“Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” –Joshua 1: 9
As the World Race approaches (only 8 ½ months away!), I start to worry that I’m not going to be able to share God’s word. I worry that I will freeze up and not know how to approach talking about the Gospel. I have been surrounded by Christians my whole life so it has been easy to just talk among my friends and family about the Gospel.
I don’t have much experience with mission trips and leading people to Christ. I have never been out of the country and I could probably count on one hand the amount of non-Christians that I have shared my faith with. Saying this makes me feel as though I have failed God and that I haven’t done my job as a Christian. I don’t want to be afraid to share the Gospel; I want people to experience God’s love as I have experienced it. So why haven’t I shared my faith? Honestly, I don’t know. But I do know that I want that to change.
And God is changing that.
What I am discovering through this whole process is that God is able to use the World Race as a starting point for sharing my faith. I have been SO BLESSED by everyone’s support and when people ask how the journey is going I am able to share with them God’s amazing provision.
So maybe that is why God is taking me on this journey. He is giving me an opening to talk about his love and grace and his many provisions. He is also breaking me out of my comfort zone and opening my eyes to the needs of this world. And honestly, that makes me excited. Even though I know each day is going to have difficulties, I know that God will be with me and I can rest in his peace.
Joshua 1:9 reminded me of that today; I am not alone in this and God will always be there to guide me in the right direction. I have no need to worry about what I will say because it will not be me speaking but it will be God speaking through me.
I want to thank everyone who has supported me financially and by praying for me as well. Like I said above, I have been blown away by people’s generosity and continued support. Just knowing that I have people backing me up puts a smile on my face and gets me more and more excited to begin this journey. So thank you again for your kindness. This trip wouldn’t be possible without your help.
~Andrea
P.S. A few prayer requests:
1. Please pray for my squad as we begin to form friendships and learn more about one another.
2. Please pray for the countries we will be going to: Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Botswana, Swaziland, Vietnam, Albania, Turkey, Nicaragua, Honduras and Costa Rica
3. Please pray for me as this journey continues and that I would continue to surrender everything to God and let him be in control.
