Today I enter the 24th year of my life. As I look
back on the past 24 months I’ve spent on the mission field, I cannot help but
remember what God has done in and through me. I am a completely different
person than I was 24 months ago, and on this day, I would like to share with
you 24 lessons I’ve learned in the past 24 months.
January 2009– I
learned that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and the importance of having
a childlike faith from some beautiful people in the slums of Guachupita,
Domincan Republic.
February 2009– In
the midst of all the darkness and poverty, God made Haiti beautiful to show the
Haitians how much He loves them. I started a journey of being romanced by God
and learned the meaning of beauty.
March 2009– Even
though I may have accidentally flashed Cambodia in front of a Buddhist temple,
this was a monumental month on the Race as I fell in love with the country and
the students we taught in Siem Reap. I admired their boldness to give up
everything for their faith.
April 2009– My
heart was broken for prostitutes on the streets of Bangla Road, Thailand, but
above all the anger, sadness, and pain, I was consumed with hope for these men
and women.
May 2009– God
stretched me as I moved into the role of Spectacle’s team leader and I learned
that leadership can sometimes be a thankless and lonely place.
June 2009– I learned
to look for God in the little moments and learned that I’m not entitled to
ANYTHING. Oh, and I can survive the bush in Mozambique (tenting, peeing in a
hole, bathing in the river, drinking dirty water, ect).
July 2009– I’ve
never seen God’s provision and protection more in my life. From logistically
getting 12 people to Botswana, to provision of food and lodging, amazing
contacts in the bush, companionship with Ashley, hitchhiking, and picking up a
lady on the side of the road, It caused me to ask the question: Why do I doubt
God?
August 2009– My
heart was broken for children in Swaziland who would walk 4 miles to get a meal
from us daily. I learned the
importance of leaving a legacy for the next generation and my eyes were opened
to the reality of HIV/AIDS.
September 2009– I
reached my breaking point and realized that God wanted to bring me to a place
of humility. To truly be able to say I’m wrecked for living an ordinary life
and that I may not really want everything I thought I wanted.
October 2009– At
an invalid orphanage in Lugansk, Ukraine I learned to never underestimate the
power of touch. As babies giggled as I held their precious little hands, I
remember that people were healed by Jesus’ touch and it’s something we’re all
capable of.
November/December
2009– I learned the importance of community as I left the 51 people I had
just traveled with for 11 months. As I remembered all God used them to do in my
life I realized we were designed to live in community and what I do in life may
not be as important as who I do it with.
January 2010– “The
number one reason you are on this planet is to BE loved.” Andrew Sherman said
that on the first day of class at the G42 Leadership Academy and it changed the
way I live my life.
February 2010–
Freedom encapsulates this month as I finally learned to walk in being loved,
rather than trying to earn love. I finally reached a place of true brokenness
and healing began to happen in some areas of my life.
March 2010– I
realized that I have a destiny and call on my life and that I can be the answer
that the world is waiting for.
April 2010– God
is a covenantal God who makes promises with His people and keeps them, and so
we should be a covenantal people. I learned the importance of keeping my word
and that there’s freedom in the new covenant.
May 2010– As I
spent time in Holland with a documentary film producer I realized that I really
do have a passion for media and reaching the world through it., and whether
that’s working for ESPN or making documentaries about the sex trade in India
God can use what I am passionate about to reach His people.
June 2010– Leaving
G42 I felt like I had found “my people” and that I set the foundations for the
rest of my life. This was one of the most crucial times in my life.
July 2010– I felt
the weight of responsibility as I met the R-Squad, put them in teams, and
prepared them for the adventure of their lives. I put on a “bigger coat” and
stepped into the call not knowing what it was going to bring me.
August 2010– I
felt like I was being released to share everything I had learned over the past
few years with my squad, and that I was no longer going to be broken for myself
and dealing with my own problems, but I was going to be broken for them and
seeing them gain deeper intimacy with the Lord.
September 2010– Communication
and servant hood are the keys to making any relationship work. As I walked
through learning to lead with Tim, it strengthened my communication skills in
relationships.
October 2010– Confrontation
is unavoidable and I learned healthy ways to deal with it and to walk other
people through it. I also stepped into a new boldness of the authority I have
with my words.
November 2010–
Greatness comes in giving your authority away. As Tim and I passed the squad on
to Joni and Michael, I realized that this squad is part of my inheritance and I
want my ceiling to be their floor over the next 8 months.
December 2010– I
sit here now with an overwhelming amount of love for the R-Squad. Through that,
God is showing me that it means to be a mother and how proud He is of His
children.
I love what I’m doing and I’m passionate about training and
calling out my generation to become the men and women God created them to be.
The best birthday present I can ask is that you keep me on the field doing what
I love. If you would like to support me, please click on the link on the left,
or e-mail me at [email protected].
Thank you all for being a huge part of my life and allowing
me to learn these lessons!
