I’ve been wanting to do a 2016 year end blog for a while, but kept putting it off. I want to share with you what my past year was like. What I did, what I learned, and in all of that, what God did.
2016 was a memorable year for sure.
I got back from the World Race in December 2015 and spent 1 month at home visiting friends and family sharing about all my experiences. God was leading me throughout 2015 to move to Calgary and when I got home, God provided a woman of God to open her home to me for free as well as give me free food.
So on January 1, 2016 I moved to Calgary. I didn’t really know why Calgary, but I knew God had reasons. I didn’t have any money and was in debt, so naturally, I begin applying for jobs. Then God spoke to me through my brother that He had something else for me and that I needed to seek Him for what that was. I began fasting and praying for an answer. After about 5 days I finally got an answer which was that God was leading me to not work, but rather go out into the streets and evangelize.
This was super frightening to me! I have grown comfortable evangelizing with other people, but by myself was another story. So I began going on walks with God spending time with my Heavenly Father. I wanted to talk to people about the God that is real and has changed my life, but fear of man ruled over me. In the 2 months I did this, I think I talked and prayed with one homeless man and that’s it!
During this time, I got an email from the World Race saying something like, “We are in urgent need of a male squad leader. You have been recommend but your Squad Mentor”. Then it has a description of what World Race Expedition was about and as I read it, it brought me to tears. This was what I wanted to do! So I prayed about it and really felt God was leading me to this. I gave them my “Yes” and two months and fund raising $3000 USD later, I was on a plane to New York to meet my new squad!
I flew to Spain first for 3 weeks of training. This was a sweet time to get to know the squad, hear their stories and build relationships with them. We then headed to Morocco for our first month of ministry. Here we partnered with some long term missionaries and put on a surf camp for orphan kids who were Muslim.
Next I went to Greece. Here I worked with refugees and a church which was doing some awesome things in their community. Turkey was next. I spent my time there in a town called Kars where our focus was to evangelize and share the gospel with people so we can eventually start a church.
After Turkey was Kyrgyzstan for a debrief with one other squad. Then we went to Kazakhstan. I had no clue what to expect for these 2 countries. It was like a mix of Russian and Asian people and culture. It was very unique. In Kazakhstan we did evangelism and in Kyrgyzstan we did various thing such as help with construction on a chicken farm, pull weeds in a garden, partner with multiple pastors in a small tourist town, help a lady with a coffee shop and more.
The last country on this trip was Mongolia. Here I spent most my time in Ulaan Bataar training up 3 people to take mine and my co-leaders place. This was the toughest month for me. It was spiritually difficult. At best, I would say I hung on until the end, but I was not thriving out of the fullness of Christ in me.
The next place I went was America. This was in October. Here I got to debrief and then helped out at a Training Camp. The squad I was helping train was to leave in Jan. 2017. There in Gainesville, Georgia, God posed the question…
“Jordan. Where is your heart at? What do you want to do in 2017?”
I had to sit and think about it. I wanted to go home and do ministry related stuff there. But I also wanted to continue what I have been doing the past couple years. Essentially I have been traveling around the world with a moving church. A moving body of Christ. Each day we follow Holy Spirit in what He is leading us to do and say. We minister to the lost, broken, rejected, hopeless, poor, powerless and so many more. I can very well do it at home, but God gave me a passion to do it in foreign countries.
So I decided, heading out again to lead and disciple believers to help save a lost and broken world was where my heart was at and what I wanted to do in 2017.
I got home and spent 3 weeks visiting family and friends. I got to speak at my Bible College during this time. Then I left for a short trip to India where I got to visit the first squad I lead. After I got back I had 3.5 weeks before heading back out again. This was a sweet time of catching up with friends and family, especially during Christmas time. I got to speak at a church in Rocky Mountain House and was very blessed by them.
This year has been a wild one for sure. I can’t even begin to count how many different beds I slept in or the variety of foods I ate. My life consists of constant change and I actually really enjoy it! At times I play a game where I have a memory of a country, but I don’t remember what country I was in. Then I have to think about where it was. Sometimes I get stuck for a few days trying to figure out a memory, haha!
Something I try to look back at the end of each year, is all the fruit that God produced through me. I can see many people who’s lives have been changed by my interactions with them. But there is a ton of fruit that I will never know about until I get to Heaven. God did so many awesome things in and around me this last year and I am honored to be a part of His Kingdom.
I know 2017 is going to be even better and even more fruitful. I have a growing excitement for what God is going to do through my new squad and I this year! Already in the first month, my squad has seen multiple healings. For me personally, I have stepped out in evangelism in more boldness than ever before. I probably shared my faith with more non believers the past 3 weeks than I did all last year!
God is so much bigger and amazing to me than He ever has been. I am more in love with Him and people than I ever have been.
2016 was amazing and 2017 will be even greater!
