I grew up in a church environment and was living for God wholeheartedly for most of my life. But between the ages of 18 and 21 I really struggled with my walk with Christ as I chose to live entirely for myself. But during this past year, I finally surrendered to God 100%. I’ve surrendered 80/20, 70/30, 60/40 many times in the past, but that’s no good. God needed every single aspect of my life. Not a single exception. It had been a very long, very hard road that I tried to traverse on my own but living for myself led nowhere but destruction. By God’s grace alone I still have breath in my lungs, and by His mercy He gave me the opportunity to spread the news of Christ’s love and forgiveness. Ever since I made that choice I have been so blessed and amazed at how God has been working in my life. Spending time in His Word and in prayer on a daily basis refocuses my entire mindset to a place of thankfulness, regardless of whether I had a good or a bad day. I have also learned how important it is to be involved in my church. The church is built to hold together and support the entire body. Encouraging those who are down. Building up those who are struggling. Rejoicing with those who are experiencing God’s work in their lives. The more I get involved the more I learn of how vast an impact it makes. Life still isn’t perfect but when your heart is committed to living for God, you can start to see that God truly does work all things together for our good.
I’ve known since I was young that God has a huge purpose for me, and although I got off track for a while, I still believed that to be true. So ever since I committed my life back to Christ I have been searching for ways to shine the light of Christ wherever I go. God has me where I am right now for a reason, but I believe that He has an even bigger purpose for me. I’ve always had a heart for missions and the missions trips I’ve taken in the past have been some of the best experiences of my life. So I was praying and searching for the right opportunity to present itself and that it would be what God wants me to do next. So when my aunt told me about the World Race, I got super excited and immediately started researching it to find out more. It blew my mind as to how God made it so clear that this was the exact thing I had been looking for. After much prayer to make sure that this was the next step He wanted me to take, I was convinced.
Now I do realize that foregoing an income and traveling the world for 11 months may seem to be a crazy concept for many people. So allow me to explain my reasoning behind this choice. Ever since I put God back on the throne of my life, I now see everything differently. And I do mean EVERYTHING. I no longer view this life as my own. God put me here on Earth to spread the good news of God’s love, grace, and forgiveness to everyone, everywhere. Matthew 28:19-20 says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” God has placed this relentless desire in my heart to let the world know about the miraculous love of God. He has changed my life in ways I never believed possible and I want the entire world to be able to experience the same peace and joy that I now have. I want nothing more than to one day be rejoicing and praising God in Heaven with other people that I was blessed with the opportunity to tell about Christ. I believe that God is going to use me in great ways to further His Kingdom, and the World Race will present me with the perfect opportunities to do so.
There are still many daunting challenges ahead regarding this trip. But I recall back to when I was 17 years old and I had a tumor growing on my back. It was a very long and scary process to undergo but I’ll never forget the overwhelming sense of peace that I had throughout the entire process. A peace that is only made possible through 100% trust in God. No matter what happened, I knew that God was in total control. That is exactly how I feel about this trip. Yes, I have to do my part and put in my work, but there’s no better feeling then when you know for sure that you are exactly in the center of God’s will. I have total peace regarding this trip and I have no doubt at all that God will provide for all of my needs.
So as I prepare for this great adventure spiritually, mentally, and physically, I would appreciate your prayers more than anything. Prayer is an unbelievably powerful tool that God has given us and we would be foolish not to use it. Here are some specific prayer requests you can be praying for.
- That both my heart and the hearts of my entire team would be surrendered to God and in a place that allows Him to work in indescribable ways.
- That the hearts and minds of the thousands of people we encounter during our trip would be receptive and open to hearing about Christ and growing closer to Him.
- That we will be bold, unashamed, and willing to step way outside of our comfort zones to further the good news.
- For good health and safety in travel and whatever circumstances we encounter.
- For all financial support goals to be reached.
God is so good and I am so thankful for my salvation through Him. Please stay tuned to this blog as this journey continues.
Psalm 145
“I will extol You, my God, O King;and I will bless Your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless You,and I will praise Your name forever and ever.Greatis the Lord, and greatly to be praised;and His greatnessis unsearchable.One generation shall praise Your works to another,and shall declare Your mighty acts.I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty,andon Your wondrous works.Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts,and I will declare Your greatness.They shallutter the memory of Your great goodness,and shall sing of Your righteousness.The Lord is gracious and full of compassion,slow to anger and great in mercy. The Lordis good to all,and His tender merciesare over all His works.All Your works shall praise You, O Lord,and Your saints shall bless You. They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom,and talk of Your power,tomake known to the sons of men His mighty acts,and the glorious majesty of His kingdom.Your kingdomis aneverlasting kingdom, and Your dominionendures throughoutall generations.The Lord upholds all who fall,and raises up allwho are bowed down.The eyes of all look expectantly to You,and You give them their food in due season.You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.The Lord is righteous in all His ways,gracious in all His works.The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,toall who call upon Him in truth.He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;He also will hear their cry and save them.The Lord preserves all who love Him,but all the wicked He will destroy.My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord,and all flesh shall bless His holy nameforever and ever.”
