Many Racers stress and fret about what comes after the Race for them. Not me. God told me five months ago exactly what I'd be doing after the Race.
Back in Thailand, I realized that my passions and talents lie in something I've done my whole life: storytelling. My family can tell you that I am infamous for my sometimes long, always detailed stories. My stories are about my life, what excites me, how I am feeling, and what the Lord is doing in my life and in the lives of others. I love to see and experience Him, and to bring others into that by weaving together words, feelings, creativity, photographs, and beauty.
I realized that doing this was a way in which I can worship the Creator, by being like Him when I create things. Just as He took pleasure in His creation, I love the act of creating and sharing with others. It fills me up.
My teammate Johnny said something a couple of months ago that stuck with me. He said that he had heard this quote somewhere: "If you want to figure out what to do with your life, think about what you are passionate about, and what your heart breaks for. Where those two collide is what you should do."
My heart breaks for so many things. My squad and I have seen things this year that many don't realize is even happening in the world. Child sacrifice, poverty, disease, human trafficking. And some don't even know about it. I think that that is one of the bigger tools of the enemy: silence. If these things aren't talked about, or known about, they will go on. People won't fight. Those who are trapped in sex slavery, poverty, hunger, whose bodies are ravaged by disease, will think that it is just their lot in life, that they don't have a voice or the power to change their lives.
So. I'm passionate about storytelling, and my heart breaks for the voiceless and the evils that they endure every day.
I can be that voice. I can be their advocate, by raising awareness, igniting the fires of change, and inspiring a generation to fight for them, simply through my fingers on the keys of my keyboard, and my eye to my camera viewfinder.
I've been offered the incredible opportunity to work at the Adventures in Missions office in Gainesville, Georgia. AIM is the organization that sends out World Racers, and empowers them to take the next steps after the Race to continue changing the world. One of the areas that AIM emphasizes as a catalyst for change is storytelling. I will have the opportunity to work alongside and learn under some of the best-by refining my skills and putting them into practice. I might have the opportunity to write for the World Race website, to attend and work at Training Camps for future Racers, to use social media and marketing to spread the word about things happening in the world, and to develop my own readership through my personal writing.
Another exciting part about this next chapter is that I will also be participating in a discipleship school called the Center for Global Action. The purpose of CGA is to offer a chance for alumni Racers and Passporters to continue the process that was started on their Kingdom Journeys. It doesn't end when we step off the plane in the States. There is still so much to learn and to do, and CGA offers a place to do that where you can be discipled, live in community, and work as an apprentice in the AIM office.
The loose plan is for Josh and I to return to Missouri at the beginning of August for about three weeks. We'll be visiting friends and family in Springfield, Bonne Terre, and Kansas City during that time. We are so looking forward to this time, and I am looking forward to spending my 25th birthday with one or both of my families!
After three weeks, we will head down to Gainesville, Georgia for Project Searchlight, a weeklong conference for Racers who have just returned to the States. It is an opportunity to reconnect with the squad, worship together, receive counseling and discipleship to help with re-entry, and to empower us to take the next steps to launch us into whatever Kingdom Dreams we have.
Then, we will either remain in Gainesville, or return to Missouri. CGA starts in mid-September, but we are not sure how the logistics of moving will work out. If we return back to Missouri, we will spend more time with friends and family, prepare to move, and try to find temp jobs here and there to make a little bit of money (it will be the first paychecks in over a year-exciting!) .
For my job at AIM, and participation in CGA, I need to fundraise again. A few months ago, I would have been scared/frustrated/insertothernegativeemotionshere about fundraising again. Surprisingly, I feel none of those things about it now. The Lord showed up so mightily for us in our fundraising for the Race, even surpassing the amount needed, that to doubt that He will continue to take care of us financially just seems so silly now.
I need to raise $600 a month-$300 for CGA, and $300 for housing costs, since Josh and I will be living off campus. That totals $7200 for the one year, however, we have a surplus of about $1500 in our World Race account, which leaves $5700 to raise.
If you would like to partner with me to continue to bring about change in the world, this time by allowing me to influence others through my words, please consider financially supporting me. You can do so in the same way that you did for the World Race-by clicking the support me tab on the left under our picture, or by sending in a check to the Adventures in Missions office at:
Adventures in Missions
P.O. Box 534470
Atlanta, GA 30353-4470
Just write "Jen Mendenhall-CGA" in the memo line.
We also have a really big need for personal finances. We are believing that God will provide for us in this area, just has He did for our Race, but for some reason this is a little bit harder for me to do. Maybe it is the independence in me that doesn’t want to admit that we need help, but if I’ve learned anything this year, it is that when we truly let go of our dependence on our own plans, we can seek Him more fully. When we come to the end of ourselves, it is the Lord who is truly glorified when He works all things together for our good. When the stress tries to creep up on me, I try to remember this truth.
We are in need of about $1,000 for moving costs, and if you would like to help us out in that area, you can email me at [email protected].
We are so excited about this next season of life that God has called us to. I feel like I am on the precipice of something great and incredible, and I can’t wait to continue changing the world…this time from the good ‘ole South. 🙂
