The
events of the past few weeks, and knowledge of what looms in the weeks to come,
have kept this phrase running through my mind. Just two weeks ago we launched the college teams in our Passport program
to locations in every corner of the world; including Thailand, New Zealand, Cambodia,
Uganda, Kenya, Swaziland, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Peru. And in this coming week we will train high
school teams before they scatter to other areas of the Earth for 2-4 week trips.
participants to train them in specific skills, pray over them, and prepare them
to step into the larger shoes of leadership. We have some amazing young people who have stepped up for this season,
and it was a blessing to be a part of preparing them for the journey.
the participants arrived it was a whirlwind of activity! We hosted 200+ participants for 4 days at
Toccoa Falls College, a beautiful campus an hour from our offices. Over that time we worshiped, provided tips
and information to prepare individuals for life on the field, did team building
and cultural exercises, and prepared hearts to receive all that God will unfold
over the coming months.
Here is an excerpt from a blog entry written by a
participant during his time at training…
“The past four months
have been a particularly perilous season in my life; it has been a time of
confusion and clarity, impossible and improbable, smoke and mirrors, the
effaceable and the inevitable. The past four days have been a culmination of
all those things, a marvelous release of things cramped within so long one
hardly knows how to utter them anymore. I had a tight-taught, chaotic mess of
thoughts, so dense and so immense that I forgot how to hear the voice of God
over all the noise of this world.
But clarity always comes clearest when the fog is most dense, the
shadows deepest, and the mist heaviest. I felt heavy as air, light as lead,
bright as a bulb burnt out and dead – an undressed mannequin, a shaven wolf, a
scorpion without a stinger, a horse without a hoof. But all of that changed,
and in an instant (yes, a mere instant) I found that clarity I had been so
adamantly seeking for so long. Words of truth were spoken into my heart of
hearts, the words of the Holy Spirit whispering, “Child, your identity is
only ever in me. You are mine, you are precious to me, and I love you.”
God has shown me just how much I will need to surrender my strength, my
constant need to be this immaculate example for others: I can’t do that, but
God did!”
This is why I do what I do. It is as much for the students who come as it is for the nations they
visit. Transformation, growth, and the
realization of our identity as sons and daughters of Christ is an amazing
moment to witness in a person’s life, and a gift to be a part of. To watch these students let the reality of
that truth sink to their core, and the love of the Father to begin overflowing
into every area of their lives, all before they have even left the country! One thing God has taught me is that there is
ALWAYS more in store, and I cannot wait to see how these teams continue to be
transformed and bless the world with their presence and ministry over the
summer.
Now that teams have arrived, and have been working in their ministries
for about two weeks, our interactions as Field Supporters have shifted
primarily to Skype conversations, emails, and covering the leaders and their
participants in prayer. I am working
directly with the teams in Swaziland, Thailand, and Peru, and have enjoyed walking
with team leaders through their first days in ministry and leadership.
As the Passport teams continue their work abroad this week,
here at home we will be hosting Ambassador training camp to prepare and send
out our summer high school mission trips. They will embark on 2-4 week journeys to many of the same countries as
our other programs. It will be my first
introduction to this program, and I’m excited to get to know these young
people.
Prayer Requests?…Why yes I do have some!
Pra1) Pray for ALL our missionaries as they take on
physical, spiritual, and emotional challenges to spread the love of Christ
around the globe.
2) 2) Financial support! I am in desperate need of
some people to partner with me in this way in order to keep working with
Adventures in Missions in Field Support. Ready to support my ministry? Start here.
!
