In December I found my way to Zambia. I spent 2 weeks with children at an orphanage called Tree of Life with an organization called Family Legacy. I hung out with kids and taught 13-18 year old girls some photography skills. (don’t let that fool you, I’m very far from being a photographer…) I fell in love with missions. Sadly, I had to come back to America and when I did, this is what happened.
In my journal, on January 8th 2014 I wrote “…I really want to do Your will. Give me wisdom to know what it is you want for my life. If you want me to stay where I am, I will stay. If You want me in full time ministry, that’s where I want to be. I wish I didn’t need a concrete answer, but I certainly need it to be from you. If I loose my job, I will go into full-time ministry. If that is at the church, that’s where I will go. If that is in Africa, that’s where I will go. Show me all the options you have for me. As Audio Adrenaline says, ‘I want to be Your hands and feet, I’ll go where you send me.'”
January 8th is the day I was stuck in a hotel in DC because my flight home had been cancelled. This journal entry was written at 3 in the morning when I couldn’t sleep anymore; jet lag had fully set in. You see, since that day the Lord has been preparing my heart for full time missions. Thursday, February 20th, my department at Windstream in Twinsburg, OH was eliminated. I lost my job. The concrete answer I nonchalantly asked for. Looking back and seeing the day I actually wrote this is overwhelming. I’ve been telling people that God’s been preparing my heart for full time missions since I came back from Africa. I literally stepped off the plane, onto US soil, slept for 8 hours, woke up and all I could think about was how I could get back into it.
I had started my application for the World Race before I lost my job, I felt God was calling me specifically to this ministry I just didn’t know when. The day I walked out of Windstream, I had a conversation with God that went kind of like this: “Okay…lets talk about this…WHAT DO I DO NOW?? (through about 1.5 minutes of tears) Finish my application for the World Race? Finish the application? Really? finish it? (less tears each time I repeated it) Okay. Lets do this! I will finish the application!”
I finished it, submitted it, interviewed, and was accepted.
What is the World Race?
The World Race is an 11 month Christian mission trip to 11 countries around the world. One of the unique things about the World Race is that it’s not only a mission trip but also an intensive discipleship program designed to launch my generation into our specific kingdom calling. Through the World Race, my team and I will serve in partnership with churches and ministries in local communities to preach the Gospel, plant churches, work in orphanages, minister to women and children trapped in prostitution as a result of human trafficking, and bring the restorative hope of the Father’s love to many tribes and nations.
Which countries will you be traveling to?
The route could change, but for now these are the countries I’m scheduled to experience.
Dominican Republic (which I already know I love, the people there are amazing!)
Haiti (DR’s neighbor, they’ve got to be fantastic people as well!)
Honduras
Guatemala
Malawi
Zimbabwe
Mozambique
Philippines
Thailand
Burma
Cambodia
