525,600 minutes
525,600 moments so dear
525,600 minutes,
how do you measure, measure a year?
HOW ABOUT, LOOO-OOOO-OOOOOVE, measure in love…..seasons of LOVE!
…Cliche or not, I have always loved that song, and now even more so. A year ago today I began the journey of a lifetime: living in community with 31 people, crossing four continents, traveling through 19 countries, participating in ministry projects in 11 countries, being challenged in every comfort zone and on every level, and truly being changed in the deepest parts of me…it was an indescribable year.
If I try to measure my past year in love, it is actually immeasurable! The #1 love I experienced is the love of God. I felt His presence and love upon my life in depths and ways I’ve never experienced before. And actually, all the other love I experienced is just an extension of God’s love: love from my beautiful Kiatera teammates who saw me in my weaknesses and shortcomings and chose to love my anyways; love from my other squadmates I lived alongside of throughout the year; supportive love from my family and friends back home; love from ministry contacts who welcomed us as family into their homes; love from orphans who were searching for someone to love; love from friends we met along the way who only knew us for a short time but loved on us like family…so much LOVE! Quoted in John 13:5, Jesus says: “By this all men will know you are my disciples: if you love one another.”
Here are two questions everyone asks that I can easily answer on this blog.
(1) What was my favorite country?
…Well I really had four favorites: Nicaragua, Cambodia, Burma and Swaziland. Each place I loved for different reasons, though all were ministry-related. And, that’s not to say anything bad about the other seven countries I worked in; these just topped the list. 🙂 I have a sense in my heart that someday I’ll be back in Swaziland in some capacity, though I have no idea how soon or in what capacity that may occur. If you want to know more about any of these four, email me or let’s get coffee sometime.
(2) What’s next?
…Through the course of the year God laid two things on my heart to really pursue within the next two years or so.
(2a) One is to develop more of my leadership ability by applying to co-lead an AIM college-age trip, Real Life. Some things have already begun falling into place for this as a possibility for the upcoming fall, September through November, so that may happen next.
(2b) The second thing God has called me to pursue is more training in media, specifically in journalistic video production. My passion for it has simply exploded this year (in case you couldn’t tell…if you’ve been reading my blogs at all you’ve noticed at least half of them the second half of the Race have been videos!) I have been using a little Canon Powershot S5 IS and iMovie this whole time, and have definitely realized their shortcomings, though both have served me well. Next, I need to obtain more technical skills in equipment (cameras, mics, lighting) and editing programs and techniques. If anyone reading this blog has any connection to the video production industry–especially journalistic videos!—I would love to chat with you to pick your brain! Please send me an email via this blog by clicking the link in the top-left corner. Also, to see some of the best videos from the year, visit my Video Portfolio.
Last but certainly not least, there are other things God has awakened within my heart that I know will be there for the rest of my life. These include a love for orphans and a passion for awakening my generation. While I don’ t know what actions I’ll be taking to continue these movements of my soul, I know it’ll happen somehow, someday!
So as I look back on this year that I simply cannot measure in love, I am amazed. I am awed by the work God has done in me personally, in my team, in my squad, in my generation, in my WORLD. He is present everywhere and is calling Kingdom people to serve him everywhere! As I move on towards the next steps in my journey to bring the Kingdom of God to the kingdoms of this earth, I pray that you are doing the same in your own life–that you’re listening to the voice of God calling your heart to awaken and your soul to hunger after him and pour out his LOVE on the peoples on earth!
