Adventures WorldRace SethBarnes Sponsorship Giving

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How was I called? This is a difficult question for me, because I thought I knew the answer until recently. I’ve been telling people for the past 9 months my story of surrendering 4 months to God and having my life turned upside down. Coming back to the States with a vision and a passion for missions and knowing that mission’s would be my life’s work. And it’s true, don’t get me wrong, but as I sat in Oklahoma City spending time with Faith, my best friend since I was 8 years old, talking about our life’s journeys so far and praying about our futures, she said something that awoke memories that I had forgotten (or more accurately, suppressed by my own selfish desires).  She said, “I always knew you would do this– be a missionary, change the world. I remember the night at Stars and Stripes (a revival meeting we went to in KC when I was about 10 years old) when you surrendered your life to missions. You may not have taken the straightest path, but I knew you would get here.” After she said this we said our goodbyes and I spent the next three hours driving to my parents house.  During that drive I looked back on my life and saw for the first time the amazing things that God has done that all seemed unconnected and coincidental at the time but when looked at them in perspective they were all intertwined to bring me to where I am today. So I will say that I have been running from the call of God since I was 10, I spent a month in Holland when I was 15 and when I got back to the states I heard God at camp calling me again to surrender my plans to His will, but it didn’t take long to silence His voice with friends and parties and basketball and a boyfriend. My Pawpaw and my Dad did a lot of missions work in the Philippines during my junior high and high school years, so missions played a big role in my life, but honestly it was just an exciting story to tell and an adventurous summer trip for me to experience. I put all of my time and energy into basketball and my boyfriend, my plans were to go to school and get my culinary arts degree, get married, buy a house, and a nice car and live happily ever after. God had different plans, better plans, higher plans. (Jeremiah 29:11, Isaiah 55:9) So, in the fall of 2007, I found myself back in Springfield, MO at Baptist Bible College, broken hearted and partially surrendered (except can we ever be “partially surrendered”? I think it’s an all or nothing kind of act). I knew God wanted me back at BBC so I obeyed him that much; I went back to school, but on my terms. I continued my major in business and played basketball, neither of these things do I regret, I love my teammates and I received an excellent education that I’m sure will help me in my future ministry. During the fall semester of my senior year (2008) I was visiting my parents one weekend and while I was there they had missionaries from China speaking at their church. These missionaries owned a restaurant as their platform into the country and so my Dad said, “My daughter has her Culinary Arts degree, she should come work with ya’ll next summer!” (He is very eager to get me out of the country.) After some gentle prodding from my father (both Heavenly and earthly) and lots of hesitation and procrastination on my part and then a ton of God’s provision, I eventually found myself boarding a plane bound for Asia the day after my graduation.

Well, I’ve made this a super long story but the fact of the matter is after my summer in China my life has never been the same. I really was a business major who gave God four months of her life but once I got a taste of His goodness I was hooked! (Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him! Psalm 34:8) I now have this undeniable pull on my heart for the nations, for the lost and dying in this world, not just China, Philippines, or Swaziland but right here in Amarillo, Texas.

As for the World Race, I have a friend, Auston Copeland, who is on the January 2010 Squad and I started supporting and praying for him last fall. I thought this was an amazing opportunity for him, I told everyone I knew about it and finally my roommate said, “Chels, why don’t you do it?” There was the seed, I had a handful of reasons why it wasn’t “for me”, it wasn’t practical, and again I was caught in the cycle of telling God what His plans for me should be. Well, after months of prayer and fasting my Dad and I went to the BE Conference in Denver. I wanted to check out AIM and see if this was the kind of ministry I could partner with and get behind. Well, can I just say that the few short hours I spent in the basement at Confluence Ministries with Lanny Richardson and about 18 other people opened my eyes to things about God that I had never experienced. I was shaken so far out of my comfort zone in that one short day that I can’t even fathom what 11 months on the Race is going to do to me. After the BE Conference I was still undecided and I told God that I would continue to pray about it until the January route was posted and I would trust Him to give me peace by then as to what I should do, the route was posted the next day. So I thought that was about as good a sign as any that I should apply and so I did and now you know…the rest of the story.