“Walk with Me.”
Those were the last words I heard while finishing up my 11-month race in Malaysia.
I was frustrated. I was looking for guidance into what my next steps should be, and the Father’s gentle request for me to simply walk with Him didn’t seem complicated enough. As I let those words truly sink in, however, I realized just how beautiful they were in their simplicity. My Creator, my Savior, my Father wants to walk with me, to commune with me, nothing more.
So that is what I have been doing. By simply walking with God, I have been led on an incredible, unexpected journey to Quito, Ecuador.
This journey began months ago, years actually if I’m being completely honest
As I was preparing my heart for World Race training camp, half of my family was in Cambodia with Go International, a missions organization based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I would read the daily updates and watch the videos with tears streaming down my cheeks. The tears came for two reasons 1.) seeing my mom, brother, and sisters serving the least of these both broke my heart and gave me great joy and 2.) finding a group of people who are like-minded in vision and their pursuit of Christ was so encouraging to my spirit.
Maggie and Olivia praying for healing for a woman in Cambodia.
Fast-forward a year and a half to this past December. I had been home from the World Race for four months and was living back in Tulsa (not exactly where I expected to be, but clearly where God had called me). My family was on Christmas vacation and my sister, Priscilla, was talking about an internship she was going to be a part of in Quito, Ecuador with Go International in the spring. As she spoke, the desire I had felt to link up with Go a year and a half earlier began to bubble up.
A few days later, my baby sister, Maggie, was reading a message she was writing to Christa (one of the founders of Go) asking if she could join the summer internship program despite her age. As she hit send, the words, if you cant go because of your age, I will pray about going with you, came tumbling out. Shortly after, Maggie received a response that she could come if one of her older sisters came too. After a time of prayer, it was clear that this was what God had in store for Maggie and me this summer. There were many reasons not to come to Ecuador; however, I kept going back to verses telling me to go into all the world and preach the gospel (Matthew 28:19) and when we trust in Him, were free to say whatever needs to be said, bold to go wherever we need to go (Ephesians 3:12). I felt incredible peace about taking this journey.
So, here I am, living in Ecuador for the next two months of my life. I dont know what this summer is going to hold, but I know I am exactly where Im supposed to be and there is no greater joy.
Quito, Ecuador at dusk
Thinking back to that day in Malaysia, I think that God is calling each of us to the same thing: to simply walk with Him.
