Friends, family, and anyone else who might have stumbled across this, WELCOME! I want to start by thanking you for your support during this season! I am beyond blessed by the amount of support I have already received and am extremely grateful for each and every word of encouragement! I am humbled and incredibly thankful for this opportunity and all that the Lord has in store for my teammates and I over the next 2ish years.
To many of you it may not come as an earth quaking surprise that I am pursuing a path far different from the norm. As my dad stated, and I’m sure would state again, “You’ve never quite done anything by the books.” As excited as I am for this next chapter, there is no denying the fact that this is not where I pictured myself a year ago. Sooo HOW DID I GET HERE??? Quite simply, God laughed at my complacency and comfort. My plans for life after high school had been set since the end of my sophomore year. I steered shy of the dreaded college application process and felt relief as I watched friends make hard decisions that I wasn’t having to make. I dabbled through the motions, keeping my eyes set on my own plan despite feelings that told me to look elsewhere. I started my freshman year of college at a school I had learned to love, a school that was comfortable, that was home. But in my heart, I knew something wasn’t right. I loved this community, I loved my friends, and I loved my field of study, what was off? It wasn’t long until I knew and, quite frankly, deep down I had really known for much longer than I let on.
God had planted a seed in my heart for this mission MONTHS ago! He had put people and events in my path to open the opportunity, but time and time again I chose comfort, I chose my plan over his. Finally, I decided I would give it a shot, still doubting that this was really God’s plan for me. Surely I wasn’t the one for this, surely I was just hearing God wrong. I questioned every logistic. How would I get my parents on board? Could I realistically take a year away from school in the middle of my studies? How would I make it work financially? Could I leave the comfort of everything I had always known? God was at work…every dot aligned, every connection clicked, and every door opened! God was in fact calling ME to something far greater than myself, and well beyond my comfort zone.
WHY THIS/WHAT EVEN ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT HANNAH?? Man oh man, missions. Time and time again they’ve stole my heart, in North Carolina, in Kenya, and in Eleuthera. There is no greater feeling than for a stranger to become a friend, for a laugh to become love, for tears to lead to friendship, and goodness gracious, for a conversation to lead to the Lord!! Starting in September of 2019, I will be traveling for nine months between South Africa, Ecuador, and Cambodia! Three places I have never been, three places the Lord has put on my heart, and three places I am excited to see God at work in. Quite honestly, I can’t tell you what my teams day to day will look like because, well, I don’t know myself! What I DO know, is I am beyond excited to get to love, learn, worship, grow, and serve alongside the sweet and important souls in each of these beautiful places!
WHAT’S NEXT??? Well friends, I still have 11 months here in the States. Everyday I’m reminding myself of a precious mentors sweet words, “your mission field is wherever you are,” whether it is at your job, your school, on your sports team, or in your community. I have been so very blessed with opportunities to stretch my places of friendship and family, but I never, ever want to forget the faces right in front of me. YOUR FACES!
Obviously the biggest elephant in the room is finances. I will be very honest with you in stating that fundraising is completely out of my wheelhouse, BUT big, wonderful, awe-striking, and unexpected works are ABSOLUTELY in the wheelhouse of our precious Lord! The amount of $16,000 is daunting, quite frankly terrifying, but I am confident in the provision and faithfulness of the Lord and this calling on my life. With that being said, equally important to any monetary value are your prayers! This is a life changing opportunity, one I feel so blessed to have, but that will be challenging in many ways, and certainly one I can not do without the Lord. I will be using this blog as a platform for any and all updates and prayer requests before and during my trip, feel free to subscribe for notifications if you’re interested in following my journey!
I want to thank each of you for all the ways I know you will continue to support and encourage me in this season! I AM FOREVER GRATEFUL!!
-Hannah
