Social media is not real life. The sunsets, the hikes, prom, graduation, the artsy picture of a cup of coffee. Social media was not my real life when I was at home, and while on the field, social media is still not my real life.
My youth pastor would always tell me “don’t compare someone else’s highlight reel to your behind the scenes footage”.
My Instagram feed is my highlight reel.
My Facebook feed is my highlight reel.
My Snapchat stories are my highlight reel.
Somedays ministry truly does look like sitting with children, playing silly games and sharing bible stories.
Somedays ministry looks like sitting in a stranger’s home while they refuse to talk to you. Ministry looks like taking a machete to a jungle, and moving cinder blocks from one pile to a different pile just to move them back again. Ministry often times looks like coming home after a long day, which in reality is a small room shared with too many girls, and crying because your heart literally hurts for the people you encountered that day. It’s hard to get out of bed some days. It’s hard to find the motivation day in and day out to share the Gospel with people who simply do not care to hear it. It’s hard to see the pain these people experience each day and not have the correct words to encourage them with. It’s hard to spend the whole day with a child and give them all the love you possibly can, but leave them knowing they are going back to a dysfunctional home and will still crave love and attention.
Social media does not capture the raw conversations.
Social media does not properly present each child’s story.
Social media does not show the abuse, the addiction, the shame, the heartache, the trials.
My goal for the Race is to post the good, bad and ugly on social media. I want nothing more than to invite you into every part of my life and share in vulnerability all that the Lord is doing.
Please understand that my time on the field is not a dream. Don’t glorify my work, but give glory to the one who called me here. I pray that you begin to see the raw pain that has filled each of these countries. I pray that you see beyond the pretty smiles and artsy pictures and allow the Lord to break your heart for what breaks His. These people’s stories matter and I simply want to use social media as a platform to share their stories.
This journey is not about me. The Lord has been so incredibly good in blessing me with this opportunity and I invite you into experiencing it with me.
