My next Adventure…

Many blogs have been swirling around my head for weeks now.
I’ll be honest-God puts them on my heart, and I think about them and start to
write them in my head, but the transition from head/heart to keyboard to Internet
tends to fall short.

I am going to break this trend, starting with this blog,
which will introduce multiple ideas and then splinter into different blogs. But
bear with me, have patience, and I will try to show/tell what I have been up to
in the nearly five months since being home, what God has stirred in my heart,
and my next step, for now.

So in an effort to practice full disclosure, let us rewind
to November 22, 2010. I arrived back at Oakland International Airport with an amazing
reception from my family. The next day, my mom treated me to a meal at Panera
(my favorite American eatery) and we went to Target. I was determined not to
have a “world race style” melt-down in the store, and instead found it
tremendously comforting that things were in order, no one called me names, and
I got in and out of the store with exactly what I wanted.

Two days later, it was Thanksgiving, which was glorious and
delicious. And due to jetlag, I went to sleep long before our family went home.

The next day, I was wide awake and ready for Black Friday
shopping. Eager to embrace all things American, I went to JC Penney’s and then
Kohl’s a few days later, and came out with a great new wardrobe, perfect for
the holiday season. (Just stick with me…)

A week after Black Friday, I went to LA/USC for a week to
reconnect with my college buddies. This was a great time of fellowship and
sharing and processing. I also got to meet up with my friend Tiffany-who is
currently on the World Race. She gave me an opportunity to speak life into her
and encourage her and share some of what I had learned. It was a great, though
brief, conversation. (more on this later).

Then it was the holiday season. I started working at a small
company doing social media marketing (about 2.5 weeks after returning to
America). In retrospect, this may have been too soon to start working, but I
was eager to do something-I don’t rest well… The season flew by and was
wonderful to share with family and friends.

Soon enough, I went to Vegas with my friends for MLK
weekend. Then a few weeks later it was time for my trip to Hong Kong/China to
visit my BFF, Sanam. (You can read about that here). Then a few weeks after
that, I went to Denver to visit my friend from undergrad and check out the University of Denver as a
potential grad school.

So it has been kind of non-stop-traveling at least once a
month, working, connecting with people, sharing about my trip, and all the
while trying to be a “normal” American, going through “re-entry*,” but feeling
a stirring in my Spirit that THIS wasn’t enough and wasn’t fully where I needed
to be.

(*I think re-entry is an interesting idea. My friend told me
the other day it takes a year to move on from the World Race. I am not sure
what this means. I do know if it means not living like I did on the race…well I’m
not sure that’s something I want. I liked the person I was by the end of it,
liked this girl totally alive and free in Christ and wanting to change the
world-one person at a time. More on this soon)

So back-track to early March. This stirring in my Spirit,
this unsettled feeling, this discontent. Wondering if I had changed at all,
wondering what more there was, because the current life I was living didn’t
leave me feeling fulfilled or satisfied.

An e-mail came from the World Race, suggesting that if you
were looking for the “more,” think about applying to lead a summer trip. I sat
in my desk at work, and thought, “Why not?”

You see, one thing God set in my heart on the Race and has
been stirring in my Spirit since I got home was seeing people come alive and
walk in freedom in Christ. To see lives abandoned to the Gospel and to God. To
see my fellow Americans get over themselves and dig into God and the lives He
has for them.

“Leading a trip this summer would be a way to do that,” I
thought. So I went ahead and applied, interviewed and waited, praying the whole
time, “God, I trust you. If this is what you have, then open the door. If it’s
not, then shut it and show me something new.”

The door has since swung open and I have been blessed with
the opportunity to co-lead an Ambassador trip (AIM’s trips for high school aged
students) to….

………………………………………..Wait
for it…………………………………………..

THE AMAZON JUNGLE, PERU.

I am so incredibly excited about this opportunity. I know it
is a step forward into the calling God has on my life, which He is revealing
day by day. I know parts of it-including the passion and desire to see people
awakened to their identity in Christ and to live in freedom-and to connect
American Christians with ministries in the US and around the world to make a
difference that they are passionate about. I had a year around the world with
individuals who I believe will be some of the most impactful of our generation,
and I want to help connect them with people I meet who are interested and
passionate about the same things. (More on this later too).

I know there will be more blogs to come, and I will explain
more about my trip as I learn more, and more about all of the above. I just
wanted to share what I’ve been up to and where I’m going next.

The essential details:

I will be co-leading this trip with a fellow WR alum, Alana
Serna and an Ambassador trip alum, Rich Brooks.

The trip starts and ends in Georgia, with training camp and
debrief. I am excited to reconnect with my WR buddies living there!

I will be gone June 27-July 24, with three weeks in-country.

I also need to build a prayer team for this trip. If you are
willing to pray for me and my team, I welcome that and would love to know!

Thank you for your support, prayers, and love! Please let me
know if you have any questions & stay tuned for more blogs coming soon!