As some of you may or may not know I am going on a 9 month mission trip through the AMI called the World Race Gap Year. I will begin going to Ecuador, India and then Zambia. For the first month I will be in Quito,Ecuador which is the capital with my awesome squad ( J gap ) for the first month . Then I believe we will split into teams and I will be doing ministry with my team( team relentless!!). As I am about to start on this amazing adventure, I thought I should explain why I am going .
I am going on the world race because of a strong desire for a deep and meaningful relationship with God. I desire to grow in my faith in Jesus and in knowledge of who God is . I want to truly live a life on a mission. I have a passion for missions and my heart breaks for the least of these and I want to go out and serve.
I have a passion for missions that was explored through out my high school experience and I desire to continue this through out my life. Through out high school I was on 9 trips and 7 of them involved service. Some were more challenging than others , but I always had something different to learn or be reminded of. I was able to serve the least of these and have a taste of what a life in a mission looks like . I feel closer to God when I serve others in need . Bringing the love of Christ into this dark world is not an easy job, but very rewarding. You might not ever see the impact you made on someone or might not be praised or might even be hated for doing good, but the eternal reward is worth the pain of this world . That is why I do this , not to please others or to gain any earthly rewards, but for Christ and the kingdom of God. All this earth will go away , but the Kingdom of God will last forever. I love seeing a child with absolutely nothing experiencing the love and joy of Christ . Seeing people happy despite having every reason to not is amazing and I have much to learn.
One of the reasons I am going on the World Race Gap Year program is that my heart is broken for the least of these. My heart breaks for those who are hurting and in need and I want to love the least of these. Seeing people with absolutely nothing and nobody to care for them is heartbreaking. Despite having nothing and nobody, these people were so happy. Some of the most joyful people I have ever seen are not those with the most money or wealth, but instead is the least of these. All they had was God , and they were content and happy. They have a relationship with God that satisfies them. You see all these people chasing money and never being satisfied, you can not buy a relationship.
Not only does my heart break for those in need , but as a result of these mission trips I have learned important lessons about God and who He is and who I am in Christ. For example, I learned (and am still learning) that I am never alone and that God is always there. I may not hear or see Him , but God is good . Even when I feel like nobody cares or I Have nothing , I still have God. One of the most challenging lesions I have had to learn (and still am learning) is that Gods will is greater than my will. I need to humble myself and listen to God despite what I might think is best . God is there , sometimes all we need to do is listen. I have much to learn and do not have all the answers, but I hope to develop and strengthen my faith as I go on this journey.I desire to know more about who God is and how I can grow .
I hade my heart broken and my faith challenged and I want to show the least of these the love of Christ . I desire to be the light in this dark world and want to lead people to Christ. I am nothing by myself, but am complete with Christ.
Last but not least I would like to announce that I am fully funded and I wanted to thank everyone who has helped me along this journey. I can’t wait to see what God will do and am so thankful for this opportunity.Have a wonderful day and God bless.
