Hello family, friends and supporters!
It’s official: I’m scheduled to land at LAX airport on the morning of July 25th. That means I only have about 30 days left on the field – WHAT?! And as I come to the end of the most inspiring, challenging, adventurous and incredible year of my life, I want to share how G*d’s been moving in my heart in the last few months as well as relay to you any post-Race plans G*d and I have managed to come up with thus far (He’s the Mastermind; I just sign my name on the dotted line).
First off – what does my schedule look like when I arrive back on US soil?
My immediate plan is to get back to Texas and visit my family. Next – I’ll be heading over to Georgia (August 16-21) to attend Project Searchlight (PSL) at the AIM office. PSL is a time for our squad to reunite, rehash stories and memories, and hear about what life can look like after the Race. For me, I know it will also be an opportunity to reach in once again to my community from the past year and share the struggles, challenges and celebrations of transitioning back to life in America as well as looking forward to my future in building the Kingdom. Then, after PSL, I’ll be driving up to Minnesota to visit all of my friends and my home-base community. I’ll be able to attend my home ch*rch, share my experiences from the Race and meet the newest member of my extended “family”!
And then – after all of that – I’ll be heading back to Georgia (a few days prior to September 18th) for six months to begin my next great adventure: the AIM Fellowship program.
Before I explain what the Fellowship program is, let me catch you up on what G*d’s been doing in my head and heart over the last few months to get me to the place I’m in now. When I first came out on the Race, my hope was that G*d would break my heart for a particular people group, place or m*n*stry. I hoped maybe I would receive a sign in the form of me picking up a language ridiculously quickly, or that one of my hosts would have need of someone exactly like me in the immediate future. And while I have experienced some months where those things MIGHT be true – it’s never sounded like G*d’s voice speaking over it and reverberating in my head. Not yet, at least.
Simultaneously, I believe there was a part of myself that was desperately trying to slough off the corporate skin that I had been living in for the past few years. I got it in my head that I needed to actively seek out third world m*ss*onary opportunities – otherwise, I wouldn’t be doing all that I could for the Kingdom. And not that I ever thought of my ambitious, thinker mentality and “administratively gifted”nature as evil – but I absolutely believed that those things would have to decrease (and maybe even cease altogether) as I learned to grow in what I think of as “softer”skills: interpersonal skills, relationships over efficiency, vulnerability, etc.
And in some ways, that has been true. I did need to learn how to value people over process, intimacy over efficiency, relationships over being right. But I also learned that I was created the way I was for a purpose – and that G*d can absolutely use people just like me to build the Kingdom too. I’ve learned that I shouldn’t shy away from the ways that He has gifted me – be it leadership, or administration or being able to logically process a situation and make a decision without allowing my emotions to rule me. So with all of that in mind, I found myself facing a difficult decision back in April while I was in the Philippines.
Back in March, in an effort to continue strengthening my “softer”skills, I had begun the process of applying to squad lead (go back out with a new squad of World Racers and lead, encourage and challenge them on the field for 5 months). I had told leadership of my intentions and they were very supportive – excited even. By the time I got to the Philippines, I was nearly done with my application – when I got an email inviting me to join the Fellowship. Up to that point, I had never heard anything about the Fellowship before – so I opened up the email and read about the opportunity to work in the AIM office in Georgia for six months: practicing Kingdom living in the workplace; receiving one-on-one coaching from AIM leadership and staff; developing networking skills and getting to know leadership in various fields within the community; being paired with a mentor for personal development and discipleship. But there was one sentence in particular from the email that struck me where I didn’t even know I was open.
“[The Fellows] are motivated to serve someone else’s dream while receiving quality coaching in establishing their own.”
And in that moment, I realized that I MIGHT like the idea of having a dream (I often refer to myself as not being a “visionary”so the idea of having a big dream was foreign to me). And that I MIGHT just like the idea of being able to learn from someone else in how to go about establishing that dream by learning how to serve THEIR dream. But that this idea did NOT fit in with the plans I had already made. So naturally – in a fit of fear – I closed the email and shut down the idea. Being the prudent person I am, however, I decided it would be a good idea to take the opportunity to speak with someone from the Fellowship and hear more about the program. Maybe I could join the program after I got back from squad leading – after I had allowed my own plans to run their course.
Within a few minutes of being on the phone with Kristina from the Fellowship, I knew I was in trouble. I just felt God speaking ALL. OVER. IT.
Remember when I kept you from sleep one night back in Vietnam to think about your future and help you realize that it wasn’t third world m*ss*ons or bust? When I whispered to you that I could call you back to America for a season?
And do you recall that one morning in Malaysia during amad when I showed you how I could use someone with your skills and gifts in the Kingdom? As I reassured you that those years lived prior to you taking Me up on my offer of grace and freedom and forgiveness – that those years weren’t lived in waste. I told you then that I will use those years and experiences too.
Remember those conversations? Here it is.
Well – shoot.
By the end of my conversation with Kristina, I knew the spot was mine if I wanted it and I knew I needed to take it even if I wasn’t ready to admit yet that I even wanted it. I was given a deadline for a response – so like a reluctant child who didn’t want to obey the request to clean their room, I just sat and waited until the last possible minute. Conversations were had, agonizing was done, eyes were rolled, sighs were heaved. But at the end of the day, I couldn’t ignore or deny the path laid out by my Father and the prompting in my spirit. So I said yes.
In the time since I’ve said yes, the L*rd has opened up a completely new sense of what my future could look like for me to behold. I continually hear the word “PARTNERSHIP”bang off every surface of my brain – and I don’t really know definitively what any of it means. But I like it. In fact, I love it. I’ve started to dream big. About nothing in particular and everything all at once. And to be totally honest, I still feel a little paralyzed by all the options and choices and decisions set out in front of me. But for the first time in my life, I feel like I’m working with a blank canvas – and I’ve got the Creator of the universe holding the paintbrush!
If you would like to partner with me as I allow the L*rd to paint a new masterpiece with my life, I am looking for financial supporters as I enter into this new season of the Fellowship. The total cost of the Fellowship program is $9,950 and will provide me with housing for six months, a monthly stipend to cover my living expenses as well as cover the program costs. If you’re interested in supporting me financially, you can either donate online by clicking the “SUPPORT ME”link on the left side of this page or by mailing a check to the Adventures office and include “NEALNATALIE”in the memo line:
Adventures in Missions
PO Box 742570
Atlanta, GA 30374-2570
I am also hoping to build a dedicated prayer team of at least 25 people who will commit to praying for me once a week while in the Fellowship program. Over the course of this year on the Race, I’ve experienced firsthand the power of prayer – and it’s my hope and desire to have this next season of life covered in prayer and the L*rd’s guidance. If this is you, please let me know in the comment section below or send me a message (via any way you can reach me) and include your email address. I’ll add you to a mailing list and will send out weekly prayer requests to all my partners!
If you’ve stayed on and read through the end of this post, then I thank you. You’re a rockstar! If you’ve supported me in prayer or financially over the last year, I thank you again! This year has been instrumental in growing and pushing and molding me more into who the L*rd created me to be – and I couldn’t have done it without your obedience to what He placed upon your heart. I can’t wait to see each of you when I get home – send me an email or a Facebook message or leave a comment below to make sure that I get over to see you wherever you are! Love y’all!
For His glory,
Nat
