The past couple of weeks, as I've thought and pondered and dreamed and prayed about the World Race, God has reminded me again and again what He expects of me.
He has also reminded me how…small I am in the big scheme of things.
Next year, as I am living and serving and ministering in every kind of setting, I know I will witness unimaginable injustices. I will see poverty that I never knew existed. I will see the devastation of starvation and hunger. I will meet victims and survivors of genocide, trafficking, prostitution, and illnesses. I will hold and love children that have literally nothing or noone. I will see things that I have only heard about, witness living conditions that don't seem possible, and see brokenness of every kind.
I also recognize that I cannot singlehandedly destroy these injustices. I do not have the power to eradicate poverty. I do not have the means to eliminate world hunger. I do not have the power to free all those entrapped in forced prostitution or labor. I do not have the ability to adopt all the orphans of the world, to care for all the widows.
I wish that I did.
But the truth is…I can do none of these things on my own….only the one who holds the entire world in His hands has that kind of power.
So if im not "changing the world" in some huge way, what in the heck am I doing next year on the Race? What CAN I do?? What is my purpose, exactly?
My father in heaven has reminded me again and again…is that what I can do…and not just on the World Race, but RIGHT now…is to love each person that I meet. To give everything I am, where I am, to the people God allows me to encounter.
Because I believe it matters to love the people right before me. I believe it matters to hold and speak life over that tiny orphan in Kenya. I believe it matters to love that child living in the street in Honduras. To bring hope to that woman in Thailand trapped in prositution. To share the love of Christ with a gypsy family in Romania. To be the hands and feet of Christ to the homeless in Nicaragua…to the hopeless in Uganda. I believe it matters to love every individual that I encounter regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, or SES. I believe it matters to be the hands and feet of Christ to them in any way that I can.
And you know what? God believes that these individuals matter too. I KNOW He does. He created and loves each of them. These people are not just numbers or a statistic. They are real people, with real stories. They are people with faces and names. And I intend to love each of them with the overflow of the insane amount of love God gives me every moment. Whether that is the person handing me my plane ticket Day 1, a ministry contact, or a man, woman, or child of one of the 11 countries I will live in next year… I intend to freely give out of the love Christ has given me.
And that is not a call just for next year… that is a call for right now.
Thank you to each of you who believe that this matters. Thank you to those who are praying for me and supporting me, and for those that will. I could not do this without your faithfulness!!!
Please consider being a part of the journey God has called me to. He has shown me again and again that He is faithful to provide for us and take care of us when we are faithful to give out of what he has entrusted us with. On the left, there is a tab labeled "Support Me" which will give you instructions on how to support me online or by mail. Also, I would love to meet with you on an individual basis, so please contact me if you would like to learn more about what I am doing next year!!
I love you all.
