striped of things that were hindering my walk with God. Years
ago when I was in banking, it was the lure of money that God rescued
me from. Before this trip I had a hard time trusting that God to pick the right person for me (or more
specifically would God select the person I wanted to marry). My thoughts would be…
but what if… I knew deep down that God wants what is
best for me, but idea of releasing all control to Him scared me to
death. Just signing up for the World Race meant I couldn’t pursue a
relationship for the 9 months before the trip, not to mention the 11 months
during the trip. For someone much younger than me, this might not
have been a problem… but for me it was a hard pill to swallow.
After finally releasing this to God I thought I was done (my last hurdle), but that was not the case.
During the last few months on the World Race I realized there were
more things God was asking me to release to Him. Eventually I realized my family, my friends, and even
my teaching job had become more important to me than following God’s will for my life. Sure I was giving up these things for 11 months, but
I always believed I would be going back to Tulsa. Before the trip I
couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else because I absolutely
loved teaching, coaching, and working with the youth at my church.
Fast
forward to May 10th in Vietnam… I remember back in Nam (I’ve always wanted to say
that) when one of the staff members of the World Race spoke with me
over Skype. I told him about my plans to continue teaching and
possibly help out with the World Race in the summers. He challenged
me to do more, then asked me to pray about it. My response was
“okay… I’ll pray about it,” but had no real intention to
actually consider the job. I didn’t believe for a moment that I would
ever work for this organization full time. That evening began a 5 day
stretch where God revealed and confirmed things about His plans for me once the World Race was over.
Day
1 (May 10, 2010) – Before going to bed that first night I opened my Bible to the next daily devotional. It was titled “Going All In.”
In the devotional it says, “Jesus used some powerful words to
describe what it means to follow Him as his disciples. Essentially,
He says to us still today, ‘If you’re going to follow Me, you have to
go ‘all in.’ There’s no such thing as a part-time disciple. You can’t
be fainthearted, just curious, or apathetic. We can try to give
Christ less than everything. We can approach our faith halfheartedly
– just getting by, hanging at the edges of the game for a while but
never committing wholeheartedly. Or we can go ‘all in’ as we follow
Christ, putting our ALL on the table for Him.”
Day
2 (May 11, 2010) – The next evening my scripture reading included the parable about the rich young ruler in
Luke 18:18-30. In this scripture Jesus addresses a rich young man
about what it means to follow Him. He said to this man, “You still
lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and
you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me. When he heard
this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth. Jesus
looked at him and said, ‘How hard it is for the rich to enter the
kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the
eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.’
Those who heard this asked, ‘Who then can be saved?’ Jesus replied,
‘What is impossible with men is possible with God.’ Peter said to
him, ‘We have left ALL we had to follow you!‘”
Day
3 (May 12, 2010) – I was walking down the street just in front of
our hostel in Ho Chi Minh City (also called Saigon) trying to find
cheap food for dinner when two fellow World Racers came up to me. One
of them was Matt Patton and the other was David Hepting. David
randomly gave me a prophecy about my future (by the way he had no idea about AIM contacting me). In the vision he received, he said I was running down a two lane
road against traffic on the
wrong side of the road. Suddenly a van stops on the other side of the road going the same direction
as me. The people inside the van ask me to
join them. The interpretation I received from this was… the van represents Adventures In
Missions (AIM) and their request for me to join their apprentice
program. I could continue to try winning souls on my own or I could join a great organization and do life together in community
and help bring Kingdom all over the world.
Day
4 (May 13, 2010) – On one of our days off a few of us headed to the
famous Cu Chi tunnels underneath Ho Chi Minh City. There are roughly
75 miles of these tunnels that have been preserved by the government.
We had to take a two buses about an hour away, so I decided to bring
my mp3 player with me. I hadn’t been listening to it for a long time
(about a month) and when I turned it on the first song was “Take My
Hand” by The Kry. If you have never heard the song, please listen to it. Here is a link to the lyrics and a link to hear
the song. The song talks about when our dreams turn to dust that God
desires for us to take His hand and walk where He leads.
Day
5 (May 14, 2010) – I received a Facebook message from one of my
best friends Steve. In the message he said, “I never envisioned you going back to
teaching.” This was the final straw for me. Although, during this
entire process I kept telling God that I needed to be hit in the head
with a brick (my metaphor for a big sign from God) if He wanted me to
do something else besides teaching. However, after reflecting on this
thought for a while I realized the person before this mission trip
needed that type of confirmation (i.e. the possible cancer growing in my chest that was miraculously healed). But was I a different person now, not to mention I did not need or want something like that again.
On this trip I’ve been learning to be a better listener and to seek
God’s will for my life. It took me awhile, but God is first and “I Am Second“. A couple of days later I emailed my resignation letter to Broken Arrow Schools.
Shortly after these events took place, God laid this scripture on my heart (John 21:15-18). “When they had finished eating Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?’ ‘Yes, Lord,’ he said, ‘you know that I love you.’ Jesus said, ‘Feed my lambs.’ Again Jesus said, ‘Simon son of John, do you truly love me?’ He answered, ‘Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.’ Jesus said, ‘Take care of my sheep.’ The third time He said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ He said, ‘Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said, ‘Feed my sheep. I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.‘”
For the next 6 months, maybe longer, I will be working in the apprenticeship program in Georgia with the
organization Adventures In Missions (AIM). This time will be spent serving
in one of the departments of the World Race or Real Life programs
(i.e. Marketing, Logistics, Training, Admissions, etc.).
I will be fund raising again because
the position is non-paid.
I
thank God for this opportunity that is before me and trust He will
meet my needs. Ultimately, my prayer is that He will do that through
you. I would be honored if you could partner financially and
prayerfully with me in this ministry. In order for me
to be a part of this program, I must raise $8,000
($1,150 per month will be my salary before taxes). This amount is to be
used to cover all of my living expenses during these 6 months, to help me relocate to
Gainesville,
and to engage in the community there. I will be fully funded if 167 people donate $10/month, 67 people donate $25/month, or 34 people donate $50/month, or 17 people donate $100/month. To setup reoccurring monthly donations or one-time donations online, please click here.
