The past week contained a few different milestones. The
first was our halfway point here in Guatemala, which we celebrated in Antigua,
a lovely colonial city in the Guatemalan highlands an hour away from the
capitol.
The second was the 11 month anniversary of being done with
the World Race. October 20, 2011 marked eleven months since I stepped foot into
JFK airport, said good-bye to my squadmates, and ended a huge season of my
life. While the nearly-year since has not been 11 countries in 11 months, it
has been four countries and three states in 11 months, and my nomadic lifestyle
hasn’t slowed down much.
The third was the two-year anniversary of World Race
Training Camp. Last year at this time, I was remarking at how much I’d changed
in the year since training camp. This year, I can’t even believe where the Lord
has taken me.
How faithful He is when we are faithful. I had a dream to
travel around the world, to change lives, to meet people where they were at and
love the earth to heaven. After this
dream came true, I had a dream to invest in the lives of young people and see
them grow in their identities in Christ and be awakened into a Kingdom bringing
lifestyle. Here I am in Guatemala, stumbling through making this a reality and
seeing God’s faithfulness in spite of my failings.
I look at the past two years of my life, and my mind isblown. I look at the last 11 months, when I wasn’t on the World Race, and yet
the Lord gave me the opportunities to travel to Hong Kong & Beijing (AND
HIKE THE GREAT WALL), the Amazon-freakin-Jungle, and now to live in Guatemala.
awhile back. I started it back in 2008, and updated it last September. My
number one thing was to learn to speak Spanish fluently. While I am far from
fluent, my comprehension has increased significantly. My grammar probably
resembles that of a three year old, and it usually takes more than one try to
get the right conjugation, but the point is I’m trying. And that God is making
my dreams come true.
I actually prayed while I was in Peru this summer that the
Lord would make me supernaturally fluent in Spanish. Instead, He sent me to
Guatemala to work for it the hard way. Why I’m learning Spanish in this season,
other than it’s always been my heart to, is beyond me. But I know God has a
plan in it all.
The point is, I am overwhelmed by what God has done in my
life since I really surrendered to Him. January 26, 2008. Since then, He has
made many dreams come true::to work as a camp counselor, to study abroad and
travel around in Europe, to graduate from a Top 25 University virtually
debt-free, to literally circumnavigate the globe, to serve and travel and meet
people from all over the world, to grow in my relationship with Him and to just
be so utterly blessed by it all.
Sometimes I forget how many of my dreams God has given me. I
get focused on what I don’t see happening in my life yet:: my dreams of a
husband and a family, my dream to start an NGO to provide scholarships,
mentorship and discipleship to teenage girls in East Africa, my dream to visit
Antartica and evangelize the penguins (okay maybe not that last one, at least the penguins part). 
But ultimately in reflection I see God’s hand, guiding me
and pulling me and leading me to greatness. I know the call on my life is
great, and I know His hand is in each step, in each experience, in the good,
bad and ugly of the past three-four years and even more. I know as He prepares
me for the next season, there is much to be gleaned in this one.
But seriously. Wow. What is this life? I am so blessed…
