Ten years ago if you would have told me that I would have fallen in love with missions I wouldn't have given you the time of day. Ironically, growing up I went to a very missions oriented church. I was always involved with the send-off services and flag decorating etc. My belief simply was that "someone else will take care of it." I was a content pew sitter going through the Sunday ritual. I began to get more involved with church activites just before entering junior high. I led groups, worked the sound booth and participated in my community projects with the church. It wasn't until the summer before my sophomore year in high school that I went on my first mission trip. I couldn't believe I was really calling it that since we were only going 600 miles away to a little town of what seemed like 100 people, on the Oregon coast. We spent five days there doing service projects and putting on a VBS (your typical mission trip agenda). After that trip I was never quite the same. I wouldn't say that there was any life altering moment or devine revelations from God on that trip. It was just the simple fact that I went. I went somewhere other than my local church to talk about God. That summer we had a speaker come to our church to talk about missions work he was doing in Asia with people who needed eyeglasses. There wasn't a poignant speech made or riveting pictures presented but God stirred my soul for the nations. I still fought Him and my desire for missions laid dormant. After my freshmen year in college I went to the Christian concert Creation Northwest. I was in just a rut spiritually. I felt like I was going nowhere. I was depressed and had no direction in my life. My life was a constant state of pure apathy toward everything. At the concert, I shared these feelings with my best friend's aunt. After that emotional conversation she led me to a particular vendor's booth called Teen Mania Ministries Honor Academy. I had never heard of such a thing. She claimed it would be perfect for me. She was right. After just a few minutes talking with the representative there I knew this is exactly where I had to be. I took the brochure, sat down on a blanket in the grass and cried. I hadn't cried in years. God was calling me. He was calling me to come back to Him and shake off the enemies apathetic hold he had on me. 19 days later I moved my entire life 2000 miles away to a little town in east Texas. My year as an intern there changed my life. I spent 365 solid days devoted to seeking Christ. They placed a huge emphasis on going out on missions. I also learned so much about how missions doesn't just mean being muddy in the slums in Africa. It means to GO. Go anywhere and proclaim His glorious name. The Great Commission was emblazened in my heart. After many sermons on going I still fought God and told Him, "no, I am a sender. I will give people money to go to the things I can't." I was afraid. However, a requirement to graduate the internship was to go on a mission trip with Global Expeditions (the missions branch of Teen Mania). Due to finances I couldn't make it out of the country. I spent two weeks in Alaska. I would like to tell you that that experience radically changed me but it did not. I returned back to Texas for the final weeks before graduation. I was about to be finished with my year and I still had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I expressed this concern with my manager at work who is a close friend of mine. She said to me, "Nicki come to my office and look at my map. Pick a country to go die in." Clearly she was kidding. But that's the moment I knew. I am called. There is a calling on my life to go. It took a simple sarcastic joke to awaken something inside of me. The next week I heard about The World Race for the first time. Three of my friends and I planned to go. I was excited about life. Excited to change the world. My room mate the following year was in management of Global Expeditions and was planning to move to Thailand after her stay at the internship. Needless to say, we talked missions like it was goin' out of style! That year I became so excited and one fire to do something. Anything. In the summer of 2010 I was a team leader for a week trip to Baja Mexico. I will never forget that trip. God used every minute of it to solidify in my heart who I was in Him. Several months later, I went to Panama for a New Year's mission trip as kind of an assistant leader type deal. This was such an eye opening experience. I knew I was called for a greater purpose. I returned home with a new passion for helping others. I started volunteering and giving of anything and everything I had. Then I read the book Radical. If you haven't read it stop reading my blog and go pick up a copy. It wrecked me. As soon as I put it down the World Race popped into my mind. I went to my computer and Googled it. July 2012. That was it. God might as well have been sitting next to me saying "ummmm…. what's the hold up? click apply now already!" Then I did. All I know is that I am called, just as we all are, to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ where ever we are.
Here I am Lord. Send me.
