Ok, A LOT has happened over the past few weeks so let me catch you up. Today is my first day without a full itinerary so I actually have time to sit down and write the post that I’ve been wanting to write! First off let me tell you that I am now just $1,000 away from my launch deadline! Meaning that in order for me to actually leave on the world race with my squad (K Squad) I will need this amount to be in my world race account. But we can do it! God is so good!
Now for the other big news… My route has completely changed. And until late last night I had no clue where we were going.
My old route was:
Malawi
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Thailand
Burma
Vietnam
Cambodia
Turkey
Bulgaria
Romania
Albania
As of last night (and it still could change) my route is now:
Guatemala
Nicaragua
Philippians
Thailand/Burma
India
Nepal
Botswana
Swaziland
*unknown*
*unknown* (they are still considering which countries will fill these slots)
Yes, HUGE changes! Along with that news is the fact that the world race will be filming a documentary and the Squad they will be following is K Squad, my squad. Which means a film crew will be at training camp which is now less than a month away!
Time flies when you’re having fun-draising! haha And all the other preparation that goes into leaving the country for a year, in a little over two months! Things like shopping for the perfect tent and backpack, what kinds of clothes do you need, looking in to getting all the necessary vaccines… And then there’s less important stuff like how to get a bunch of old movies on your external hard drive because you know that no one else will have The African Queen or To Catch a Thief!
Another kind of preparation is heart preparation. Since God has called me on this mission He knows my heart well. Hearts are interesting things. They can be closed, they can be open, they can be broken or whole. They can bleed and clot, they can be tender or they can be granite.
He knows the condition of your heart, as He does mine. He knows all your doubts and fears and understands them. Jesus is not like Thor from the movie, waiting to smash a giant hammer down on you. He would surprise you with something you might never expect and something that we don’t see often in this hardened world, His gentleness.
He said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” – Jesus, Mathew 11:28-29
Do you fit that category? I do often. There is no rest like the rest you have when you know Jesus. You don’t need a cathedral or a church service to be close to Him, you can at this minute, sitting in front of your computer draw close to the Lord. Just simply talk to Jesus.
I just finished Reba McEntire’s autobiography. I go through autobiographies like nobody’s business. The one before Reba’s was Helen Hayes’ and now I’m about to start Debbie Reynolds’ second autobiography. Reba recorded a song in the 1990’s called, “Why Haven’t I Heard From You?” If you don’t know the song already the lyrics go…
Back in 1876 an ol’ boy named Bell
Invented a contraption that we know so well
By the 1950’s they were in everybody’s home
It’s a crazy little thing they call the telephone
Now there’s one on every corner, in the back of every bar
You can get one in your briefcase, on a plane or in your car
So tell me why, haven’t I heard from you
Tell me why, haven’t I heard from you
I say now: Darlin’, honey, what is your excuse
Why haven’t I heard from you
It’s a humorous, fun song but it helps point out a very important truth! Something that Reba could tell you herself, since she talked about the Lord all throughout her book… You don’t need a phone, or any other contraption to reach God. In fact, you can talk to Him at any time!
There was once a few years ago at a church summer camp that I had a group of 8th grade girls that I was leading. They were a fantastic group of girls that had grown up in church their whole lives. Most of them went to private Christian schools or were home schooled. Some of their parents were even on staff at the church.
I was surprised to have them as my group because I usually got the tougher non-church girls that were a part of our after school ministry. But it turned out to be one of my favorite camps, AND because I was their leader instead of the after school ministry girls leader some unprecedented friendships began to form with the girls from very different walks of life as they seemed to meet together on the porch of our little cabin day in and day out.
“Church” kids are often much harder to have as a group then “non-church” kids. Why? They’re well-behaved, very polite, listen wonderfully. No problems at all. Which means they can also fly straight under the radar… You have to dig so much deeper in order to reach the good kids who have the walk and talk down pat.
There was this girl in our group who had been “saved” several times. And at every team time, where we have our Bible study/lesson, I would let the conversation flow and the girls asked questions which always turned into our team time running late. And after the first few team times, this girl began to ask the same question again and again and preceded to ask it for the rest of the week no matter how deeply we went into the matter or what we said. The question was, “What if you keep doing bad things that you know are wrong but you don’t feel bad about it? Does that mean you’re not saved?” This girl knew all the religious lingo, so as best I could I tried to steer her thinking away from “fire insurance” and “are all my eternal bases covered” to, “have I met Jesus?” Because you can’t know someone you’ve never met. And you can’t meet someone unless you talk to them. That’s what prayer is, talking to God.
I stayed up with this girl and talked with her, as I did with several of the girls after team times during the week and before I knew it, it was the last night of camp. Everyone was gathered in the auditorium. The message was preached, the invitation was given and a large number of kids who wanted to give their hearts to Christ. I left my high school helper with my group of girls and followed all the kids who had wanted to receive Jesus and the adult who would be talking to them down this hallway and into an adjacent room. I was one of the last adults to come in and all the kids had someone to talk to, so I quietly walked down to a table with someone who I knew was younger this was one of her first counseling opportunities and I slipped into a chair at the same table, just for support.
I was sitting there when I looked up and I spotted the girl from my group who had asked the same question again and again. She was standing there, just inside the door, tears streaming down her face as she scanned the room for me. I stood up, never taking my eyes off of her and when she saw me she started to run. I hugged her tightly and she began to cry over and over, “I don’t know Him…. I don’t know Him….” My heart absolutely broke.
I led her to a table and we sat down. She asked me what she needed to do. I told her just to talk to Jesus and tell Him what was on her heart. And as we sat there holding hands across the table I saw her look up and start talking to Jesus, tears falling freely. She didn’t need to repeat a prayer, she needed to share her own heart with Jesus and as she did so she asked Him to come into her heart and she gave her life to the Lord. Her eyes changed instantly. She met Jesus.
He is faithful. And He cares about every area of your life. So let courage fill your heart that you are alive today for a reason and that you can never fall too hard, so fast, so far that you can’t get back when you’re lost because He will grab your hand if you reach out to Jesus with all your heart and ask Him to come into your life. He makes beauty from ashes. He’s the only one that can make you new. As a new friend of mine stated, “That’s what God does and who He is. He takes death and pain and grief and turns it into to resurrection.”
Resurrection is a real thing. So is hope. So is Jesus. So is this- you are loved.
Thank you guys for all the support, prayers and encouragement!! One month till training camp!!
Blessings and gratitude,
Sarah
