I’M MOVING!!!
I bought my plane ticket and I’m going!!
I am moving to Gainesville, Georgia in just a couple of weeks. The land of sweet tea, accents I can only sort of understand, sweet tea, friendly people, fried chicken, Adventures in Missions HQ, and did I mention there is real SWEET TEA…
I always said I wasn’t going to be that person. The one that moves to Georgia and does anything with Adventures other than go on a mission trip. Why would I do that? I didn’t want to. At the end of month 8 debrief one of our squad leaders, Hope (oh hey, Hope!), told us what some of our options were. Some were jobs in the Adventures office, and this one option was called the Center for Global Action (CGA). It is an apprenticeship through Adventures, a sort of new program that they are doing. What happens is: you move to Georgia, live in awesome community, get to be discipled, work part time in the Adventures office, and so many other wonderful things. I immediately knew that it would be good for me to go, but that I definitely didn’t want any part of it.
People on my squad began asking me if I was going to move to Georgia. They advised me that I should go. Told me it would be good for me. It got to the point where people would just look at me and I would say “I’m not moving to Georgia.” “I refuse.” “I’m not ever gonna move to Georgia.”
Don’t ever try and tell God what you’re not gonna do.
I went to Gainesville in January for Project Searchlight. At Searchlight I got to see my squad again. It was a beautiful reunion filled with many hugs, tears, inside jokes, peace, and joy. At the same time though, it was full of challenge and encouragement to go deeper into what the Lord has for your life. Once I was there, people were making decisions left and right to go do this or go to that; to move to Gainesville; to stay at home; to go to another country; to do something more, something bigger. I probably had at least 35 people tell me at Searchlight that I needed to be in Gainesville at CGA. So many of my dearest friends were staying for CGA. I missed them so much that I just wanted to be there with them. But I also felt a pull to come back to Michigan. I had made the decision at the end of Searchlight that I was going to not return to Michigan and I was going to stay in Georgia [despite feeling slightly uneasy about it] because so many people told me I should go.
Then at the end of Searchlight some crazy stuff happened, I was supposed to go to Alabama for a while before going back to Georgia, but that didn’t end up happening and I ended up in North Carolina instead, with my dear friend Robin and a new friend Keeley. After my week in North Carolina I felt that the Lord was calling me to be home, in Michigan, for six months to be with my family. So I changed my mind about CGA and decided that if I wanted to go later, it would still be an option. I knew coming back to Michigan would not be easy and it hasn’t been, but it has been good. I got to see my brother graduate from high school and I got to see him play in his final basketball and baseball games. It was great. And, just as the Lord promised, at the end of June, it was time for me to go again.
My summer has been pretty full of travel and fun and also full of the question “What am I going to do now?” A few weeks ago I was talking to a couple of friends and realized it was time… time to go to CGA. So I applied again and was accepted for the September term! So I will be moving to Georgia in September for a year! As part of the classes I will be doing there I will be in the Field Leadership track. Meaning I will be able to lead teams once I am done.
As a part of this program I will be fundraising to cover my expenses of living while in Georgia. I have received a 50% scholarship, which I am so thankful for. But I need to raise $300 a month and always have two months worth of support in my account. In order to make it down to Georgia to even be able to start at CGA, I need $600 in my account. I am not worried, I know that God is the provider of all things. I am excited to be invested in as a person and to be able to invest in the lives of others who are looking to serve the Lord through missions.
What I really need in this season and what I am believing the Lord will provide are monthly supporters who will partner with me as I continue this journey. If 30 people simply commit to giving $10 a month, I will be funded. Or if 10 people commit to $30 a month, I am funded. But I cannot do this without your help.
If you would like to support me please click on the tab on the side of my blog that says “Support Me for CGA Here”. It is done the same way as donating to my World Race. The semester starts on September 13th so I need to have my support in as soon as possible. Please consider partnering with me as I continue to seek the Lord from Gainesville, Georgia.
As a financial supporter, you would not just be investing your hard earned dollars into my life, but into the lives of so many others as I get to help others live out their dreams of serving the Lord through missions.
Also, to everyone who would like to be included in my update newsletter that I will be sending out please get me your email address. It will be different from my blog.
If you would like more information about the CGA feel free to visit the website www.adventures.org/globalaction
Here is the video for CGA that was made by my good friend and an apprentice at CGA:
