Another phenomenal blog from the woman that stepped up as one of the Squad Leaders after Sean and I came home, Katie Hannon. She and Jory and Weston are out now, leading and loving a group of amazing men and women who are walking further into the heart of God and into higher places with Him.
This is a short background on her and where she has come in 7 months. And it was an absolute HONOR to walk this journey alongside her. Her fire and excitement in the revelations and encounters she constantly has with her Romancer always leave me breath-taken. Her life, smile, passion, and fire are beautiful glimpses into the face and heart of Jesus.
This is her story.
So the more and more I am asked to share my testimony, this story that would literally make me sick to my stomach about
5 months ago – I just could not, for more reasons than one figure out
what my testimony was – The more and more I realize how God has made my
life on this trip all the testimony I need.
Themore and more I realize that the way He has brought me from the Katie
at training camp – who wanted nothing to do with leadership, felt
completely inadequate, like she didn’t belong, didn’t know anything and
just wanted to hold babies and play with orphans and love on people –
to the Katie I am now – squad
freaking leading with 2 other incredible men, confident in who I truly
am and more willing than ever to be challenged into more of who He
wants me to be, more open and obedient than I have ever been before,
and truly understanding what it is to LOVE and steward love, along with
everything else God has so freely given me, Oh and did I mention
allowing myself to BE LOVED as well? Anyways back to my point
truly been a Christian for about 7 months now. Ha I love watching my
face when I say that! Its still so hard to believe that in just August
at training camp did I really give my life to the Lord, did I really
find my salvation in Him. And now here I am, building His Kingdom, bringing Heaven to earth, fighting for Him, sharing His love – I have never been so happy in my life. I have never been able to truly say I loved life before the race. . . . I LOVE LIFE!
It
wasn’t until Launch in Antigua that I was hit hard and baptized in the
spirit (the first time. . .I really think this happens more than once
and I have been hit on more than one occasion! Oh I love you Holy
Spirit!) oh how beautiful that night was! And it wasn’t until 4 months
into the race that I was actually water baptized.
Now I had
been baptized before, into the Catholic church, and I remember it like
it was yesterday. My little brother was running screaming through the
pews as my sister and I were lifted up over the baptismal fount and
baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The trinity, the purpose behind baptism is something that was even hard
for me as a 7 year old to fathom. I knew that my original sin was being
washed away, that sin that Adam and Eve had left me with (thanks
guys!), but there was so much more. Throughout my life I went to
Catholic schools and still learned plenty (which I truly appreciate),
but didn’t really know the meaning of baptism.
So
needless to say it was an incredible experience! Not only was it a
public declaration, but a prophetic act. I love what Chris Vallotton
says about it “Prophetic acts, like
prophetic declarations, release God’s power to bring about change in
our lives. In the case of baptism, being submerged under water is the
act of dying with Christ, but being pulled up out of the water is
equally important as it brings power to live in Christ!”.
I Get it now. . .
and am still learning more
about it each day.
What
made it even more special was I had the honor of being baptized by my
former squad leaders Andi and Sean! Ahh it was perfect. The weather was
beautiful, the water cool, the waves were rough and the Lord completely
present. It will be a day that stays with me for eternity!
