“Never stop looking for His ‘new thing’. The moment we think we have arrived, we will fall. The moment we lose that hunger to travel to find Him, the willingness to wait in line to hear Him, a humility to encounter Him in a package that offends us, we’re in danger of missing His next move. Wise men still travel.” – Bill Johnson, God Hunger
A week ago I was just arriving to the Dallas/Fort Worth area as I was returning home from one of the most life giving and hardest years of my life. It hasn’t been easy acclimating to what my “reality” was before. Many people have asked how I feel to be back home, and the only thing I could ever find to say is I feel like i’m in a familiar place that doesn’t feel so familiar anymore.
The second followup question is what’s next? The answer to that question is the primary reason for this blog. I have FANTASTIC news to share! I was honored with the opportunity to join a group of 20 young women that will be leaving to experience their pursuit of God through the World Race early October. I will be walking alongside these women by supporting, praying, loving, and basically doing whatever these ladies need during the first 5-6 months of their journey.
C SQUAD
During the last couple of months during my own journey God began teaching me about what it looked like to fight for Him and the body. There were times where I could clearly see and hear from him, but there were other times where I desperately asked the Lord to reveal himself and his will for my life and didn’t get anything. In those moments I realized that the more hungry I was for God, the more alive I felt in pursuit of him. I declared that I would not turn away and run scared from the unknown, but I would press forward into all that God had for me. I understood that traveling as Bill Johnson puts it in the quote above, not necessarily means to physically travel but rather moving towards an alignment that spiritually connects me with God.
I received the invitation to squad lead while I was in the jungle of Peru. As one of my teammates was in the hospital for major dehydration 2 hours away from the village we were working with, I managed to get a bit of signal to let leadership know of his condition. That is when I surpassingly saw the message with the invitation. It was a Thursday afternoon and I had to give my answer by Sunday. I spent the next 3 days in the middle of a jungle in Peru asking the Lord if this was his will for my life as I was moving into the next season. I couldn’t talk to my family or friends, I only had God to go to. I mean shouldn’t he be the one I run to first every single time? Anyway, God reminded me of my heart and desire to make disciples of all nations. Yes I was able to pursue that commission as I spent the last 11 months seeking out Kingdom around the world, but I was now being given the opportunity to intentionally be a part of 20 young ladies lives that were in pursuit of that same commission. God revealed incredible things about myself, his creation, and others this year and now I get to pass that along to others. Isn’t that what discipleship is all about? Sharing the gifts that I have received from the creator and preparing others to do the same?
I said Yes 11 months ago to going and doing what I believed God had commanded me to do. Almost a year later I stand firmly in saying yes once again to God. If you would like to join me with this opportunity I ask that you consider giving towards not what I see as just an ordinary trip or another mission trip, but what I believe is my life. I have to raise $6500 to be able to join C squad in October. Last year the pick a number table helped me get fully funded so I thought I would give it a second try. If you don’t remember, all you have to do is a pick a number from the chart and donate that amount by clicking here. Just let me know what numbers you would like to cover by leaving a comment down below. It’s super simple and you choose the amount(s) that you would like to give. I can’t thank all of you enough for your support during the last year! But whats super cool is that it doesn’t have to stop here!
Much Love,
Ashley
