He directs our path!

​by Linda Hokit


        Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
    In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your path. Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV)

      I have seen the Lord lead me in many ways over the years. Let me share some examples of how God worked in the past and fulfilled His promises in the present.
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      PAST: When I was only one month old my parents traveled by car from California to Alabama. While driving, we hit what is now referred to as the Panhandle Blizzard of 1957. There were no hotel rooms available, gas was running out and people where dying. Late into the night, my father pulled into a gas station and asked for help. The owner said, he and his wife had been praying for a young couple with a baby they could help. That first trip turned into 7 we took adding my brother a few years later. As a result, I was familiar with many cultures and environments before I finished first grade!

     PRESENT: Later in my adult years I taught Conversational English, a form of English as a Second Language. During my missionary years I was the support person for a number of schools throughout the state of Alaska. My mentor, Louise had retired but was still teaching when she heard about a church in Georgia who was sending a construction team to Alaska. The leader of that team felt strongly that he should invite the Vietnamese pastor to come along. The pastor had no skills in construction but God had a plan. Louise heard he was coming, drove to a town where they were working and told the pastor why she believed he was in Alaska! She had been working with a group of Vietnamese for well over 10 years.

      They learned English but never embraced Christ. She called together all the Vietnamese she could gather at the last minute. About 5 adults came. Once they heard the Gospel in their language from a man who happened to be in the same refugee camp at the same time they were, they all accepted the Lord!

      PAST: On our last trip to Alabama, we attended Mt Zion Baptist Church in Huntsville. During VBS I accepted the Lord and was baptized. It was a large red brick church of about 2,000 people which was a bit overwhelming for a child who attended a church in California that was created from a ranch style  home. Bethany Baptist only had about 50 people, but it was the first place I remember at age 8 understanding the awe of God. My pastor came from an organization that ministered on the streets. He was a “chalk talk artist” and drew his sermon on Easter Sunday that year. Easter has been my favorite holiday since then.

      PRESENT: After I became a missionary, I received a card from a women’s group who sent me card on my birthday to say they were praying for me. It was from Mt. Zion Baptist Church. I wrote the ladies to say their church played a role in growing up a missionary and often spoke about the faithfulness of their church.
     
      The Alabama ladies participated in a tradition we have in Southern Baptist circles to pray for
missionaries on their birthday. If you would like to see the names of missionaries you can pray for, go to https://wmu.com/prayercalendar. You will see me there on the 23rd .

     PAST: Before I graduated from High School we lived in California, Alabama, Mississippi, Alaska and Colorado. We moved and changed our address 25 times. As an adult I moved 20 more times and have to date lived in 11 states and 2 Canadian Provinces. I arrived in Vermont 8 years ago. MISSIONARY PAST: Many people have asked where I served and what I did. Before, I was appointed I served in my church while employed as a paid worker for Girl Scouts, USA. About 8 years later, I went to Vancouver, British Columbia to serve during the World’s Fair and then moved over to Calgary to direct the Canadian Southern Baptist ministry outreach during the Calgary Olympic Games. That was followed by service in Alaska as interim Youth and Education Director and in New York as a Resort Ministries project leader. I received my call to ministry while in New York. At the time, Baptist Convention of New England had a seminary extension program in Boston sponsored by Southern Seminary. I became a Church Starter Strategist serving in New Hampshire and Massachusetts while going to seminary. After Seminary I went to Buffalo, New York to direct a ministry during the Summer World University Games, then worked at the New York State Fair Ministry we developed during my first experience in New York.

      Most of the work I did before seminary was related to meeting people in the places they play in order to bring them the Gospel, which is called Resort Ministries. 

      AFTER SEMINARY: After seminary I moved to Alaska as an appointed missionary. I was a Church and Community Ministries Consultant. I helped churches meet the needs of people in their communities while sharing the Gospel; I did this role twice before retiring. In between, I served in Stone Mountain, Georgia working to establish permanently ministries that were begun during the Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta including a campground ministry at a local state park. After retiring from Appointed Missionary Service, I served 10 years with American Red Cross in Alaska and Vermont. In it all I can say,  God directed my path.