If you were an outsider looking into my life through a window, you would probably see a girl who doesn’t like to stay in one place. You would see a girl who craves adventure and relationship, depth and laughter. You might look in and think that the girl you see is afraid to settle down and join the real world. You might think that she is avoiding commitment or running from consistency.
And maybe you would be right.
Maybe I want to get to know as many people as I can and understand the diversity in God’s creation… and people aren’t all in one place. Maybe I am afraid to settle into a life where the days repeat themselves and things become comfortable. Maybe I am afraid to join the real world of a job and a white picket fence because I think the real world involves more than that. Maybe what we don’t see with our physical eyes is more real than the tangible things we think to be true.
The thing is, I am committed and I am consistent. I am fully committed to doing all that I can to follow Christ wherever He might lead. I am consistent in that I will always seek to love and add value, regardless of where I am or who I’m with.
There will come a time in my life where I am in one place for a longer period of time (hopefully earning a significant income so I can support others the way I have been supported) and one day I might even have a house with a white picket fence that keeps my hypoallergenic dog from running away. The thing is, I like fences… they serve a purpose and can be really pretty. It’s just that we were born for more than we live for and I don’t want to coast through my life. I don’t just want to be happy and comfortable.
I want to be happy and dangerous.
I got off on a little bit of a tangent but I want you to know my heart behind why I keep leaving. Which leads me to my new adventure…
I have recently been accepted for a squad leading position with Adventures in Missions! I will be leading a Gap Year Squad which means that I will be mentoring a group of 18 to 22 year olds as they travel to three different countries over a period of nine months. This trip is similar to the World Race, the trip I did about a year ago, in that we will be partnering with different ministries and serving people in impoverished areas. I don’t know the exact countries I will be going to just yet but I will find out in about a week when I go to our training camp.
My main focus on this adventure will be the young people going on the trip – doing the best I can to ensure they are healthy spiritually, emotionally and physically. There is something about seeing and serving other cultures and people groups that changes you and allows for growth to happen in ways it might not have otherwise. Going on the World Race shifted my perspective on life completely and I grew so much and I want to help others do the same. I want to be a part of the way God infects a person through love in the same way that so many people are a part of that process for me.
I am incredibly excited to spend the next nine months and beyond serving and investing in this group of young people. I am excited to walk, run and explore alongside them as we experience new aspects of God’s love together.
When I did the Race, I was overwhelmed, humbled and honored by the support I received. I was given the opportunity to struggle through the process of allowing myself to trust that God would provide for my every need. I received unbelievable amounts of prayer and encouragement, sometimes by people I had only met once and sometimes by people who have known me for years. As I leave again, I’m asking for that same support. I’m asking that my squad will be in your mind and on your hearts and that you will cover us in prayer. I know that through this season, so many lives will be changed – including my own. Please get in touch with me and let me know if you have questions or if you want to support me in prayer and/or financially.
I can’t wait for this next piece of the puzzle to be in place. I know that it will be a piece filled with difficulties and celebrations, failures and successes. It will be marked by crazy people trying to understand our Creator more fully and learning what it takes to love people the way Christ loves us.
Let the adventure begin!
