The Story - part 1

Most of you probably don't know the story that has brought me to this point - the point, that is, at which missions is enough of a possibility for me that I'm writing about it on the internet. :3  And I guess it would kind of be a good thing to know if I'm going to tell you all about my adventures.  So here's the scoop!
From the time I was 14 I knew I wasn't going to go to college.  Mama suggested the idea of missions as an alternative.  At that point I thought it was a neat idea, but I had no clue how to get started.
Fast-forward to the second half of my senior year.  I had more of an idea of what I would do with my life after graduation but was open to opportunities.  I still toyed around with the idea of missions work.  It seemed more feasible now - we're members of a Christian and Missionary Alliance church, and missions is what we do best!  But I had no idea where I would go or what I would do.
Our church has assisted others in the Alliance (especially the church in Shelby, Ohio) to build a women and children's hospital in Mali, Africa.  A couple of ladies from that church have gone there several times to work on/at the hospital and minister to the people.  A girl our pastor's wife taught in Sunday school is the director of the nursing program there.  The father-in-law of our youth group leader did the electrical work in the hospital when it was built 8 years ago.  And the Care and Concern ladies from our church roll bandages and collect hats, booties, blankets, and onesies for the babies born there - I've sent some that I've knitted.  Last spring we helped to pack a shipping container full of baby goodies and medical supplies to send.  So there are connections all over the place.
Well, one day (Jan. 24, 2013, to be exact), we were praying in church for the Mali hospital.  Ms. Faith Garrett related a phone conversation she had had with one of the Shelby ladies(Jean Viers) about how chaotic the country was what with all the uprisings lately.  We were praying specifically for Jessica Schaeffer, the nursing director.  All the missionaries, including Jessica, had been forced to evacuate the hospital to Burkina Faso for their own safety.  It's pretty scary, and we were all concerned since we have helped with this hospital and know the people involved.
As we were praying, my mouth dropped open.  Mali.  It hit me like a thunderclap - that was where I was supposed to go.  Why hadn't I thought of it before?
Of course, it seems ridiculous.  The country was in the middle of a revolution - and still is.  The career missionaries weren't even allowed to be there.  But I was supposed to go.  I just knew it.
That was the first time God spoke to me.  I didn't realize that aha! moment as His voice at first.  But the weeks that followed showed me that that's exactly what that moment was.
The next Monday I called Jean Viers and left her a message asking her to call me back.  I also emailed Jessica to see exactly what was going on and what I would need to do in order to get a trip.  (Providentially, she was our missionary of the month - we were supposed to pray for her as a church through all of January, so her email address was in the bulletin for weeks!)  In another couple of days she wrote back.  She and a small portion of the staff were back in Mali, but only medical personnel were being permitted over the borders.  There was no telling when things would settle down - I should pursue other options.
I knew I was supposed to go to Mali.  But how was I going to get in?  This seemed like an awfully strange time for God to tell me to go there.  By Thursday I still hadn't heard from Jean, and the news from Jessica was pretty disheartening.  During my devotions on Thursday morning I told God all about it.  I wasn't feeling desperate.  I had done what He had told me to do, and I was at a dead-end.  I had simply run out of steps.
I "happened" to read Proverbs 16:3, which says, "Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed."  I've read that verse approximately 7 bazillion times.  But I had never taken it so seriously.
I did something I'd never done before.  I recommitted to the Lord the plans He had given me, then I challenged Him.
I dared God.
I told him I had done what He'd told me to do.  But it seemed impossible for these plans to work.  If He wanted me to go to Mali, He'd have to do the next thing.  He'd have to work a miracle to get me there.   Go ahead, Lord.  Show me what You can do. 
Ladies and gentlemen, we serve a faithful God Who delights in doing good to His children.  I would have never, ever in a million years guessed what He would do next.