Fundraising update: I am currently at $14,551. In order to stay on the field I will need $15,100 by July 31st (**I’m only $549 away!!) and fully funded at $16,617 by August 31st. Thank you so much to those that have supported me financially and in prayer. If you or anybody you know would be interested in partnering with me, feel free to share my blog and ask any questions! You can donate on my home page at johnhopkins.theworldrace.org. My email is [email protected] if you have any questions or just want to chat! Thank you all so much for reading! Keep your prayers coming for me and my team while we are in Serbia.
I want to give a quick update before I get to the main topic. For month 7, my team has been assigned to something called Unsung Heroes where we go out and find new ministry contacts for future World Race teams to use. We started by heading to Mostar, Bosnia which was at the center of the conflict in the early 90s. With the scars of war still visible and the memories still fresh, this is a city in need of help.
The problem is not a lot of people know how, or go out of their way to help those in need. It’s a social climate that is attuned to helping yourself first. We met with a local priest, Father Ivan, who was excellent and super helpful and we had a great conversation about his church and the city. We also came during a time when most people were on holiday so finding solid contacts is hard. The city of Mostar is absolutely beautiful.
We have since moved to Belgrade, Serbia to do the same thing. If you know anybody here or around the city doing mission minded work of any kind, let me know! [email protected]
I have something that has been on my heart for awhile and I wasn’t exactly sure how to write about it, I’m still not sure I do but I’m going to go for it anyway. Most of my life I have found that I often compare myself to others whether it be financially, socially, or spiritually. Being on a squad of 54 people, it’s been hard for me not to look to my left or right and compare my current spiritual walk to theirs. It’s something I’ve struggled with since coming on the race in January. Especially since I was coming from a place of having known the Lord my whole life and wanting to grow in Him as much as possible this year. Granted the last few years of my life I haven’t felt as close to Him but have definitely felt Him calling me back. Everybody has their own journey through life and with Christ, that’s how He designed us.
It isn’t always easy to keep pushing forward when everybody around you is going about their life right alongside you. You can find yourself constantly questioning decisions you make and choices that are put in front of you on a daily basis. This could be because you want to see what others do first and see if it works for them, or you simply don’t know the next step to take in your own life. I don’t have a simple solution but I do know what God tells us. I have a couple of great verses that one of our squad coaches, Phil, gave to me one day and I go back and read them when I feel like I need to. The first one is Ephesians 1:17-18, I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. The second verse is I Timothy 4:14-15, Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you. 15 Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress.
He is calling us as individuals, not as a group. His plan is for YOU. Focus on Him and let His plan be carried out. When you look to compare your journey to others you are only hindering personal growth and setting yourself back. Everybody has their own gifts and talents, you may not know yours yet, I’m not sure I know my own completely. Don’t let that distract you from what He is putting in front of you right now.
One last thought, if you find yourself getting caught up in what to do or what’s right and wrong, Jesus said it best in Matthew 21, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Love God. Love people. Thanks for reading!
