Adventures WorldRace SethBarnes Sponsorship Giving

| by archiveworldraceblogs

Thanksgiving took on a whole new meaning this year.

Myself and 7 girls (all from different teams) spent 2 days cooking Thanksgiving dinner for 50 people on a budget of less than $3 a person… Turkey was a bit beyond that budget so we allowed chicken, smothered in gravy, to masquerade as our ‘turkey’. 
Turkey day in Turkey with no Turkey… Unfortunate? Not in the least.

Successfully managing a meal of that magnitude is enough to be thankful for… but true to form, God gives us “…immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.” (Eph 3:20) The 8 of us went to the church the night before to start cooking. I secretly prayed for aprons because the girls said last time they were there, there weren’t any…. and we all know my affection for the staple of a womans kitchen. God provided 2, just to see me smile ☺

We lasted until 2am and our time was full of laughter, tears, and lots of Christmas music. We woke up the next morning and started our day with coffee and Jesus (the way I believe God intended it, one is not nearly as good without the other in the morning). We worshiped, we prayed and we filled that sanctuary with the sweet fragrance of Christ, so that when our squad came in, they felt at home.

As they trickled in, we started the morning with a beautiful time of worship. After, our coaches and squad leaders prayed over all of us who were sick. (I had been suffering from an ulcer and ended up in the hospital a few weeks prior. I had been on daily medication to reduce the symptoms.)

I was completely healed that day
I have had NO pain since
I have not needed my medication in weeks!

I went to check on my glazed carrots after getting healed, (you know just a typical Thanksgiving!) only to be dragged out of the kitchen once again. This time for something I had been looking forward to for a while.

I had been considering getting baptized for quite some time. When all of the team changes happened and I was given a “fresh” start with these women, I knew things were different. I knew I was different. I knew I was in a new season, at a better place than I’d ever been. And I wanted to acknowledge the freedom God had lavished on me in this relentless pursuit after one another.

I wanted to publicly declare 2 Cor 5:17 (message)
“Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created a new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons!”

So I emailed Pappy (our coach- him and his wife are kinda like spiritual parents to us on this crazy pilgrimage) and asked him if he would do me the honor of baptizing me when they came for Thanksgiving.
He said yes, and true to Pappy form, cried when I asked him. ☺

I ventured out to the courtyard of this church in the middle of a 99% Muslim country on an American holiday, to proclaim Christ’s redemption in my life. I was overwhelmed with emotion and to be honest, don’t remember most of the next 20 min.

 
 
 
I know God showed up.

I know I cried… A lot.
I think Pappy said something about the great commission.

Then I remember coming out of that freezing cold water feeling like I could
breath for the first time.
Pappy hugged me tight, I cried some more and then I went inside to defrost.
 
 
 
  
 
Luckily, people were great enough to video tape the events, so I got to relive it once I was de-thawed.  
 
The rest of the day was full of laughter, games, Christmas movies, and LOTS of food!! It felt like a real Thanksgiving, with the biggest family I’ve ever had! It was one of those days where I had to stop and ask again:
 
 “Is this really my life?!?”


Thankfulness doesn’t even seem an adequate response to what He has done in and through me these last 4 months. A humble request for Him to continue to move in me is all I can muster up. It’s all that feels appropriate since He’s the one doing all this anyways. I just need to get out of the way and let Him do His thing.