Flashback to October 2012. Jay and I arrived to a little camp in the mountains of Northeast Georgia. We’d flown overnight from Alaska, but still somehow seemed to freeze in Georgia. Wasn’t the South supposed to be hot? You know…that whole “Hotlanta” thing? We were dressed in red, from head to toe – I was sporting not one, but, two sparkly red tutus while Jay had a full body skin suit. We were prepared to represent M Squad for the infamous World Race Training Camp squad wars. I’d say that went well since #allmsquaddoesiswin was birthed that week.
In addition to being prepared for squad wars, we arrived armed with prayer and discernment. We went into training camp having done a considerable amount of research on Adventures in Missions. We believed that everything we knew about AIM pointed to Jesus, but we were prepared to walk away from The World Race and everything that went with it if at any point something didn’t line up with the Truth. With this in mind, you will understand the fervor with which the following statement was made.
“Ok, this may be legit but…I’m just going on the Race. We aren’t going to be like the staff here. We’re not going to go back out again as squad leaders and we certainly aren’t going to come back to Georgia and work in the AIM office. We are JUST going on the Race.”
…and then God laughed.
He laughed because I couldn’t see the glorious plans He had for us just yet. He laughed because He knew my heart needed some work. He laughed because He knew my stubborn streak was coming to an end.
Flash forward to May 2014. Jay and I returned to that little camp in the mountains of Northeast Georgia. This time, we were at training camp on staff as squad leaders, preparing to go out with E Squad. To top it off, Jay had just finished a short season of working in the AIM office. I laughed as I thought back to that moment of stubbornness, that moment of thinking I had it all figured out, that moment I thought my plans were better than His.
As I watched the Father reach out to His kids, I knew I was exactly where I was supposed to be. We fell in love with E Squad, all 48 of them. We know that the Lord specifically appointed us to lead this group. His goodness is written all over it. I’m amazed at this opportunity! To think, it wouldn’t even be possible if we had not submitted to His plans. We loosened our grip on our 5-year plan before our Race in January 2013 and asked Him to write the next chapter. We let some of our dreams die so we could live the bigger dream that He had for us.
Is there something MORE that God wants for you? Is there something you need to loosen your grip on? Where would Jesus take you if you would just simply say YES?
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We’ll be leading E Squad to four countries in Eastern Europe and will finish in India. They’ll continue their Race for the next six months with us returning to the field for their debriefs. If you would like to partner with us, please join us in prayer, subscribe to our blog, follow us on social media or support us financially by clicking “Support Us!” on the left.
-Jenn Dannelley
