Catherine Watson (whose real name is not used here for security reasons) is a rising senior at Converse College with plans to graduate next spring with degrees in interior design and art history. She has wanted to become an interior designer since she was in the fifth grade. Imagine her surprise several months ago when God revealed his design for her life after college.
Converse College interior design major Catherine Watson (not her real name), second from left, has discovered that God has his own design for her life.“Becoming a missionary was not a part of my plans,” said Watson, a member of Hope Point Community Church in Spartanburg. Yet now she is halfway through the application process to become a Journeyman with the International Mission Board.
Watson’s journey began two years ago while attending a collegiate missions conference, where she heard a worker speak about serving in China. As she started to feel an unusual burden for missions there, Watson “asked God if he was serious.” She began praying about what God wanted her to do and asked for signs to help her know.
Three months later, her college minister announced that there would be a mission trip to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. “I cried because God was showing me the way,” Watson said, “but I still needed the finances to go.” Watson was able to get a job that helped pay for half of the trip, and, with other donations she’d received, she only had to pay $200.
Many college students would have acknowledged a coincidence, thanked God for the opportunity to go on a mission trip, and gone right back to life as it was before. But God continued to place the country of China in Watson’s life, and her love for its people continued to grow.
Watson is also passionate about sports and was excited to learn about a trip planned during the summer of 2009 to China through an Upstate ministry that uses sports to establish relationships with the goal of sharing the gospel.
Watson’s only concern was raising enough money to be able to go. “The Sunday before I was supposed to leave on the trip, I still owed $1,100. By Thursday, I only had to pay $400, which was exactly what I had in my bank account,” Watson said. The experience deepened her love for China and gave her many chances to share her faith.
The team used basketball to connect with college students, and a group of Americans with basketballs easily drew curious crowds for a closer look. The team spent the evenings helping the students practice English, which gave them opportunities to share their faith.
“It was so easy to open up the conversations that would ultimately lead to sharing the gospel. With questions like ‘What’s your favorite holiday?’ the story of Jesus could be told,” said Watson.
Tracy Turner, Watson’s Baptist collegiate minister, said it is encouraging and refreshing to see students like Watson respond to God’s call. “My prayer for this ministry is that we will live in a culture of ‘going,’?” Turner said. “I want to make sure college students know they can be multipliers in everything they do.”
Watson is excited to see how God is going to continue to work out his design for service overseas after she graduates. “God has provided for me all along the way,” she said, citing a Bible verse from Habakkuk 1:5: “Look at the nations and watch, and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.”
“I am excited that I have already made connections in China with students that I’ve met on these two trips. I am so excited and on fire to meet so many more there. Being in China was so comfortable, it felt like I was home,” Watson said. – SCBC