Dear Friends and Family,
Hello! It’s James and I’m back! A year of loving and serving others as I traveled around the world has come to an end. What a great ride! What a wonderful journey!! It is incumbent upon me now to do something with these gained experiences and knowledge. I assure you, this will not be the greatest thing I do in my life. Having lived this last year on the edge, taking risks and being out of my comfort zone almost daily, I know this is the life God has called me to lead. Perhaps not in overseas missions, but with the mindset of attempting great things for God, taking risks, dreaming big God-sized dreams, and living a radical life for Christ! A life completely surrendered. A life full and abundant – the very life which Christ came to give us!
I thank you so very much for your generous support during this past year. I am seriously amazed by how God provided the finances for me through all of you. The doubt I had initially was blown out of the water as I met every financial deadline well in advance. You all made this happen for me and carried me through with your prayers! With God at my side and feeling the support of you all back at home, this trip was a great success! I could not be more thankful!!
Your support gave me the chance to be a part of what God is doing in the lives of our brothers and sisters around the world. Here are some of the ways I served and opportunities I had (this list is not exhaustive or in exact order:)
- Trusting God to pull me through sickness as I spent 4 nights in a Nicaraguan hospital with Dengue fever
- Developing relationships with wonderful elderly folks at a day care in Guatemala
- Traveling all over Nicaragua in order to discover new ministries with the intention of partnering with them in the future
- Being mentored by great men of God in many countries but specifically Costa Rica and Nepal
- Teaching English at a Buddhist school in Thailand and explaining to hundreds of kids the Christmas story
- Digging a ginormous hole for a bathroom for a remote church in the middle of a Cambodian rice paddy
- Sitting in a small, dimly lit shack on the mountain top of a Malaysian palm tree plantation giving a spontaneous sermon to a group of about 20 young men.
- Leading worship and giving a message after being informed to do so 30 minutes prior
- Visiting and encouraging people in a remote village in Northeastern India where the gospel was first presented just over 100 years ago
- Renovating a Christian school in Nepal and playing soccer with homeless kids
- Visiting and developing relationships with terminally ill patients at a hospice house in Swaziland
- Living in my tent in the Kalahari desert for a month.
- Ministering to the leaders of a church in Botswana; discipling a young man named Will
- Morning walks in the desert with God
- Star gazing under the brightest heavens I’ve ever seen
- Doing sports ministry with kids in South Africa
- And of course constantly praying for people and loving on them
This was the best year I’ve ever had and part of me is sad that it’s over. I learned a ton, experienced so much, and grew in many areas of my life. Some of my greatest points of growth during the World Race were learning the importance of community, being transparent with people, being confident in who I am as a man, trusting the Lord, and learning to be disciplined in my walk with God. This race was a hot box for growth!
So, change of plans from my last blog post. I am no longer doing CGA with AIM in Gainesville, so don’t give any monies to me!:) But thank you if you intended to! The next chapter in my life has me moving to south, to Atlanta area to work and pursue a wonderful, special woman by the name of Natalie!:) I am super excited for this and would appreciate your prayers as I transitions to a new job, ministry, community, etc…! A little farther out, next fall, my goal is to attend school in Seattle in order to get my masters in counseling!
Thank you all again so so much!!! May the Lord bless you and your family and shower you with his love and mercy! He is good, all the time!
Sincerely Yours,
James
