“Paige, What are you doing next?” This question has popped up so many times during my time here in Georgia. I would get it from many people: Racers, family, friends at home, and random strangers. My answer was always “I have no clue. My plan right now is to go home December 17th and see what God has.”
I had been praying God would reveal what He wanted me to do next in His timing. He kept saying “Be available.” And that’s all I would hear days on end. Eventually, I gave it up to Him. I told God that I would truly trust His timing, not plan anything, and just keep praying.
Then the week of November 9th came along.
To start off the week, I had a phone call with my sister’s friend about sharing some information about the World Race and Adventures in Missions, AIM, because she was interested in going on a Semesters trip with AIM. A Semesters trip is another option with AIM for ages 18 to 22 who want to go on a trip but don’t want a full 9 months. The trips are offered between 1-3 months in the Spring, Summer, and Fall.
As I was doing a little research on Semesters since I am not too familiar with the Semesters program, the thought came into my head of leading a Semesters trip as a Squad Leader. I didn’t know if God was calling me into it, but I did get a little excited with the thought of leading again. I decided to pray about it and planned to have a conversation with my mentor about what she thought of it.
Since Monday and Tuesday were busy, I didn’t get a chance to talk with Kate until Wednesday. I had been praying those days “God if you want this to happen it won’t matter when I talk to Kate because human timing can’t mess up your timing.” I sat down with Kate and asked her “Do you think I would be able to squad lead a Semesters trip?”
I barely got the sentence out before she responded with such excitement saying she had an email in her inbox where she was going to ask me if I was interested in helping lead a Semesters trip and would 100 percent recommend me. She said the Semesters program reached out looking for one or two strong women leaders to lead a trip to either Nicaragua or Ecuador.
My mouth dropped! Every time I had heard of Nicaragua the past few weeks, my heart pounded so fast and hard. I had no idea why in the moment, but now that Kate said this, it all made sense.
So Kate moved forward with giving them my contact information and a little bit about me. I was so excited and couldn’t sit still because God had so many ways this was being confirmed.
I waited all day Wednesday and didn’t hear anything which made me a little sad. Then Thursday, I got a call from the Semesters Squad Mentor reaching out wanting to chat a little bit. She told me she didn’t have any Squad Leader spots open and was looking for another Alumni Team Leader. When I heard that I was a little sad since that is what I am doing now and I thought this next season would hold a little more leadership.
I told her I would definitely have to pray about it since it was a little different than I thought but didn’t want to immediately close the door. So we continued talking which consisted of her asking me a few questions about how I lead and my relationship with God. At the end of the call, she told me she had lots of other people she was interviewing today and would get back to me by the end of the day.
After the call, I prayed to God and said that this isn’t what I first thought it would be God, but I want to give it up to you. If you have this Squad Mentor offer it to me after all her other calls, I will say yes. And then I let it be. I gave it to God and just waited.
Around 5 that evening, she called me back and offered me the Alumni Team Leading spot. I was super excited but didn’t want to jump the gun. I told her I would pray about it over the night and give her a final answer Friday around 9 am.
I took the evening to pray and invite my family into it. I kept getting confirmation from others around me and from God. My family was super supportive and told me to go for it. So after all those conversations, I felt more confident in saying yes.
Friday, November 13th, I called the Squad Mentor back and gave her my yes to Alumni Team Leading again in Nicaragua! I was super excited and so was she!
Since then, the time has been filled with meeting the rest of the leadership team, a little bit of training, lots of bonding, and balancing two schedules at once while staying present with C squad and preparing to go on the field with Gap23 squad in January.
And that’s that! There’s the story! With all of this, I am going to begin fundraising again for my time in Nicaragua. I need to fundraise $3,000 dollars and know the Lord will provide! I ask for your prayers over this time of preparation, time in Nicaragua, and if you feel God calling you into deeper support, I would love your financial support. I can take donations here on my blog (it should be updated soon!), cash or checks handed to me or my family, or venmo being sent to PaigeCanova1.
Thank you so so so much for all the prayers and support. As always, I would LOVE to talk to you each more about this either through email, text, call, or any other way you can think of!
Lots of Love,
Paige :):):)
P.S. here’s a link to squad I will be leading and walking along side with in January and a picture of my leadership team
P.S.S. Watch for a fundraiser coming up over Thanksgiving break. It’s called “Half for a Stache” if that peaks your interest! 😉
