Hey everyone!! Its been a while and I wanted to catch everyone up on the race and life after so I started to write a blog and it just kept going and going so I decided to split it up in to two parts! I hope you all enjoy Part 1 and stick around for part 2!!
2 years ago I stared down a path that forever changed my life. I decided to do the WorldRace. Something that at the time seemed impossible. Something that was terrifying to actually do. God wanted me to leave my family! My friends! Everyone and everything I knew! Not only that but he wanted me to do it on different continents where people wouldn’t speak the same language or have the same culture as me. I always wanted to travel and see the world, but when I had the Lord calling me to it I was terrified. I hid it and pushed down the fear and against my judgment I decided to go with what God wanted me to do. Don’t get me wrong though, I did want to go I knew it would be amazing and life changing but I was just scared of the unknown. Plus i’ve read about Jonah… I spend to much time on a boat not to go to a country that God wants me to go to.
So after some fundraising I was able to go to training camp and wow did the Lord change me. He showed me what it really looks like to live in a relationship with him. He showed me visions and I got to watch healing and miracles happen right in front of my eyes, and not to mention some of the best worship I’ve ever had in my life. God removed the fear from my life and replaced it with excitement. Excitement to go live with 40 random strangers who from the looks of how planning our team dance with would be a little challenge, but a fun one. Excitement to go out and see the world and meet amazing people and get to spread the love of the Lord everywhere I went.
Then I let that excitement slip a little bit and the enemy filled my head with doubt. Not doubt about wither or not the Living God was real. I had put that issue to bed a few years before, but doubt that the Lord won’t abandon me. After begging God to talk to me at training camp and him showing up in a big way I felt abandoned. I felt distant and like he wasn’t listening to me anymore, like I had used up my 3 wishes already. I went into the race feeling a little abandoned but knowing I’m about to land in Africa makes a big change in attitude. I felt hope for God to start talking again. Time goes on ands after a month of living in Africa I felt too far from God I couldn’t talk to strangers and I would constantly be angry at my teammates myself and God. I was so confused why the Lord would bring me half way around the world just to abandon me, but then came the Awakening.
Yes I know that sounds super hippy, but that is truly what it is called. The Awakening is when 2 squads meet up and spend time debriefing with other squads who are going through the same thing. We spent time in worship one night and everything just clicked. I looked up and told God “you can have it all I love you, talk to me when you are ready.” And wow did he come in big then. One of my best friends on the race, Madison Green was leading worship and said to the room “guys I feel Jesus in this room right now, let’s just worship Him.” And BAM!! JESUS HUGGED ME!! I know it sounds crazy but I felt two hands wrap around me and squeeze tight then another vision from the Lord came to me. This was the Lord telling me its time to get moving. It time to stoke the fire and get things burning. And it truly was, we spent times over the next 6 month burning down and destroying walls that I put up in our relationship. Tearing down habits and burying them in the dirt. Getting rid of wicked thoughts that the enemy would try to fill my head with. 6 months of just me and Jesus growing as I spent time with some of the best friends I could ever ask for.
That training camp B Squad was not recognizable at the end of this trip. We all had major breakthroughs in our walks with Christ and all had a clearer calling on our lives. For a lot of us it was going back to college getting a degree and changing the world. For some of us like me the Lord is calling into full time ministry. Going out to be either pastors or missionaries all over the world. We arrived at our last destination of the race. Nicaragua. A place where many members of our squad had such high hopes for. Sadly we wouldn’t get to spend much time there really at all. In a flash we got told to pack up. The pandemic had spread and Adventures had made the call to send us home in just a few days. That’s when the real trials began…
I really hoped you like Part 1 enough to come back and read part 2 and see what happened when I got home and what’s next for me and my walk with the Lord.
