This past year has been a season of growth. There’s been a lot of “what do I do” and “oh man did I make the wrong decision” but more recently there’s been an abundance of clarity that’s led me to this trip. Here’s a rough description of how it went so bare with me…
A year ago about this time I had decided that I was going to attend The Ohio State University. That was my dream school and when I received my acceptance letter I’m pretty sure I yelped with excitement. I yearned for freedom and I felt like OSU would give me the prime “college experience” that everyone raves about. A few weeks later I received a letter from Wright State University that seriously made me question my decision. Basically, if I decided to go to WSU I would have no costs whatsoever (can you say BLESS) relative to the $10,000+ a year that I would be paying for housing at OSU. At that point I didn’t know what to do. In a way I was mad at God because what I thought was a clear path with my acceptance to OSU seemed blurred. Long story short, after some hard praying I grudgingly decided to officially commit to Wright State. Even though I wasn’t thrilled about it I knew it was what He wanted me to do.
Meanwhile in all of that madness, the Lord called me to Nepal with my dear sister Jen. Going to Nepal was an experience that opened my eyes and changed my life in the best way possible. It was a trip focused around community and sharing our Father’s love. There I gained an understanding of what it means to actually “live” for our God. To me it’s going through life making decisions that will bring glory to Him and surrendering to Him constantly. I’ve always dealt with the struggle for control. I would give some things to Him and keep other things for myself. I didn’t understand by being completely open to receive from Him that would bring me so much greater joy than the desires of my flesh. But from being surrounded by such an incredible community and seeing the power of prayer and love in Nepal I began to practice regularly surrendering to our Father and listening to what He had for me.
The transition from Nepal to coming home and starting my first semester at Wright State wasn’t elegant to say the least. At that point I felt like I wasn’t done with missions and that God really wanted me to constantly be around a community of believers. I had definitely entertained the thought of going on The Race nearing the end of my trip but I told myself that before I do something as crazy as leaving for nine months I would pray for peace being at school. After about a month into the semester I still felt overwhelmed and although I’ve met some amazing people and I’ve had some really cool experiences, the one thing that I’ve felt total comfort and confirmation in is going on The Race. That’s what God’s next step is for me and I’m thrilled to say “yes” to follow Him.
Why am I telling you all of this? Because God has a plan. He is faithful through the journey and all that He has for us far outweighs anything that we can conjure up ourselves. A year ago I didn’t think that I was good enough to do missions. I had an idea about how my life would go: I’d go to college, become a doctor, get married, etc., and there was nothing wrong with that. But I forgot to add God into the equation. He’s assured in me that I am His child. He calls me by name and I can do anything with His lead.
The route that I’ve chosen for The Race will go from Guatemala to Thailand, Malaysia, and Swaziland. In Guatemala we’ll experience poverty firsthand, and we’ll be working to spread Jesus’ love to those who have nothing. In Thailand with the Buddhist culture families send their daughters into the cities to work because many of the fathers become monks expecting the women to support. Sadly some of the daughters that go into the cities become involved in sex slavery and the Red Light District. Working with women in need and giving them hope has such a big place in my heart. My prayer is that the Lord will use me to minister to them in not only Thailand but if given the opportunity, in other countries as well. Malaysia is a country with 61% of the population practicing Islam and 19% claiming Buddhism. Many of the people have never received the Gospel, and our team will have the opportunity to share it with them. Finally, Swaziland is a country with the highest rates of HIV/AIDS in the world. This leaves many broken families left with orphaned children and parents unable to support. My desire is that we’ll be able to spread hope to the people of Swaziland by supplying them with what they need and the love of Jesus Christ.
Each country is unique and I know that the miracles that God has in store for my team and the other teams launching September 2018 will be beyond belief. If you feel led to support me in this journey you can do so by clicking the “donate!” tab to the left. Thank you for reading this long post + for all of your prayers, love and support. I’m beyond blessed!
