Adventures WorldRace SethBarnes Sponsorship Giving

| by archiveworldraceblogs

Hello and welcome to my blog! I am SO glad that you’re here! As I write this post, I am preparing for the biggest adventure of my life and I am relieved to know that I am not alone. 

It’s hard to for me to write about myself when I’m not quite sure I know who I am yet. What do I write? What do people want to know? What should people know? Well, here are some things I think you should know about me as you read other posts.  I’m starting with a glimpse of where my life is now, but I also want to give you some perspective of where I’ve come from. 

 
Beauty for Ashes

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight” Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)

I am 24 years old and live in the Pacific Northwest-Seattle, WA to be exact. I moved here in August 2011 out of sheer obedience to Christ. I had never been here before I moved here, so you can only imagine how emotional my three day drive with one of my best friends Jazmine was. Most of my time is devoted to working (I work here & here) and school, both full-time. This June, I will graduate with a Masters degree in Student Development Administration from Seattle University. The best way I can describe my time in Seattle is to say it has been a time of me decreasing and God increasing. I am coming off of the most difficult season of my life. I’ve felt confused, abandoned by God, alone, and stifled.  Yet, in the midst of my self-pity, controlling attitude, and despair; God has shown me just how BIG and GOOD He is. He has shown me the depths of my brokenness, the power of community, and just how desperate the world is for the healing and reconciling love of Jesus. In this season, I have experienced the faithfulness, gentleness, and goodness of the Lord! Undoubtedly this experience is preparing my heart for what I will encounter on the Race. 

Jesus, really?
“Come near to God and He will come near to you…Humble yourselves before the Lord and He will lift you up” James 4:8a, 10 (NIV)

In May 2011 I became the first person in my family to graduate from college. Yep, I am a proud alumna of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (ILL-INI!) where I a double majored in Psychology and Sociology. I was pretty active in undergrad, particularly in areas of social justice education and psycho-educational outreach. During my senior year I got involved in my church as a small group leader, usher, volunteer, and I went on some short term missions trips.  It was the end of my junior year when I cried out to God in desperation. I had turned into someone I didn’t want to be and life seemed worthless. Gratefully, my dear friend Kortney prayed me right into Jesus’ GRACE and FREEDOM. About 8 months prior to this encounter I watched my grandmother take her last breath. This woman meant so much to me and I’m still learning what life is about without her. However, the best gift she gave to me was her expressed desire to go to church during her last year of life. After she passed, I went to church “for her.”  I entered college with a pretty hostile attitude towards Christianity and spent my first three years partying it up. I was young, wanted to fit in, and life had “been hard”, so why not? 
 
I Am, Because of Them      
But God in his grace chose me even before I was born, and called me to serve him. Galatians 1:15a (TEV)

I was born and raised in Quad Cities, Illinois. We’re not a well known area. Our claim to fame is John Deere tractors. Heard of ‘em?  Looking back what I love most about my hometown is its diversity and cross cultural interactions. In no way is it perfect, but it’s there! I now know that this is where the seed was planted in me for racial reconciliation and social justice. I am the oldest of five siblings. I am the daughter of a woman who is the essence of resiliency and life (blame my silliness on my mother!). I am the daughter of a man who exudes wisdom and creativity (blame my vivid imagination on my father!).  I was not raised in a Christian home and the only times I went to church was when I had to (i.e. sleepovers with friends).  When I was about 10 years old I got involved with Christian Friendliness, a neighborhood youth center. I remember hearing about Jesus and singing songs about the fruit of the Spirit. I remember responding to an altar call and “giving my life to Jesus.” I had no idea what that meant, but part of me knew Jesus was good. I needed Him to be good…and real. It took 10 years for those seeds to produce a harvest…but it did! You see, I was born into a family that is damaged by generational curses and sins including domestic violence, alcoholism, and depression. These experiences are compounded by our social reality of being black and working class in a racist, classist, and sexist United States. Despite that truth, there is a truth much greater and powerful than all of it. God says “For I know that plans I have for you, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you.” (Jeremiah 29:11-14a). That is my truth. That is the promise I declare over my family. That is the truth that I will take with me on the Race. That is the truth that I long to share with the world.