This blog is far overdue, and for that I am sincerely sorry.
This blog goes specifically out to the people who’ve loved and supported me from the very beginning of my race. I’ve been meaning to blast out an email, but because I have absolutely no clue on how to do that, I am writing one last blog. I’ve been bouncing from place to place since I’ve been back in the states, and up until a few days ago, I’d only been back in Las Vegas, my temporary home, for 4/35 days back in the US. We landed in San Francisco, CA one June 3rd after 9 months abroad. I was there 9 days before I flew back to Las Vegas for a day before I flew to Oahu, Hawaii with my family. After 5 days in Hawaii, we got back and I had a few days in-between to pack and get ready for Project Searchlight with Adventures, in Gainesville, GA. after 10 days in Georgia, I drove with four of my friends from Georgia to Tennessee, to Louisiana, and then to Austin, Texas for 2 weeks. I got back to Las Vegas and had a few hours before my family and I drove to California to celebrate my little sisters 6th birthday at Disneyland.
And now I’m here.
Sitting on my couch in Las Vegas, NV for 4 more days before I fly to Montana for 2 weeks.
So summer for me, has been nothing short of hectic. Which is why I have been really late on this blog.
In the last blog I wrote “don’t go on the world race,” I gave a small glimpse of context as to what the last nine months of my life had looked like, and how it’s all drastically changed my life forever. The Lord has used my time on the world race to grow and stretch me like I never would have thought and He is just getting started. The whole purpose of the race is reintegration. To raise up young adults to experience culture and life beyond our borders, to be able to experience the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for ourselves, by ourselves. To take our experiences home and share them wherever we go.
The Lord used my time on the race to instill passion, into my life. To give me reasons and things and people to fight for, to love. There are a lot of things I learned on the race that I’d love to talk about and share with you all, but that blog would eventually turn into a book and I’m here to give y’all a blogs worth of goodness so, here we are.
Before I get into what is next for me, I wanted to close this past season of life with deep gratitude for every pair of eyes reading these words.
Whether this is the first blog of mine you’ve read, or not. Whether you’ve supported me financially, prayerfully, or lovingly: I want to thank you from the deepest most inner parts of me. I can sit here and tell you, I am forever changed because of the season I’m walking out of, and it’s all Glory to God. For whatever reason, you people have had my journey, my race, imprinted on your hearts and you all, have fiercely and radically loved me from afar and i’m afraid I will never have sufficient enough words to thank you for the people you have all been to me. With that being said, thank you in every language, in every dialect,with every ounce, fiber, and cell in my body. For supporting me, and believing in me, even when sometimes, I didn’t believe in myself. The race was beautiful. It was hard, it brought to light a lot of brokenness, not only in the places I was but in my own life. I was broken down, thrown in the fire, molded and crafted into the woman I am sitting here today. And like i said, this is just the beginning. And it has been nothing short of a blessing and a privilege to have you all cheering me on, and fighting for me from the get go.
So again, Thank You.
As for what’s next..
What a wild and beautiful time it’s been back in the US. Except, everything in me wishes i were back on the delta of Botswana running from hippos, and eating our weight in carbs. Or swimming in the clear blue waters of Haiti with the most fierce and coincidentally loving littles I’ve ever met. Or worshiping with all 45 of my family members on the treetop deck of our ministry site in the Dominican Republic. I could go on with the things I’d rather be doing, in a country abroad, which I feel is why the Lord is calling me to stay home, on US soil for a little while longer before my move abroad in the next two years…. Which!!!! I will explain more, in a video I will be posting in the next few weeks. So bear with me.
But right now!!
Actually, September 13th,
I’m moving to California!
California has always been a “home” to me. I have a handful of family members there, it’s been our family vacation spot, and day trip go to since i was a little little peanut. Being 4 hours away from Vegas (where i’m originally from), It was always close enough to just go for the day, which happens to be super convenient for my momma. But!! Since South Africa (months 5&6) – the act of worship has been insanely powerful and profound in my life. I’ve been writing and singing and playing as much as my body will let me since I’ve become aware of this passion of mine.
In the Philippines, the thought of coming back to the US became more and more real and it really began to scare me. I clung to all of these fears that came with coming back to the US after nine months abroad and typically resulted in me in random places like our ministry sites gym, or empty classrooms, crying out to God pleading for help as I prepared to come home. One Sunday, Lillabea and I went to one of my favorite places in the Philippines, an outdoor art gallery with pristine white walls & vibrant plush green foliage scattered amongst the property. Fountains and small waterfalls as well as BEDS were also apart of the art gallery, allowing space for people to appreciate and rest in the beauty that art is. After several weeks of overwhelming uneasiness about coming back home to a place that felt so far away and foreign to me, I rested on a bed, under a tree, on the rooftop of one of the gallery’s as the Lord very clearly told me to surrender my fears to Him and trust that no matter the season, no matter the place, as long as I am rooted in who He is, there will be harvest. So, in that moment I surrendered, and it was beautiful, the ways He’s aligned everything to come in the next year for me. It’s all so simple, so please don’t be disappointed that you’re not reading i’m headed to college or writing a novel, or moving abroad.
For the entirety of my life, I’ve found safe space in the busyness of our world. Never ever taking time to slow down, and just be. I learned the importance of rest over my race and how crucial it is for me to spend time in the small stillness where my Dad is. It’s become my safe space. Although the Lord has put really big plans in my life in the future, right now looks like small, still, normal, rest.
Which is where California comes in,
I will be living in a two bedroom apartment with one of my best friends who’s also been called to California, my step sister, and her boyfriend. We will be a mile from the beach in a really sweet town that rests on the line that separates Newport from Costa Mesa. I’ll be getting a full time job, investing in my neighbors and practicing the art of hospitality in my own town. The Lord has also told me that worship is my warfare, and that it will bring people of California together. So whatever that means, and whatever it looks like; i have no idea. But i’m really excited to be apart of this intricate and complex plan he has for my life. And it involves a passion he began in South Africa! Worship! The art of making music and singing music and writing music!! It’s really cool to see all of these pieces come together to create something beautiful. and i am again, REALLY excited!
Like I said, nothing crazy or profound or huge, because the Lord loves me so much, that He is giving me a year of rest and refreshment in order to step into what’s next next.
I’m hopefully going to get involved with leading Young Life in my area, because the Lord has called me to, and I believe right now is the perfect time, so if you’re reading this and you know area directors / leaders in the YL Newport / Costa Mesa area, please email me or drop a comment or call me!
Like I said, I am insanely thankful for each of you who’ve so sweetly chose to pour into me in your own ways since the beginning of this all, and it doesn’t stop here! The race is over, but my life is only beginning! And there will and already have been trials and tribulations that have arose because of the reality of life is; it’s great and hard and beautifully broken. So!! I could really use continual prayer in the season I’m stepping into. That the Lord be constantly giving me fresh eyes to see His Glory despite the place or the season. Fresh eyes. A beautiful gift.
For each of you reading this, Thank you for taking time to invest in me. You are loved, you are loved, you are loved.
Be blessed,
Dasia
