Hello again!
In my last blog, I announced I was going to G42 but I didn’t really go into detail. I hope that this will clear that up and give you a better understanding of what I will be doing and why I am going even if I don’t fully understand myself yet.
To put it simply, I am continuing my discipleship journey. G42 is a discipleship academy that I have known about since I returned from my own World Race in 2016. I knew it was an option for me as an alumni and It seemed interesting and cool but I never really considered it as something I would do. In the fall of 2016 when I attended CGA I learned more about it and even had the pleasure and privilege of meeting and learning from some of the instructors. From the time I heard Gary Black and Andrew Shearman teach I was hooked. I wanted to learn more from these men who had such an awareness of the presence of God in their lives and lived the faith that they preached every day. I wanted to glean and learn as much as I could and just be in their space as possible. But because I was already doing a discipleship program I thought that any opportunity to do G42 had passed and even if I did that it would be redundant. Like putting sugar on a gummy bear. And yet, as God does so often, I have been proven wrong.
How this all came to pass has quite a bit of context and I don’t think I will try to fit it all in here. But long story short, I had a dream about G42 back in November, and then in February, I got a message from my squad mentor asking me to pray about going. The moment I read the message I knew it was the open door. We talked on the phone for an hour and a half and the dream I had had months earlier was confirmed. I continued to pray if this was for sure the next step and it was finally decided. I am going to attend G42. As I prayed, I asked all the why questions and tried to get all the ins and outs of how this is going to play out, all I got back for the Lord is “This is the door I have opened. Will you walk through it? At one point while I prayed, I had a vision of the Lord and me. We walked out onto a vast open ocean and as I looked behind me the shoreline was tiny, I could barely see it. I then looked ahead of me and all I saw was a blue horizon with no destination in sight. The Lord asked, “You have followed me this far, will you follow me a little further?” I had no idea where we were going or how far we were going to go. All I knew was that where ever it was Jesus was with me. So I said yes.
As I look back, CGA for me was a reality check. I shifted my perspective on healthy relationships, boundaries, and community. I learned just how flawed and broken I was from painful experiences from my past that went untouched for years. I was broken down and built right back up. I learned that I didn’t love myself nor did I really let anyone love me. I was loved by God in a way that made me able to love myself despite my flaws and mistakes. I was then able to love God and myself which made me able to truly love others.
In G42, I expect more of the same. Another layer of refinement. Another round of pruning. Another chance to bear more fruit. Although, this time I wager it will be less like creating a new edge on a knife and more like honing one that’s already been made if that makes sense. Maybe another way to say it is by looking at the life of David. A man, who at the very young age of 16 was anointed as king, didn’t actually take the throne until He was in his forties. He had an incredibly challenging life and even though he was finding success and favor with God and people early on, he was hunted. He lived in and out of caves and was accompanied by a loyal few who, at one time, told him to just take what was rightfully his instead of living like a criminal. But David remained faithful. He was patient. He would not cut any corners nor would he take anything that was to be given to Him by the Lord.
“The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the Lord.” – 1 Samual 24:6
David had an opportunity to kill Saul and finally take the throne for himself but David refused and waited for God to fulfill what he had promised. David’s character was tested and refined. I believe that because of that He was able to carry the weight of his own anointing rather than being crushed by it. I am not sure what the Lord is calling me to, but I do know that He wants to use G42 as a refinement of character to propel me into whatever that calling is. Whether it’s worship, missions, or something else entirely I trust and believe that G42 is a step on the path and I am ready and more than willing to take it. I hope you take it with me!
With that, here are a few of the finer details that I do know.
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In the past, G42 has been located in Mijas, Spain. Due to Covid-19 travel restrictions, G42 has been moved to Clevland Georgia( 30 minutes from Gainesville Where I had been living the past few years) and is scheduled to be there this coming spring at the start of the term. It may move by then, G42 leadership is hoping to have something definitive by the end of the month and I will keep you all in the loop as I am in the loop!
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G42 is a 9-month program broken into 3 trimesters. The first 3 months will be in a classroom lecture environment. The next 3 months will be a practicum in a place and ministry TBD. It might be overseas, it might be in the states, we don’t know yet but time will tell. The last 3 months will be a debriefing of our practicum and the next steps after G42.
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It’s a smaller classroom environment I currently have 17 people n my class, including myself with one married couple. My class will, however, overlap with the class that just started in September for our first three months. So there will one class finishing and one class starting at the same time.
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The amount I will be fundraising for all 9 months will be $10,900. As of now, I have already fundraised about $500 and the current total left is $10,400.
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For the time being, I will likely still use my World Race blog until I can set something else up to keep you all informed and updated
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Lastly, I will not be fundraising through Adventures In Missions. G42 has a Partnership with AIM but operates independently. I will have a donation page with the G42 website where Monthly and one time donors can donate. Current monthly donors will have to stop their monthly donations on my World Race page and go to the G42 website to continue financial support. Here’s how!:
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Go to www.generation42.org
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Go to the donations tab at the top right side of the page
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Select intern donations
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Scroll and find my name
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Click donate!
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Set it and forget it!! (maybe not forget, but you can smell what I’m cooking)
That’s It! That’s all I got for now! As always thank you so much for your support and know that my journey would not be at all possible without you on my team and It means the world to me that you support me with all the prayers and finances that you have to give. I hope we can continue to journey together as God unfolds and weaves together this crazy amazing life with Him!!! Love you all!!
Peace and many many blessings!
