I sit here, on my last day of the world race without words. I can’t even begin to articulate what this last year has been like. I can barely go before the Lord to say thank you because it’s so beautifully overwhelming that “thank you” just doesn’t seem enough. I feel like it was just yesterday I was stepping off the plane in Uganda. But with God, one day is as good as a thousand years, a thousand years a day (2 Peter 3:8).
I am going home. But home has gained a new meaning over the course of this year. To me, home is where the people I love the most are. So I will be headed to one of the many homes that the Lord has given me around the world. The greatest joy I can take from this past year is all the times I was able to partner with God in what he is already doing. God’s work is everywhere, and he doesn’t need any of us to do what he is already doing, but he allows us to come alongside him anyways.
I’m coming home with new eyes, a bigger perspective, a changed heart, a greater curiosity, countless stories, crazy experiences, treasured memories and a new found understanding of love. I learned that church is more than a place, I learned the importance of intentionality, and the beauty of community. I learned that love is more than a donation, that community is more than a weekly gathering, and that Jesus is more than a name.
This past year I have seen little and have seen much, I have lived with little and have lived with much. I’ve seen the poorest of poor and the richest of rich. I’ve seen sickness and I’ve seen sickness healed, I’ve seen war that found love, I’ve seen the hungry that were fed, I’ve seen the homeless be sheltered, I’ve seen injustice and I’ve seen it fought, and I’ve seen brokenness that found freedom.
I learned the gift of community. A year ago, we, as strangers, stepped into a whole new world together. We adapted together, we loved together, we took care of each other, we said the hard things, we faced fears together, we challenged each other to be better, we encouraged each other, and we shared everything together- from the deepest areas of our heart to our shower luffas. We shared our lives together, we offended one another, and we forgave one another. We showed Jesus to the world by the way we interacted and loved each other. We became family.
I’ve gained perspective and learned the importance of simply brining Kingdom wherever my feet are placed. Circumstances should never define our relationship with the Lord- because that is what intimacy is, choosing him in the good and choosing him in the hard. How did I find that intimacy? Through God’s word, through the Holy Spirit, and through community.
So I sit here in gratitude for the book of truth, for the penalty and price that Jesus took for us, so that he could come back and live and dwell among us all, and for my beautiful and loved Z Squad. Jesus changes people, and He used Z Squad to change the world, and in return change my life.
Thank you to all who have constantly supported me and continued to believe in me. Thank you for cheering me on in the hard times and loving me well. The World Race is finished, but the journey never ends. So here is to the next 1000 years.
Philippians 4:12 “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”
Acts 4:32-35 “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.”
1 Chronicles 16:35 “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.”
