As I am in my senior year of high school, I’ve been asking God what next? What should I do with my life after school? Since childhood I have seen a gift of compassion working through me to always love and help others. Getting involved with a mission in East St. Louis allowed me to fall in love with the people there and to be used by God to love on kids desperately needing attention. After helping the people in my own back yard, I really took ahold of this passion and love for missions.
That passion lead to me taking a leap of faith and going on a mission trip to Haiti the summer of my freshman year. I went with my youth group on a 10 day mission trip to northwest Haiti to serve, love on, share the gospel with, and be the hands and feet of Jesus to the widows, orphans, and the wonderful Haitian people!
I was going through a rough time in my life, my family and I had just moved to a new town where I had no friends and started going to a new church where I didn’t know anyone, so I felt vey alone, became depressed, and I didn’t know who I was or what my purpose was in life.
But it was in Haiti where God told me “Savannah this is what you were made for, this is who you are. You were made to shower my love on people who need it, you were made to bring laughter to children who forgot what joy was, you were made to bring people the hope of the gospel, you were made to make people feel valued, and you were made to show people what it means to follow Christ with everything.” Haiti changed me, it was in Haiti I found my purpose and the things I love to do the most.
I was able to go to back to Haiti the following summer and just this past summer I was able to travel to Thailand! While I was there I really wanted to encounter God. I wanted know more about him and his heart for people.
It was the last day there and a I felt like I hadn’t encountered God yet. So during worship that morning I told God I wanted to encounter him. Right then I started looking back at all we did and all the kids we shared the gospel with and loved on in the two weeks we were there. I began to pray for each one of the kids and as I did I got this overwhelming feeling, a feeling that I have never felt before and I began to cry, not a pretty cry either! The ugly, snot running down your cheeks type of cry, and I heard God telling me “Savannah this feeling that you feel is just SOME of the love I have for these kids. I actively pursue them, I am their father, I have a purpose for them, I have freedom for them, I care about them, I find worth in them, I give them joy, I provide for them, I give them peace, I gave them passions and talents and I LOVE them so much. And it’s not just these children I love this way it is every single person. It’s your family, the people in the check out line at the grocery store, it’s the people driving past you, the people that make fun of you, and it’s the person that just gets on your nerves. And I want you to passionately pursue and love these people and everyone else you encounter in your life the way I do.”
I then began to think of all the people who don’t know who God is and don’t know the love God has for them and the way he passionately pursues them. My heart began to ache, ache and hurt more than it ever has before. And God told me “Savannah this is only a little fraction of how much my hart hurts for the people I have created, who don’t know me and the love I have for them, and are suffering and hurting. And your heart is going to break for what breaks mine.”
My heart breaks for the lonely, for they have no one to comfort them.
My heart breaks for the widows, for they have no one to love.
My heart breaks for the trafficked, for they have no one to value them.
My heart breaks for the oppressed, for they have no one to rescue them.
My heart breaks for the refugees, for the have no one to accept them.
My heart breaks for the orphans, for they have no one to love them.
My heart breaks for the addicted, for they have to one to set them free.
My heart breaks for the depressed, for they have no one to save them.
My heart breaks for the defeated, for they have no one to succeed in.
My heart breaks for the self haters, for they don’t see how much value they have and how much they are loved.
My heart breaks for the selfish and greedy, for they have no one to fill that hole they feel inside them.
My heart breaks for the Broken hearted, for they have no one who will truly satisfy them.
My heart breaks for the hopeless, for they have no one to trust in.
My heart breaks for the sick, for they have no one to heal them.
My heart breaks for the broken, for they have no one to put them back together.
My heart breaks for the lost, for they have no one to find them.
My heart breaks for the alcoholics, for they have no one to get rid of their emptiness.
My heart breaks for the abused, for they have no one who truly loves them.
My heart breaks for the fatherless, for they have no one to guide and lead them.
My heart breaks for the angry for they have no one to give them joy.
My heart breaks for the stressed, for they have no one to calm them.
My heart breaks for the weak, for they have no one to find strength in.
My heart breaks for the hurting, for they have no one to take the pain away.
My heart breaks for the disappointed, for they have no one to cheer them up.
My heart breaks for the rejected for they have no one to accept them.
My heart breaks for the hungry, for they have no one to feed them.
My heart breaks for those afraid, for they have no one to make them brave.
My heart breaks for those who believe the lies they are being feed, for they have no one to tell them the truth.
My heart breaks for those with crushed dreams, for they can’t see the bigger and better plans about to unfold.
My heart breaks and hurts for all those going through life’s struggles without knowing God. And God has put a desire in my heart to go love on people and to share who He is with with those I meet.
Back to my question of “what next for my life?” God has opened up an incredible opportunity for this next chapter in my life. I will be going on the World Race Gap Year. You’re probably wondering what that is! The World Race Gap Year is a 9 month Christian mission trip to 3 different countries around the world. The 3 countries I will be ministering in are India, Malaysia, and Zambia. One of the unique things about the World Race is that it’s not only a mission trip but also an intensive discipleship program designed to help my generation discover our specific kingdom callings. Through the World Race, my team and I will serve in partnership with churches and ministries in local communities to preach the Gospel, plant churches, work in orphanages, minister to women and children trapped in prostitution as a result of human trafficking, and bring the restorative hope of the Father’s love to many tribes and nations.
To participate in The World Race I have to raise over $13,000 and I can’t do that alone.
This is my official invitation to you to become part of my World Race gap year.
There are several different ways you can help me, you can first of all PLEASE pray for me as I will be needing a lot of it. Pray that God fully prepares me for this journey in all ways – mentally, physically, and spiritually. Also pray for my team and I to become closely connected as we all start this journey of ministering and growth together. Pray that I raise all the money I need before I leave in October. and secondly you can share this blog with your friends and family and get the word out there! And lastly if you are called to give monetary you can click the support me button at the top of the page. And if you have any questions please please feel free to shoot me a text or give me a call or send me an email or we can go grab some coffee some time, whatever works for you! I can not complete this calling on my own strength, but with your support of prayer and possible financial assistance, we can all be His hands and feet to the lost and hurting of this world.
Thank you so much for taking your time to read through this really long blog post! I love you all and thank you so much for all your prayers and support!
