I want to tell you about Catalyst! Papa blessed me beyond what I thought possible. I walked away in awe of the Kingdom and how strangers can be instantly connected through Christ. I was only in Georgia for 43 hours and yet so much happened in such a short amount of time. I landed unaware of the impact and yet there was excitement in the air. I went straight from ATL airport to Catalyst, where I was introduced to a bunch of World Race alumni. Such amazing men and women of God!
From there I went to a house in Gainsville for people working @ Adventures in Missions. While there I was fortunate enough to with one of my favorite people on the planet. His name is Noe and he has given me so much insight into my life! Check out his blog@ http://noerivera.theworldrace.org/.
I woke up around 4:30 the next morning and soaked in Papa’s presence. This was so needed, as I was a little nervous about going on the outdoor stage. I drove with some World Race alum to Catalyst around 6:00 and was up on stage by 7:30. Being on stage in front of thousands of people was: new, stretching, nerve racking, and exhilarating all at once. I was up there for 2-3 minutes as they asked me questions about The World Race and my journey.
I had two more interviews. One was around noon, downstairs in a room that was full of computers, tv cameras, and those big lights that you see on movie sets. Check it out! I haven’t watched it yet because there are about ten of us using the internet right now but I hope you enjoy it! http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/17713539 The second one was later in the evening as stuff was winding down. Carlos Whittaker, the one on the left, asked me some questions about how my day went and how people could help me out.
Papa blessed my socks off as I walked around sharing my story. So many prayed for me and had so much interest in what Papa is doing in my life. I had pastors of youth groups video tape me for their kids. College students tell me that they are going to ask their school to support me. I was given a Kammock hammock to test out in the field! I had a man from that has a ministry in Kenya, hand me $100 dollars after telling me about how in the last 18 months they had fed 5 million mouths and were pushing for another million! This brought tears to my eyes! I was so overwhelmed by blessings that I am still processing.
I was also able to worship with Hillsong which was so amazing! I have never seen 13,000 people come to together to worship our Jesus! It was powerful to say the least!
I was asked to actually launch from Catalyst. So during the morning service, the crowd was asked to come up to me during the day and offer me a place to stay for the night and a ride to the airport. Not too long after I was off stage that need was fulfilled! I didn’t talk to my new friends from Mississippi until that night. This was such a divine appointment! This group of 19 or so, were actually the last ones at Catalyst! They were so hungry for God that we stayed and prayed for more. My kind of people. Once we left Catalyst, they bought me dinner, gave me a bed to sleep in, paid for my taxi and train to the airport, gave me additional support, and if that wasn’t enough, woke up at 5 am and prayed over me! Really?!?! God is so good and I am so blessed by absolutely every one of you!
So much has happened since Catalyst that I want to share with you. I will be working overtime and hope to have two more posts before Monday. We shall see! Oh and if you haven’t subscribed to my blog, all you need to do is type in your email to the box on the left and you will get updates when I post them. Love you!
