How I was called to this Mission Trip

               

     I consider myself an
adventurer. When I was younger, I would go into the woods and explore into the
depths of nature. I would take an axe and chop limbs to make a trail for the
return home or simply crush my way to my destination with the four-wheeler.
Sometimes I would envision myself in a world of solitude and how I could
survive in my environment with the materials on hand. I would walk until I
found just the right place for a home, just the right place for a pit to build
a fire, just the right place to find an unending supply of food, just the right
place for my drinking water, and just the right place to hide from all
predators.  After realizing an endless
supply of food does not exist, the cookie just started to crumble from there. Therefore,
I would go back home and have supper.

     In high school, I ran track. I was a
sprinter. I ran the relays most weeks (400m, 800m, 1600m) but occasionally, I
would run the 200m and 100m. I always prayed before races asking God to give me
strength to give all I had in the race I was about to run. I would pray after
the race, thanking him for the results no matter what they were. One particular
goal I had my junior year was to run a 10 sec 100m dash (under 11 seconds). I
ran a few meets and came close, but for me close did not cut it. One meet I
will never forget, I walked over to the starting area for check in. I was in
the fastest heat and feeling good. 
Extremely relaxed, talking to another runner and waiting our turn.
Typically, I secluded myself for focusing but this time I had an unexplainable
calm over me. We stepped to the line and when the gun sounded, I bolted out of
the blocks the best I ever had. I ran a 10.91 that night and knew God had given
this to me. I was determined to run this time and God placed stillness over me
this night to conquer my goal.

     I was engaged before and
unfortunately, it did not work out. I thought she was the one. I wanted her to
be the one but God said otherwise. It was hard on me when it all went down
because I did not understand. It took time and much praying to get through
those times I felt so low. But when I finally broke down and let it all out, I
realized how God’s plan was unfolding. This relationship was not what he
wanted; it was what I wanted. God has that girl for me and I know this now
because I handed him my bride ticket.  I
trust in his holiness that she is compatible with me in more ways I could ever
imagine. I know she is out there and I cannot wait to meet her. Until that
moment comes, I will go wherever God leads me and do whatever is asked of me.

     I remember one time after school, my
sophomore year in high school, I was driving home and I passed a fellow
classmate. I was not close to him at all, but we had art together and I knew
whom he was growing up. I felt the desire to pull over and give him a ride,
knowing how far he lived from there, so I asked and he jumped in. He was not
going home this day. He was walking to a friend’s house to hangout for the
afternoon. It was closer than his home so it did not bother me to drop him off
there. We had a good conversation all the way there, not a long ride, but still
a consistent chat. We pulled into the drive of an older apartment complex and I
felt like I was driving into the beating of a lifetime. All the dropouts and
“bad” crowd folk were propped on a vehicle in the middle of the lot. As I drove
closer, they all stopped talking and glared at me as if I were begging for a
brawl. My classmate asked me to stop and let him off where we were so naturally
I did. As he got out, one of the leaders of the pack approached my jeep slowly.
Yelling and waving his arms, I was not sure what would happen next. I will
never forget what he said to me. “Get out of here! You don’t belong here!” It
was truly like a movie; a guy does a good deed and gets the crap beat out of
him for it. But as I pulled away, my new acquaintance passenger ran to him and
pushed him back, telling him to cool off and that I was simply giving him a
ride.