Well, in the last week, I’ve quit the job where I’ve been working the last 7 years and decided to work for a start up company (until October). I just co-sponsored my roommate in a Tres Dias weekend for her 30th birthday. My old computer completely shut down and my sister got a new one up & running for me. And I’ve started going public about World Race. Yes, that’s right-I’m leaving the country in October for 11 months of some crazy God-lovin’, people lovin’ intense world shaking, faith building experiences. I cannot wait to continue this faith journey in that way!! (Here’s the visual for what I feel like…yikes!!!)
So, those of you who know me well know that this blogging concept is a whole different world for me. My friends literally had to twist my arm & sign me up for Facebook. I told them they could make up my password, answers to the questions, everything. Once I’ve worked a full day, the last thing I really want to do is sit down at my home computer for any reason. But, for God’s purposes, I will learn to get over it. I will also learn to share more openly my thoughts on my faith walk. I have no problems sharing one on one but when it comes to publicly declaring ALL the details of what God is doing in my life, I tend to shy away. Well, no more!
So, here’s how I came to this place at this time for the World Race 2010…
God put World Race in my heart 6-7 years ago and at the time I thought it would be a wonderful dream but not a likely possibility for me. Still, I have always known that God is capable of anything even in those who do not find themselves capable (& especially in those situations sometime…where I am weak, His strength is most evident). So, in the back of my mind, I secretly started the dreaming/planning process. I knew I would have to finish paying for college & finally did, praise the Lord! And there were other challenges that would have to be met & overcome one by one.
As God developed my faith & experiences over the past few years, I have seen Him work directly to provide for me tangibly with His love, finances, people, and on and on and on. He has stretched me through my trips to Africa, Chicago, Mississipi, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia…any place He has called.
So, I figured if ever I would have the opportunity to experience God on the World Race, this was my year. But I needed to know if it was God’s calling or just my own desire. So, I began to fervently pray. I prayed especially that He would reveal His will to me in Jamaica serving on the Tres Dias weekend.
During our training weekends to serve in Jamaica, we were told where to go outside the airport to look for Scott Pitts who would be driving us from the airport to the campground. I was the only American who flew in on the Thursday, so I had the 45 minute ride to the campground with Scott all to myself. Literally within the first 10 minutes of being en route to the campground, Scott told me I would be perfect for the World Race & what little he knew of me in that span of time told him I’d be perfect for it. Scott & his wife are squad leaders (I think that’s the right term) who are kind of like the adopted parents for the year for the racers. They touch base with the racers & help process all that God is doing in & through them. So, I got an early answer to my prayer right after arriving. But, that’s not all. God loves to show up in big ways and that was just the beginning of the confirmation.
I have a million little ways that God spoke to me that weekend, and I would LOVE to indulge any of you with the stories-just ask me. But, for the first post, I am going to get to the clencher at the end of the weekend. On my last night there, we had to stay in a hotel near the airport as the campground was booked for another group staying there immediately after us. Christie Williams spoke to me the morning I was flying back to the states as we had a moment alone with the other workers down by the beach area. She said God had given her a vision that morning that I was a Queen like Esther-someone who travelled alone, not with a group of close friends. She said that Esther changed not only a nation but also history and that she stood strong in her beliefs and followed God’s calling. She prayed for me to take God’s love to the world and that God would increase my vision for my life and give me the spirit of discernment and freedom to follow Him. Through her prayer and what God completed in my heart during my travel back to the states, I knew the calling was from God to be a part of the World Race.
This is just the beginning of this phase of my journey, and I am so excited to share it with you. Please know that I want your prayers & love to support me in this great adventure with Jehovah. I am delighted to increase my faith & trust & dependence on Him (yes, I am nervous/scared/excited too). Thank you for all the love & support you’ve given me up to this point in time that has helped prepare me for this very moment. I pray each of you feels & knows God’s intimate love for YOU.
