Looking back on it all I’ve came to some realizations. Some awe inspiring, some humbling. Over the past year I’ve traveled the world with the best group of friends I could ever ask for. I’ve been cherished and loved for nothing I did of my own merit but simply because I represented Christ’s body on Earth. People have went out of their way to show me, yes me the missionary, Christ’s sacrificial love. I’ve been transformed from a rather independent introvert, into a man set a blaze for Gods ridiculous redeeming grace.
I considered myself a Christian ever since I prayed the prayer “accepting Jesus as my Lord and Savior” as a child. 1 John 1:5-9 says:
“This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
1 John hit me like a freight train back in January in Cambodia. I came to the sobering realization that I WAS NOT A CHRISTIAN before the race. I knew about Jesus but I refused to translate the head knowledge into a change of heart and action. I continually evaluated my life with MY OWN criteria and pursued my satisfaction over the principles God requires us to live by.
More recently God challenged me with Psalm 51:6
“Surely you desire truth in my inner parts, you teach me wisdom in my inmost place.”
Psalm 51 is David’s cry out to God as he grieved his adultery with Bathsheba. In this verse God spoke to me and made it clear I must desire truth, his truth, as much as he desires it for me. You can only fool yourself of the “truths” you live by for so long before God breaks you out of the darkness.
I’ve been blessed to receive hundreds and thousands of other people’s hard earned money who believe in what God has for my life. You believed that I could bring Gods love to this broken world. God used this trip for that and so much more. You my prayerful and financial supporters have played a critic role in my spiritual journey. Without your contributions this life changing experience would have never been possible.
For the last 11 months God invited me to his refining crucible. The world race was a whirlwind of adapting to new environments, persevering in the sometimes less than glorious ministry opportunities, dying to self, and buying in to the merits of community living. At times I didn’t have the best attitude, appreciation for my accommodations, or the work that was asked of me. He used me anyways, and used the communities I lived in to tangibly change my worldview. My expectations on what a passionate relationship with Christ looks like will never be the same.
My prayer is that over the last year something in my journey has struck a cord in you. That you can relate to something I experienced. I pray that my ministry was not just to the communities in which I served, but also to my readers and supporters at home.
I believe God gave me supporters not because I deserved it, but because he did. He deserved Greg as I am, a man who is overwhelmed with thankfulness and awe of his unrelenting love, not the frightful boy who left on this journey 11 months ago. I pray that hearing my revelations give you a tangible example of Gods unyielding pursuit of each and every one of us.
Here I am, back in America, a changed man. As I look into what God has for my future, I realize more and more that God never planned for me to go at it alone. I cannot walk in the life God has for me without you.
I strongly feel that God is ushering me into further development of my missional leadership skills. I have the opportunity to be mentored, live in community, and learn about missions from an organizational standpoint at the Center for Global Action (CGA). CGA is a discipleship program led by Adventures in Missions that provides alumni racers to learn from others in the missions field, and create a vision for the ministry God has placed on their heart. This is an opportunity for me to integrate all that God taught me about community, missions, and my relationship with Christ into my future role in Gods kingdom.
As I prepare to move into this next season I need your prayerful and financial support. I have committed to the field leadership program of CGA which is 4 months in duration. The cost of the program is $3,950. I need to have $1,975 by September 12th, the start of the program. I have relied on God for $15,500 over the past year I have no doubt that he will continue to provide. If you would like to contribute you can by:
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· Send a check by mail to PO BOX 742570 Atlanta, GA 30374-2570. Be sure your donors write the check to Adventures in Missions and put GREGPATTON in the memo line.
· Give online donations through credit: adventures.org/give, go to the “Mission Trip Participant” link and choose the Center for Global Action (CGA) program.
· Give monthly donations through your bank account: adventures.org/dynapay.
· Or, simply give through my World Race blog on the left side of the page that says “Support Me!”
Thank you for being a part of my spiritual journey this year. I look forward to you accompanying me as I step into this next season! Feel free to ask any questions about my experience or my vision for the future. I will answer those questions as soon as I can.
