“But you, Israel, my servant,
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
you descendants of Abraham my friend,
I took you from the ends of the earth,
from its farthest corners I called you.
I said, ‘You are my servant’;
I have chosen you and have not rejected you.
So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41: 8-10
Hello friends, fam bam, and prayer warriors!
I just wanted to post and get everyone up to date on my life. We have four short months before I come off the field, and it’s time to start thinking about the future (just a little bit anyways).
SEMINARY
I will not be returning to seminary.
When I finished my second year there were so many things that the Lord closed the door on in Wake Forest. He has constantly told me from the beginning, “Don’t look back”. I’m confident this is one of those things. It’s not because it’s a bad thing, and I am incredibly grateful for the time I’ve had to study at Southeastern. I’ve got out of it all that I’ve wanted and all that I truly believe I need. I would just be investing more money into schooling that I wouldn’t be thrilled about while working a part time job and further putting of a career.
BUSINESS AS MISSIONS
While I’ve been on the Race, God has showed so much favor on a dream of mine and has walked along side of me to cultivate it. I’ve had so much support from friends and family to go through with this, it’s unbelievable.
While at Southeastern I was working at Stewart’s Bistro and realized how much I loved working with my hands, specifically with coffee, and also the abundant opportunities for close relationships there.
It was there that my dream started.
Lord willing, I will be starting a business in the near future to make relationships with coffee farmers in Latin America to buy their coffee and roast it in the US. Making relationships with these farmers would mean intentionally evangelizing and discipling farmers and their local area so that it becomes a place where a local church lead by local people can gather, worship, and further the Kingdom.
This would be the basis of the ministry, and Lord willing a coffee shop will come out of it once the roasting has hit the ground and is running.
G42
So the part you’re really waiting for. I return from the Race at the end of August. However, Lord willing, I’ll only be in the States for 6 months before heading to Mijas, Spain in March.
There is a program for World Race Alumni that lasts for a span of 9 months. The program is G42 (Generation 42).
What this program looks like is 3 months in Spain where I’ll do training and classes and be living in a strong familial community. Part of the teaching is a 2 weeks teaching on Business as Missions. There are people there to help you make a business plan and provide resources and connections to help serve as a launching pad for your ministry dreams. People do this program for many different desires whether it be Business as Missions, Church Planting, etc. etc.
The next 3 months I will do a practicum where I am placed in a different country. This will be a hands on experience related to future goals and dreams. So hopefully I would work with some business in Latin America.
The final 3 months I’ll return to Spain to do more training and sit under more teaching before being released to the future of this coffee business.
This opportunity is so exciting because G42 was designed as if it was specifically made for me and my dream. Not to mention it will give me an extra 9 months in a Spanish speaking context, and hopefully I’ll be fluent by that time.
FUNDRAISING
There’s that scary word. During fundraising for the World Race I never worried about the provision. God made it very clear to me from the beginning that he would make it happen. I have told the Lord over multiple occasions I do not want to spend the rest of my life as a missionary fundraising. But here we are, round two of fundraising, and to be honest I don’t love the idea of it. Part of the reason I’ll be in the States for 6 months is so that I can work and save money, but I know I won’t make enough to cover the entire cost.
In my mind I can’t imagine the idea of supporters extending their support for an extra 9 months. You all have really given in an abundance and from the heart and I don’t take that lightly. But this is just another area that the Father wants to further deepen my trust in Him.
There is a $500 deposit that I need to make to hold my place as soon as that is in my possession.
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Then I’ll have to raise $10,000 for the actual program
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Whatever the cost is to Spain (~$$600) and back from the US from Spain (~$600)
(good news: the flight to practicum is covered).
In order to buy my flight to Spain, I must have raised at least 1/3 of my goal.
IN CLOSING
I’m so excited for what God is preparing. Not only for me, but for you. If we don’t put our spiritual lenses on though, we may miss seeing it.
It’s only 4 more months until I make it back to the US. I can not wait to be back with friends and family and hug their necks, meet new babies, tell stories, and I also really can’t wait to have Chick-fil-a, Mexico Viejo, and Southern cooking again! I’ll be just in time for fall and I’m going to go crazy this fall and winter to make up for the lack of the past 11
