His love is offensive, in the most beautiful way. It is a love that I don’t at all deserve, and yet still receive. A love that goes far beyond my earthly comprehension and examples of love I have seen- something I will never fully grasp. A love that delights in giving me the desires of my heart because this same love put them there. It is a love that has the audacity to tell me that I can literally do anything as long as I receive that love and walk in it.
I thought coming home that my next step would be going back to school right away. I love that I have the freedom in the Lord to hold onto my plans loosely, because He always has a better way. Three weeks after we got back from the World Race, AIM put on a conference for all of us for about a week in Georgia. I was flying standby and waited nearly 26 hours in the airport and failed to get on 11 flights. By the 12th flight, I said a prayer that went something like this: “Lord, this is the last flight I’m waiting for before I re-book to CO to visit Megan.” Minutes after praying that, a 747 pulled up to our terminal (when it was originally going to be a normal, smaller plane) and my name was called to get on. The Lord had plans for me.
I went to Georgia with my mind pretty closed off to the things that I knew AIM was going to offer us. Although they offered us some pretty incredible opportunities, I wasn’t going to take them…after all, I knew what I was doing. (Cue eye roll that usually happens when I get ahead of the Lord). I was excited to see the people I had traveled the world with, grow deeper in the Lord, and be part of raw worship. Little did I know, the Lord was up to something more.
A few weeks before heading to Georgia, I was fiery and praying through the visions and passions the Lord had given me. I was drawing out plans, writing out verses that went along with the vision, writing lists of people who had similar desires, and praying up and down for the things ahead. One night, I had a dream that woke me up overcome and in tears. I will spare you the details of the dream, but I knew it was about my future, and the end of the dream was a vision of an army and the Lord said, “I am sending you an army to fight for the visions I’ve given you.”
During the week in Georgia, I felt the Lord saying, “this next step will be building a spiritual mantle for the future.” I wasn’t really sure exactly what that meant, but kept my eyes open while still holding onto my plan. Towards the end of the week, I had 3 options that sounded pretty great: go back to school right away, be under the spiritual leadership of a man I had incredible respect for and work in Georgia, or go to a leadership academy in Spain for 6 months to build a spiritual foundation and have people who help push me and network with me to build my vision. I was praying through each option one night before bed, and that night I had another dream. I was in a room with many papers that all had potential life plans on them. In the center of the room was a huge shredder. I ran around the room taking all the papers and throwing them in the shredder, and right before I woke up, all the papers were shredded except for one in my hand. My interpretation was that this was the day that the Lord would show me what the next step was.
I went to the conference that day with anticipation, but still with caution. There were many break-out sessions that were being offered and I had the one picked out that I was going to. When they described the ones on the agenda for the day, one had been added that I felt prompted to go to, so I obeyed. As I sat and listened to the vision and heart of the leadership academy in Spain, my spirit came alive. I literally could not sit still, and as it went on, the Lord flashed back to the vision from my dream a few weeks before and said, “This is your army.” I spoke with the woman who was part of the leadership, and she invited me to sign up for the semester beginning in October.
Now to explain what this next step is, and what it will mean for me:
G42 stands for “Generation 42.” In the genealogy of the Bible in Matthew 1, Christ and His disciples were thought to be the 41st generation, making us generation 42- Christ on Earth. G42 is a leadership academy in Mijas, Spain for 6 months. You take classes, get set up with mentors, work with surrounding ministries, and get help to take your God-given vision, focus it, and put it into action. Their motto is that after the 6 months, you “say amen, and make a plan.” They are passionate about our generation going out to be Christ on Earth. This is a very helpful step for the ultimate vision I have been given.
My vision is to break generational patterns. I would like to start in America with teen girls similar to what I was doing through Teen Challenge, but go further with it. It would be like a “phase 2” once they leave a program. Here, adolescent women who have been fed lies will be fed truth. They will be discipled, have structure in a familial setting, have authority as well as freedom, and will be encouraged to pursue the gifts and passions that the Lord has given them. My long-term goal would be to pass that to someone else who is passionate about it, and relocate and expand my vision in Africa through a school/rehab/medical clinic/orphanage where kids can come be educated for “free,” and break generational poverty cycles through education and discipleship.
We are asked once again to fundraise for this, which is where I ask you, the church, to help me move forward. I didn’t envision the next step to be fundraising again, but the Lord works in mysterious ways. I ask that you would partner with me in prayer, and if you feel led, to also partner with me financially. The cost of the academy is $6,300 for the 6 months. This price includes housing, tuition, and food. I will also need to purchase a flight or use frequent flier miles to Spain. The round-trip ticket costs are looking to be around $1,200. If you feel led to partner financially, please visit this website:
http://www.g42leadershipacademy.org/donate
Click: “Donation to Leadership Academy or other G42 Ministry” on the top tab
Click: “One-Time or Reoccurring Donation” on the top tab
Click: “Leadership Academy Intern”
Click: “Name of Intern” after you have input donation information
If you would like to hear more about my vision or G42, please don’t hesitate to email me at: [email protected]
I am taking life breath by breath and am confident in the ways the Lord speaks to me. I am excited to move forward into what He wants to do with my life.
**(Another small story to show that God loves details: Two years ago I went to a trendy thrift shop in Tucson with my friend Lindsey to look around one day. I picked up an old book written in 1917 called “Espana Pintoresca.” I love Spanish and it was an old book about the history and culture of Spain written in Spanish and smelled wonderful the way old books smell. I decided to buy it. Two weeks ago, I was looking through my bookshelf and ran across this same book. I picked it up and decided to start reading it to see how my Spanish was doing. As I was reading through it, I came across the receipt from the day I bought it. I about died. I purchased that book 2 years to the exact day the Lord told me that Spain was the next step. To me it was just another confirmation that this was it, and that the Lord delights in the details of our lives.)
