Going into Training Camp, I didn’t have many expectations. I figured it would be hard emotionally, spiritually, and physically, and that’s really all I expected (bucket showers, port a potties, and “boot camp” sum up the physical part). But more than anything, it was empowering. If I’m being 100% honest, my motives behind pursuing this trip were almost all about me. I wanted God to show me what I’m supposed to do with the rest of my life; I didn’t want to be sitting in a classroom trying to figure it out. I wanted to travel the world and be adventurous. I really wanted to feel God (I was under the impression that would only happen if I was doing something radical like going to the nations and sharing His truth with the unreached). The bonus to all of this selfish motivation was that I would be “helping people in need.” Little did I know how God would change my motives before I even got the chance to leave the country.
The impression that I couldn’t feel or hear God unless I was doing some great work for Him was a result of fear and the lies of the Devil. I feared the supernatural aspect of God, and I feared being ridiculed. The lie that I had to be “good” to be truly loved and accepted by God had invaded me without me realizing it. Yet, God broke through those walls of fears and lies, and now His love and truth is pouring in. I am His daughter, the daughter of a King, and there is no limit to the love He has for me. It is never ending. There is nothing I can or can’t do to lessen His affection for me. I felt the magnitude of that truth for the first time last week, and it wasn’t because I was training to “go to the nations.” It was simply because I opened myself up to my own feelings and allowed myself to process those feelings (SURPRISE- good things come from being vulnerable).
After rediscovering my worth in Jesus, I learned that this trip isn’t about me and it isn’t about “helping people in need.” God doesn’t NEED me to do anything, He CHOSE me to go establish the Kingdom to the people of the nations through His Spirit. You see, I don’t have hope or peace to give to the hopeless, but I have power and authority through the Holy Spirit to share the hope and peace of Jesus Christ to the people. Seriously, how awesome is that?! And I don’t need to “figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life” because God already knows how He is going to use me to further His Kingdom. In this season of my life, it is through missions in the Philippines, Swaziland, and Nicaragua. In the next season, who knows? But Colossians 2:10 says, “You have a true and full life in Jesus Christ” so what is there to figure out?
Meet TEAM ALETHEIA (that is Greek translated to “unconcealedness, unclosedness, or truth”)
Me, Kate, Maggie, Anna, Hope, and Alex
*Funding: I am currently 79% funded (whoop whoop) meaning I still need $2,657 by AUGUST 22ND. If you feel led to give, click the Support Me link on the left! Prayer is also accepted! 🙂
