In 15 days I will be leaving the UK for Atlanta again, except this time I don’t have a return flight booked; I don’t know when I will next drink proper tea, eat a crumpet, or discuss the weather at length for the next year of my life. While these are quite comical changes to be thinking about, my life and the world around me is changing a lot.
3 weeks ago this country voted to leave the European Union and the actual vote itself affected me in a harsh way that I wasn’t expecting; the financial affect meant that my savings and the money I had raised towards my fundraising goal were instantly less valuable than they were the night before the vote. My overall target, listed in USD, became larger. Sounds trivial in the grand scheme of things, but when you have worked hard to try and secure a financial safety blanket, to have that rudely ripped away from you one morning did sting a bit. And I’ll admit, I panicked. All my fears and doubts about the trip seemed to be strengthened by this global event, what if this was a sign that I shouldn’t be going, that I won’t be able to raise the funds, that people won’t be accepting of me going. For a few days the national confusion and panic was mirrored in me and I just didn’t know what I was going to do.
Fast-forward 3 weeks, many hours of prayer and 2 car-boot sales later and these fears have been swept away. Thanks to some wonderful financial supporters, prayer warriors, and an incredible God who sometimes sends you reminders of his provision in the strangest ways (Most recently in a brown envelope marked HMRC). These last 3 weeks since training camp have served as a reminder that God is in charge, he is in control, and nothing will be a surprise to him. Armed with this renewed knowledge I head into my last 2 weeks at home. There’s lots of packing to be done, lots of clearing out, and plenty of panicking to come I’m sure, but I stand in the knowledge that my heavenly father has prepared a path for me.
As this incredible journey is coming ever closer I’m thinking of the impact it will have on my life, and what I hope I will bring to the lives of others, and the thing I want to do more than anything else is to love. I want to love freely and passionately, in every corner of the world I travel to, with every person I meet, and in every circumstance I face. I’m praying for the strength and guidance to do this in the best way possible, to love as Jesus does and to impact lives in a positive way. I hope to tell the stories of the people I meet through this blog, to share in their triumphs and their sorrows. I want to become a part of the communities I live in and will be able to provide a snapshot of the world through the stories I can share.
So to be a part of this journey and to receive snapshots of love from around the world over the next year, subscribe for updates and I’ll try my best to do these stories justice. I’m excited for the changes I will see in my self, and I’ll keep praying for the changes I want to see in the world. I don’t know what Britain outside of the EU will look like, and I don’t know if it will have any more affect on my race other than financial. But I know that this didn’t blindside God the way it blindsided me, and he has a plan.
“All this energy issues from Christ: God raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.” Ephesians 1:20-23 (MSG)
