I must be crazy.
I am taking a year off from pursuing my graduate degree, starting my career, dating, and building my future. I am chasing Jesus all around the world for the next 11 months. What am I thinking??? The world, people, my family tell me I’m crazy. I should be chasing the American Dream…not Jesus.
Well, let me tell you something. I am crazy. I am beautifully, wonderfully, recklessly crazy. I am starting this journey to love Jesus and to serve His children around the world. I don’t want what this world has to offer. I want to see God’s Kingdom come to Earth. And I am a builder. I am building His Kingdom in 11 different countries for the next 11 months with every ounce of love, energy, and life in me. I am not going to sit back and wait for others to do something about the brokenness and evil in the nations. I am going to be the change I want to see in the world. I am going to be a light in the darkness. I am going.
“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age…” Titus 2:11-12
So off I head to the nations!
I am officially in Guatemala! We arrived two days ago. The World Race has officially begun! My squad and I are in Quiche, Guatemala (by the way, it is our all-squad month meaning we are all at the same site). This town is at 7000 feet elevation! Super awesome being in these beautiful mountains. We are at a ministry called Agape in Action. They provide local medical missions and care for the people of this town. The hosts are so hospitable and so caring. You can check out their website: www.agapeinaction.org.
My team’s specific ministry in Guatemala is at a local children’s home called Casa de Sabiduria. This means House of Wisdom. It was started by an American missionary and is run by a local pastor and his wife. We had our first day of ministry today. It was so much fun. The children are so sweet. Technically, we aren’t helping at the orphanage but at the school that the kids go to. It has 62 children running in ages from four to fourteen. These children have so much love and so much Jesus. They literally have nothing, but you would never guess it. Their games consist of running, coloring, and playing games with string. But their joy and love blow me away. By the way, they give us all hugs all the time. It warms my heart.
Today, I got in a tickle fight with a couple second graders. This is our ministry. I get to literally love, tickle, hug, teach, and play with children for the next three weeks. I get to show them Jesus even though we can barely communicate. But the funny part is, they show me Jesus. I have done nothing to earn their love, but I receive it in abundance anyways. This is it. This is why I gave up a year of my life. I get to experience Jesus in the most beautiful ways. As I seek to change the world, He is changing me.
So yes, I am crazy. But I wouldn’t change it. It is the most overwhelming blessing Christ has ever given me. Maybe the world needs a little more craziness… 🙂
As a side note, please pray for my team and I as we seek to love and serve these precious children. Pray for unity and strength (of heart, mind, and soul). Also, I still need about another $1,000 to meet my next financial deadline. Please prayerfully consider sponsoring me in order for me to continue building the Lord’s Kingdom for the next ten months. Thank you to all my supporters thus far. Your sacrificial generosity is so overwhelming. I love you all and am praying for you.
*Also, I am at an internet cafe right now, because we don’t have WIFI, and the internet is a little slow, but pictures are to come! And if you contact me, it may take a couple days before I can get back to you. But I will, I promise!
