ride saying, “During these 10 months, I am going to show you the world through My eyes. See the people through the blood of Jesus. See all the places I can take you in this new world if you will just let your heart follow me.” I started to see the world through God’s perspective as I started learning about ministry in the church. I found myself going around visiting strangers in their homes and businesses, sharing God’s hope for this world. I found myself crying for children that had no idea of who Christ was. I felt honored and privileged that God chose me to be the one to share with them. I found myself telling God, “Dad, today I want to go to work with You.” I was full of anticipation as I took on each day, watching and waiting to see what God was going to do.

As I sat in my apartment in San Carlos and looked around, I realized how little I had that I would have considered a necessity just a few months before. I had just enough clothes for a week and a half and I had to wash clothes and dishes by hands. I had little privacy, living on church property. I would have been happy to not deal with ants on a daily basis, but I was still filled with joy and happiness. I realized that my joy did not come from the things that surround me. The joy in me came from following God. God gave me His joy. God gave me His love. There were days of frustration. There were days of discomfort, but by the end, I found that what I want to do is go to work with God every day. Now I realize how God has taken me to see the world through His eyes. I saw people’s lives changed as they turned their hearts over to Jesus. I watched little children learn how to pray. I helped hold the hands of the sick and shared God’s love with them. I saw how God’s peace can change fighters and drug addicts to passionate warriors for God. After letting God show me the way He sees Ecuador, I have a desire in my heart to watch as God changes these people’s sorrows to joy, as He changes their tears to laughter. I want to see the world the way God does. It is my choice whether I have plenty or not and to see the world through God’s eyes—a whole new world.

Editor’s note: Since Jenny’s 10-month experience in Ecuador, she has decided to return to this country as an OMS career missionary. Pray as she raises her funds.