It’s been a week since I flew from China to the United States and my World Race officially came to an end. It almost seems surreal that 11 months flew by so quickly. There have been moments since I’ve been home where I feel like I was never even gone and I’m left reflecting on what all just happened. I’m tired. I’m emotional. I’m really, really thankful.
Our last few weeks in China were a whirlwind. I finally got my visa after two failed attempts, we travelled from Hong Kong to Shanghai by bullet train, we worshipped at three different churches, spent time with long term workers and had our final squad debrief. It all happened in the blink of an eye.
If you remember from last year, I wrote a blog titled Mourning Into Dancing, where I told the story of how one of the coaches at training camp spoke over me that the Lord wanted to dance through this year with me. This past year the Lord gave me multiple opportunities in each country to physically dance. While I loved every second of those moments, my favorite “dances” were the ones with Him. And man did we dance. He always led, sometimes twirling me, other times (most of the time) picking me up when I tripped over my feet. He refined my steps and taught me to be a better, confident dancer. He took my hands daily and whispered “be free” as He spun me out to discern my next steps, learning to trust that He would be there to catch me if I fell or messed up. Because of the way He has loved me and taught me just how deep and mightily He cares for me, I now dance in a wholeness and freedom that I have never experienced before. This year changed me. It was my favorite year SO FAR, but there is still so much more He has in store for me. Our dance doesn’t end here. 
Friends, I want to thank you for all of your support this past year. Truly, in times of discouragement and exhaustion, your encouraging words and prayers really got us through. Thank you to everyone who reached out to check on me, to just say hi or to remind me that I was missed. The Lord has placed some really amazing people in my life and for that I am forever grateful.
God loves you. He loves every person in every country. He loves every nation and every tribe. He wants deep relationship with you and wants you to fully experience His love, so I encourage you to truly seek Him and His will for your life. I promise you it will look nothing like you thought it would, but it will be so much more than you ever expected and you will never regret it. It is the most exciting adventure.
M-Squad: I love you forever. A lot of people encountered Jesus by the way you loved one another. Thank you for being such a tangible expression of His love.
Thank you for following along this year. If you thought this experience was incredible, then I can’t wait for you to see all that He has in store for the future!
All glory to Him forever,
Austin
