Connections. That is what God gives you when you are raising support. And one of my connections is in a tiny little town in the beautiful mountainous town of Blairsville, GA. Today, I was able to travel north with the windows down and breeze streaming through my car to speak at a youth group. I drove up the scenic route of 575 with the North Georgia Mountains curtaining my travels and the sunny sky kissing my sunroof. This was made possible from one of my personal connections. One of my best friends from college, (also an incredibly talented artist and painter) Amanda, told me about her father’s church in Blairsville and gave me her dad’s contact information. Her dad connected me with the youth pastor/pastor of the contemporary service named Richard. What an amazing follower of Christ Richard is! He is so filled with the Spirit and has such a heart for missions; foreign and local. I was so moved by the passion Richard has instilled in this youth group. They are so intrigued by ministry and the act of loving people. They have actually adopted a missions project from AIM called the “Bethlehem Project” where they adopt a neighborhood in their town to pour into and love on. The neighborhood is down the hill from the local high school, and Richard’s vision is to pour into the neighborhood so much that it trickles into the school and brings people to the church. Ministry In Action!
Not only was I blown away from the love pouring out of this youth group, but I was SO touched by what Pastor Richard decided to do. After I spoke, he announced to the youth group that they were going to adopt me as their missionary for the year. As their missionary. This was actually the first time that I thought of myself as a missionary. I know that seems silly, since I am raising money for missions, but it really felt real. He challenged his kids to take this seriously and commit to pray for me and remember me in their personal devotion time. Oh, wait, and there’s more. He then asked them to come down to the alter, kneel down, and pray earnestly for this commitment and lay hands on me and pray. It was so incredibly powerful. To see and hear these kids lift me up in prayer and commit to pray for me and support me throughout this year was tremendously encouraging. I am so excited to continue to get to know these kids and share my experiences through the World Race with them. Thank you First United Methodist Church of Union County for being such a blessing to me! Keep doing what you’re doing!
