Support Update: I have begun sending out update letters, and I am so excited to announce that I am 26% funded! It’s such a huge blessing, and I want to say thank-you to my supporters, both financial partners and prayer partners. I need to raise $12,000 more to be fully funded, $3300 which I must raise by early June to launch with my squad. Enjoy this new blog post, and if you would like to support this mission, please go to the “support me” tab on the left-side of this page!
It’s a beautiful Sunday afternoon. I’m sitting in my favorite Starbucks location in downtown Erie, and this cup of coffee is wonderful. I came here to work on support-raising (to avoid the nap that would most definitely happen if I stayed home) and I am lost in thought. Thoughts of how beautiful this place really is; how many human beings are around me that each have an important story; how cool it is that I’m in this little city that still has its own charm; how truly interesting it is that it gets SO cold that the whole lake freezes (which was brought to my attention today from my good friend Ella from Brazil); how blessed I am to be in a city that has a beautiful beach in the summertime despite this freezing-cold weather in the Winter. And as I think of these things, I begin to realize that I will miss a lot of things once I leave for the World Race.
I will miss having the ability to go by myself to Starbucks, in my car, and drink coffee while I blog. I must leave alone-time behind.
I will miss being able to go to my church, and more than that, I will be missing my church moving to its FIRST permanent location. I must leave my church behind.
I will miss weddings. All of them. I found out a couple weeks ago that the one wedding I thought I could still attend since it’s in May, is in fact right in the middle of training camp. I must leave these moments behind.
I will miss my family, although it’s only temporary. I must leave my family behind.
I will miss my friends. I must leave my friends behind.
I will miss my jobs. I must leave behind the promise of a steady paycheck.
I will miss my clothes, my bed, my cat, my books, my car, my comforts. I must leave behind my comfort and material possessions.
Now you might be thinking, “But wait! WHY do you have to leave these things behind?!” or “Why the heck is it so important for you to go on the World Race?!”
Because Jesus told me to.
Oh.
“18 While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. (Matthew 4:18-22)
Immediately they left their nets, their boat, and their father to follow Jesus. Please realize that their fishing would have meant everything to them; a paycheck, dinner on the table, comfort. They left their money, their family, and their comfort. No questions asked; ready to follow Jesus.
Wow. I must go because He asked me to. When I was first called to the World Race I was the person that was thinking “why”? I kept asking “why did God call me?” and “why was it so important?” And I wondered if I was a little crazy. But God has begun to reveal to me more and more that he just wants me to go. He wants me to go and share His love to the ends of the Earth. To rely on him for every need, whether it be physically, emotionally, or spiritually. To share my story and watch God move in big ways. My friend Kate said something while we had coffee this week that spoke to my heart. She said, “Wow, you’re gonna live like Jesus did.”
How amazing is that? I had not thought of it until she said that (and I am so thankful for her and for a community of young adults that encourage me in my World Race preparation). Jesus traveled around and preached, and he cared for the people that no one wanted; the widows, the sick, the hungry; he loved them all in an unheard of way. I have the chance to truly follow in his footsteps.
And so the question really becomes: “How could I NOT go?”
I’m gonna miss so many things; I’m gonna have days where I want to come home; I’m gonna face difficult situations. But most of all, I’m gonna be on an amazing journey; an amazing journey to become more like Jesus; an amazing journey to love more like Jesus; an amazing journey to leave everything behind for a year and just be wherever it is that God wants me to be.
And it’s in that still, small voice that I hear God saying:
You don’t wanna miss this.
