Today’s post is written by Leslie,* a CAMA Worker serving in Southeast Asia.

Oh the places you’ll go, when He is at the Helm.

On Tuesday I had big plans to go for a run on the beach. I rode my bike to the shore, and to my surprise the waves were coming so far up the sand there was barely any room to jog. Frustrated, I decided to ride my bike instead.

I took off riding up the gorgeous coastline hit so hard by a tsunami 12 years ago. I know He is calling people to Himself here, but the sowing is slow. The ground only seems to be breaking up little by little. I rode praying for our expat teammates that were heavy on my heart.

All of a sudden, I hear someone coming up behind me on a bike. I turn around and it’s my friend Ibu, a local political figure. She hosts our school’s national teacher in her home and is a faithful follower of the majority faith. I’m surprised and excited all at once—another woman who likes to ride her bike in the early mornings?!? How did I not know this?

She greets me with a big smile and keeps up her strong pace. I catch up to her, and we ride hard talking about an upcoming bike event. She placed in the last event and hopes to keep competing—this is all just too cool.

I tell her I’d love to join her on some future rides and ask why I have never seen her out before. Turns out she rides one way, and I’ve been riding the other way for years. It’s laughable really—such a God thing to meet up with her after my plans changed.

As I sat with the Lord later, I pondered about the morning events. I’d planned to go for a run, but the Lord had a better idea. As I prayed for our teammates again, I felt at peace. He has the helm and when I try to take it back from Him worries flood my mind.

Just today, I rode with Ibu again. As we started off, the sky was dark and threatening rain. It began to sprinkle and the wind whipped up. We quickly pulled over and stopped at a coffee shop to wait out the storm. An hour later, the rain and conversation kept coming.

Sometimes politics muddle our conversation (I like talking about politics about as much as riding on a flat tire), but today we talked about dreams. God has been speaking to her through dreams for years. I told her that I had a friend whose husband dreamed of the tsunami the day before it happened. I also mentioned how God gave Joseph dreams to save many lives.

Ibu said that she too dreamed of the tsunami before it happened. In her dream, she was holding two of her three children in the midst of flood waters. And yes, when the tsunami actually did hit, two of her children survived but her 4-year-old daughter went missing.

She then shared a more recent dream where she meets her lost daughter after many years. In the dream, Ibu tries to explain she’s her mother, but the daughter is taken to another room and never seen again.

“Do you think that I will meet my daughter again?” she asked with her eyes watering. “Will this dream come true too?”

My heart breaks. As a mother, I can’t imagine losing a child.

“I can’t say whether you will meet up with your daughter again,” I said. “But I do believe she’s in heaven.” I was then able to share that God meets those that seek Him.

As I sit here thinking about this morning, I’m brought to my knees. There are so many wounded hearts that we interact with daily. Listening to His leading as we go through our days is our only Hope. May the places that we go be prepared for His good purpose. May our hearts be open to His soft voice to us and for those around us.

*Names changed.