You guys can’t imagine how long I’ve been stuck, staring at this computer screen trying to come up with the words to let you in on this secret I’ve had for a while now. I think I kept pushing it off because I knew that once I announced it publicly, it became real. Well, it’s time to get real! You see, I thought being the only student from my public high school to go to a private Christian University was a step on the road less traveled. Now here I am, 3 and a half years later and graduated, looking onto another foreign road; or roads I should say because in October 2018 I will be serving in missions for *drum roll*
11 months in 11 different countries!
Columbia, Equador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, India, Nepal, Armenia, Georgia, Romania, Albania
“What’s next?” they all asked. Well, for me my answer was not as simple as, “Y’know, looking for a job of course!” I could have said that. I could have done that, but I knew in my gut that I wasn’t called just yet to settle for a ministry position that would require me to stay long-term in the States and in one location. I didn’t see myself waking up every morning, driving the same commute and being in the same building. This was a long season of prayer and seeking God’s guidance as to what I was supposed to do right after college. All of my classmates were talking about all the jobs they were applying to, meanwhile I hadn’t applied to a single one – truthfully because I had no desire to and all I could think about were all the places I wanted to travel to, all the people I wanted to serve around the world, and all the dreams I wanted to make come alive. A job in a church or office didn’t quiet fit that dream. So began my journey of God’s revelation for me to dedicate myself and live a life of abandonment and adventure for Him.
I first came across the World Race a year ago when I was looking up internships for missions organizations. I also have a friend who went on the Race. I remember seeing her journey and knowing that I would say yes to that in a heart beat – but I didn’t because I was still in school. As my last semester of college was coming to an end, and as I was finishing up my internship with Saddleback Church, I was struggling to find a way to live out all the passions I had. Now, warning: I’m about to get real vulnerable. This excerpt from my prayer journal at a Retreat this last semester sums up my thoughts best:
“Lord I’m feeling really conflicted. The things I want are very out of the ordinary. How can I live a life of travel, adventure and service while still living out your Great Commission? And how will I get paid to make a living? What are my options? The world tells me one thing, and tries to scare me. While I feel you telling me to never stop dreaming. I need to love what I do. And be around people who share my hopes and dreams. I trust you, I don’t want to be worried, but I also want guidance. Please God, show me the way.”
Meanwhile, I was interning at Saddleback Church and was reminded of the beauty of the local church and the powerful way God serves its community through it. I served in many areas during my internship and was so grateful that they were flexible enough to deal with my crazy desires to get my hands and feet in anything I had a passion for. I knew I always wanted to serve in missions, but I wanted to see what it took from behind the scenes first; which I learned in my time interning with their Global PEACE department. I was also able to be apart of launching Saddleback’s 19th campus in Yorba Linda, which was something that I could have never imagined I’d be apart of at such a young age. I was able to serve God and all His people during this special time. I’ve always been globally minded and knew this was something that I had to keep pursuing, but this time out of the comfort of my own backyard, and not from behind the scenes anymore. It was time to go.
Queue the surrender to the idea of the World Race. The Race was something that offered everything I wanted in this next stage of growth. I didn’t want to stick to one ministry yet because I have a lot of passions. The world is full of broken people in many contexts, and this allows me to serve in all areas at some point in my 11 months on the field. In some countries we’ll be teaching English, in others we’ll be doing street evangelism, serving with widows and orphans and simply being the light and love of Jesus to all His children.
Noel Brewer Yeatts wrote, “So many distractions keep us from being who we were meant to be and doing what we were meant to do.” I felt like if I stayed in the comfort of my city, my home, and my country, I wouldn’t be fulfilling the calling God has had over me to be a living testimony of the love and healing that only comes from Him, because I know what pain and loneliness feels like – but there is hope and there is a Savior.
What makes this even more special is that even though I’ll be ministering and witnessing to people all over the world, I’ll also be able to live out my adventurous DREAMS. I’m going to be living off of a backpack y’all! Hiking long distances, sleeping in tents, sleeping bags, and a whole lot of uncomfortable situations – but anyone that knows me knows this is what I live for. Plus, there will be the freedom to explore and enjoy all the creation that each country has to offer.
Finally, the best part of this next adventure is that you guys get to be apart of it with me! If you’ve seen the large fundraising goal on my blog page, yup that is what I get to support raise. I say “get to” because it’s a privilege to be apart of what God is doing and will do in this year of missions. I encourage anyone who feels led to support me financially to please do so. $18,000 looks like a lot (and it definitely is), but any little donation helps. Also, more importantly, I need support through prayer and encouragement. This is an equally scary and exciting time of my life, so PLEASE pray for guidance, resilience, the molding of my heart for these people, protection and for God’s provision to make this dream possible.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read what’s happening in my life and this next phase that God is preparing me for. Please subscribe to my blog so that you can get any updates from me as I prepare and for when I am actually on the field. If you have any questions about other ways you can help me, or just questions in general, reach out and I’d love to talk with you. You all mean so much to me and I can’t wait to share this journey with you – Adventure Awaits!
Love,
Jezebelle
