Adventures WorldRace SethBarnes Sponsorship Giving

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God has made me a relational person! I am thankful for that…but it can hurt at times. Being vulnerable and longing to go deep when those around you like the surface level and meeting people and having to say good-bye in a short amount of time is not what I call fun…yet I am blessed. Growing up at camp has helped me be able to accept these facts of life.

The people I met and interacted with this past month are people that I now hold dear to my heart…friends that will be long-lasting! We laughed, cried, prayed and shared God with each other. We “spurred one another on to good deeds” and “loved one another deeply from the heart.”

I can’t begin to explain about these relationships without going back to the beginning…the following is to show you how great our God is. This person is dear to my heart and knows about what I am sharing!

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At the beginning of this race, my friend, sister and team mate, Renee, and I struggled to get along. We tried to love each other. We tried to encourage each other and be open, honest and vulnerable. It all seemed superficial and hopeless. We both spent the first half of this race being on the same team, but not choosing into each other or what God had for us. I remember countless times being in tears, questioning WHY I was stuck on a team with her! I kept crying out to God, but I felt like it was no use…nothing changed!

We tried…BUT GOD doesn’t ask us to try. He asks us to trust!
 
Renee with children in Cambodia!           

To my surprise, things started to change in Cambodia. When we would be honest with each other…and the more honest we were, the more alike we realized we were, which made us realize WHY it’s been so hard for us to get along. We continued to surrender it to God, but our relationship was still far from real…we could see each other as sisters, but there was NO WAY we could consider each other friends. We could live with each other, we “liked” each other, but we definitely didn’t love each other the way God has called us to love!

We loved…BUT GOD wanted us to love Him!

Vietnam came and sparked something new. Through frustrations, hurts and fears we’d run to each other – knowing she’d understand because of things she has been through, and I knew I needed encouragement. God was also spurring me on as an intercessor, and I really looked up to Renee in this area. We began to laugh at what God was forming…unknown to us what He WAS doing. We came into debrief in Koh Samet actually loving each other…but still learning to love, accept and appreciate each other and the rest of the team through the good AND the bad!

We listened…BUT GOD wanted us to listen to Him!

God brought us to new levels in Thailand, at SHE, where we’d laugh, pray and cry together. We had many God moments together and began to pour our hearts out to each other…trusting beyond what I ever would have imagined. God moved. He intervened. He brought a real, genuine relationship out of nothing. Nothing is impossible with God!

That was just the beginning, and this past month, I watched our relationship blossom to new heights. It was for such a time as this that God was preparing us for. A time when we needed each other as friends, sisters and prayer warriors. A time where we could laugh and cry together and experience God in a whole new way.

If you were to ask either of us at the beginning of this year about our friendship, it would have been “one would survive” and the other would either be moved to another team or on the way home. There was NO WAY we could get along for 11 months. Here we are, 6 months in…and I have a friend. Not just someone I HAVE to love and get along with, but someone I love and admire. I know this is just the beginning of great things! The start of something new and exciting. Each day, I look forward to hearing about what God is doing in her life, and am amazing when God is bringing me through similar experiences! He orchestrates relationships in ways I cannot explain, but always in His perfect timing for reasons such as this! 

Renee watched me fall in love in Zim. Not only with the orphan children, but with the ministry we worked along side and the ministry contacts we had. The friends I met in Zim are more than a few men of God that blessed me. We prayed together as a body. We laughed harder than I’ve laughed the past 5 months! We shared scripture. Not only was God bringing friends into my life, God blessed me with having a friend on my team experience this with me.  
 

Tapiwa, Sekuru, Me, Felix, and Renee before leaving Zimbabwe!

Pastor Brian, Felix, Winnet, Tapiwa, Sekura, and Cheryl (and Renee) are forever in my hearts and prayers. They challenged me in my faith and through God’s leading, helped bring me to life. They saw me for who I was and loved me just as I am. They encouraged! They listened. They became friends in a matter of minutes. I’ve only known them for two weeks, but they have forever impacted my life!

This month of ministry was more than what meets the eyes. It was about looking for the opportunities that are right in front of you – the people you see and interact with every day. From my team mates to the family I was living with, the the orphan children, caretakers and ministry contacts – this month blew me away. I have a new home. A new family. A place I did not want to leave. A place I have fallen in love with in every way!

I don’t know why it took 6 months to develop a deep relationship with Renee, yet ONLY two weeks (or matter of minutes) to develop relationships with my Zim friends…BUT GOD knows. His divine purpose has perfect timing. No regrets. No looking back…just moving and and looking forward to what is to come!

Praise be to God!