“I have a theory that there are two kinds of people. There are those that want to be astronomers, and those that want to be astronauts. The astronomer, gets to study these amazing things from a place of complete safety.” – Doctor
“But then you never get to go into space.” – Erik
“Exactly. That’s the difference between imagining and seeing: to be able to touch them. And that’s… that’s all that Billy wanted.” – Doctor
No one has ever described my walk with Jesus quite as eloquent as this quote from Jurassic Park. You see, Billy was a young man that studied under Dr. Grant (if you aren’t familiar with the movie), he went to the island to observe, and found himself taking the dinosaur eggs and getting chased by raptors. This is everything Dr. Grant stood against, he was a man who wanted to study the amazing dinosaurs from a distance of safety. Not touching their eggs or certainly getting eaten by them.
I love the balance of back and forth this has played in my life.
An astronomer is a star gazer that has been overcome. The definition says it’s an expert of science that deals with the material universe beyond the earth’s atmosphere. That was me. Stargazer turned curious, I found myself in 2011 craving a book that didn’t fully satisfy. I heard, read, and listened of stories, but I needed more. I didn’t want to be safe, I wanted to touch, and I wanted to see the Jesus that was being described to me throughout the book.
Astronaut. The term derives from the Greek words ástron (?στρον), meaning “star”, and nautes (να?της), meaning “sailor”. I needed to go feel the waves of the milky way splash against my face. I left. I’ve been out to 36 countries now over the past 3 years. I have strapped on that astronaut helmet; I explored villages, I got in the dirt, I hiked mountains, I cried coming down them, I skimmed across lakes, I screamed running into oceans, but most important to all of these – I looked into thousand of eyes that showed me of the Jesus I had been reading about. I was able to imagine. Able to see. Able to touch.
I’ve settled back into my foundation here in Georgia. It was as I could actually feel roots of a tree shake themselves off, force themselves into the ground, and let the dirt and dust fly. That old guy who messed up things for Jurassic Park I believe was onto something. He couldn’t take just looking at the bones of old stories anymore – he wanted to see it living in front of him for himself.
With this beautiful laid out story of dinosaurs and stars I want to tell you about a job I will be starting this July. At Adventures in Missions there is someone called a Squad Mentor for each squad that leaves on The World Race. I’m going to go ahead and steal a direct quote my grand roommate once stated about this position, “My job will include leading, spiritually mentoring and coordinating 8 teams of 7 people (think “management” meets “event coordination” meets “spiritual guide”). This will be, by far, my most challenging and dynamic job I’ve ever had.”
There was something that sparked within me when I came home from Squad Leading these past 5 months. I looked back on the times that I was the kid looking up at the stars longing for more, reading books, asking every question I could gather, finally going to find out about it, and all the while I had someone there to walk next to me through it. To navigate the stars from afar with me. I love that I have studied the stars from afar and that I’ve traveled the distance to touch them with my bare hands. And now, I will be navigating others while they sail amongst their own stars. This is what the Great Commission is, to go and make disciples, and it all begins with stargazing.
Working in this position also comes the job description of fundraising for part of my salary. If you are interested in becoming a financial partner, please click the link below, where you can donate. You can type in my first and last name and donate directly to my account. You can also send your donation to me, at the paypal button on the left. Any donation made out to Adventures in Missions is tax deductible.
Adventures in Missions Staff Donate
Thank you everyone for supporting me every step of the way, but most importantly what God is doing in this generation. Get excited. If you have any questions about my upcoming job position, please feel free to contact me!
**For those curious:
Squad – 40 people leaving on a mission trip for 11 months (on field)
Team Leader – Squad is divided into smaller teams with a team leader to disperse throughout each country
Squad Leader – 2 to 3 people that lead the squad on the field for 5 months (on field)
Squad Mentor – 1 person that leads/mentors the Squad Leaders and Team Leaders for 11 months (states)
Squad Coaches – Married couple that sees mentor & discipleship over squad w/ Squad Mentor (states)
