This summer is blowing by. Only 6 more days until I'm in Georgia for the World Race training week. And then it's a little more than a month before I leave for 11 months. This whole process feels like a blur to me. I have been accepted and committed to the WR for about 4 months now but it still seems like I'm waiting for that something to trigger some true emotion in me. It's been interesting answering the question "Are you excited about the World Race?". I have to fight talking in cliches and giving people what they want to hear. To be honest I don't know how I feel about it. I never really know how to feel about new seasons in my life, they sort of just come and I embrace it then. I'm coming off of one of the most stretching years of my life. I've learned more about grace, people, myself, struggles, heartache and crippling expectations. But through it I have learned more about the God we love and serve. It was about a year ago today where I swore to myself I was done with missions and my desire to see and understand the world better. I was lying in a hospital bed ready to undergo my second surgery in a month. When I got sick in Sri Lanka I was positive that my longing to see God's church and his people around the world would die and I was convinced my passion was quenched. But the Father had a different plan for me. I sit here today in my living room unsure how to prepare for the most physically, spiritually and emotionally challenging experience of my life. But I do stand confident in one thing; That I serve a God who is faithful to his people and is near to them. So near that he has made His home in them, in me, through the finished work of Jesus. He is with me whether I believe that or not. So despite my confusion, my apathy, my arrogance and my self-centered tendencies I strive to stand confident that the reality of heaven inside of me is greater than my current circumstances. God loves me and will not leave me ill-equipped because He is the one who equips. I want to thank all of you who have supported me this far in my journey! I am so blessed to have so many people who love me in my life. Please continue to pray for me, for my heart and for my desire to see the Kingdom come in this world as it is in heaven.
– Joe
