This past May I started something new. I was asked to handle all recruiting events for the marketing department. I had a vision to create a recruiting team similar to the Invisible Children roadies. I liked the idea of getting out of the office and traveling around the US to tell people about mission trip opportunities at Adventures in Missions (AIM). In June we attended our first Christian concert and it was a success. This was the beginning of our recruiting tour. During this time, I would be in and out of the office. Between June and December, I only averaged 2 weeks in the office per month. This was good and bad. I loved traveling, but missed the community. Two of reasons I continued to be at AIM (besides wanting to help AIM and being called there) included the community and the place I was living. I absolutely loved the AIM community. It was a Spirit led group who understood my journey around the world because they had similar experiences. The house where I lived was unbelievable. Most people have to work their entire life to live in a house like this and here we were (a group of poor missionary guys) living in a large lakehouse with incredible views. Every morning I would look out the windows and count my blessings. I knew it was a privilege to be there. Thanks to a large donor from AIM who allowed us to stay at his house for $200 a month (to cover utilities and maintenance on the house). It was a blessing. We could go kayaking, go for a run around the lake, go for a swim, layout on a floatie, take time to be in the “wilderness” with the Lord. I have so many fond memories of the house, but more importantly the guys who lived there.
While I was on these road trips for AIM, I kept hearing about job opportunities. At the time, I wasn’t looking for another job because I felt God had called me to work at AIM and hadn’t felt a release. However, with each new job opportunity I started to wonder if my time at AIM was coming to a close. While I was on one of these trips in November, I visited with some friends back in Tulsa (Bobby & Marsha). They were telling me how God had called them to the mission field to work for Bless The Children Ministries and how they had resigned from their youth pastor positions at my home church (Asbury United Methodist Church). They invited me to come along with them to Uganda in December. I declined the offer for many reasons which I’ll explain later, but more importantly I had made a commitment to AIM to attend a conference in St. Louis during the same time. When I returned to Georgia from this recruiting visit, I learned that my time at the lakehouse was coming to a close. While I was on this trip AIM decided to change who could live at the lakehouse and it now houses the men at their new school (Center for Global Action – CGA). I was sad the house would be no more, but I felt a peace and excitement for what God was preparing me for in the future.
