How does Moses make coffee? Hebrews it!
Dad jokes are the best way to start anything.
So the past couple of weeks have been the most emotionally draining and absolutely crazy weeks of my life. The Lord has been strengthening me through trials, and out of it, I’ve come to a new realization.
There is a time and season for everything, and everything happens according to His plan.
The Lord has shown me that in this next chapter of life, witnessing to others and bringing the gospel is exactly what I’m supposed to do, but not with The World Race.
Adventures In Missions has been wonderful and has really shown me how to be transparent and vulnerable when following the Lord’s calling. I look forward to still traveling with AIM, but on one of their Passport trips! My time on The World Race was not wasted, because I now know myself and who I am in the Lord so much better than before, and I have a new view of myself in light of God’s goodness and redemption. I’ve made friends that I know I will keep for life and I’ve made connections that will serve an abundance of purposes in the future.
To the people who have donated to my ministry, THANK YOU. Seriously. Your investment is not taken lightly in my heart and is still going to be used to further the kingdom!
To my squad and team, you guys are the best, and you are so incredibly strong. I can’t wait to watch you guys change the world on your Race. Keep pursuing the Lord in everything, and y’all will do impossible things.
To my parents who have been beside me trying to make this happen for me, I love you. I don’t know what else to say other than I love you. You have fought for me, and I couldn’t ask for anything more. You support me in all my dreams and aspirations no matter how high they are and I think that’s pretty cool.
So on to the information y’all have been waiting for.
The passport trip I will be embarking on is to Nicaragua! I will be working at an orphanage on an island on Lake Managua.
You may ask, “But Shelbie, how the heck did you come to the realization that you’re supposed to go to NICARAGUA instead of Guatemala, Lesotho and Cambodia!?” I would reply with this: I have a calling on my life to help those in need. A life of servitude is what I am called to, and I can’t wait to fulfill this calling on the island! I will be traveling with a team of around 15 people with two leaders.
You ALSO might ask, “Shelbie! What’s going to happen to your blog?! How are we going to keep up on your ministry?!” Well, friends, I’ve got answers! I’m going to start my OWN blog! Something that I can post on either daily or weekly depending on how busy I am or how often I have internet. Either way, I will NOT leave you hanging because you are my support group. You’ve come along with me this far and I don’t plan on ending it here.
You also might ask one more question. “Shelbie, what happens to your funds that we’ve donated to The World Race??” Friends, fear not! Because The World Race is just ONE trip in the organization Adventures In Missions as well as the Passport trip, ALL funds will be transferred over to my new trip to Nicaragua! Wipe your brow, people, no need to sweat over it!
So, what does the future look like? I don’t know. I will be in Nicaragua from September 1 to December 1, and after that it’s all unknown. I do know that The World Race IS for me, just not right now. I will return and fulfill my calling here someday, but for now, it’s not where I am supposed to be.
Maybe I’ll work after Nicaragua? Maybe i’ll go to school? Maybe i’ll do an internship? Who the heck knows! Maybe I’ll move out of the country and live off the land in like the jungles of Asia. Who knows! I do know that the Lord never fails and this change in the plan is not a failure, but a new direction! Sure, the money didn’t come in, fine. It’s not a failure. It’s God showing me that there’s another direction. Why would God stop my flow of money coming in RIGHT where I need to be fully funded for the specific Passport trip I am going on? Because that’s just how He works. It’s weird and unexplainable, but that’s how He works and I’m not going to question it.
Anyway, I wanted to write this blog to thank everyone for coming beside me this far and I hope you’ll follow me over at my new blog, which I will post on my Facebook page here in the next week or so. Don’t give up praying and asking questions about my adventures in life because they’ve been really good growth for the people asking, as well as myself! We’re all on this adventure called life and it’s a wild one, so let’s do it together!
For now, friends: love the Lord, have fun following His directions, and live a happy life. I’ll see you over on my next blog!
P.S. I should have known that the Lord was trying to tell me something when I couldn’t go #2 at training camp until day 8 out of 10. What a struggle that was.
