In 24 hours I will be in Atlanta, headed to launch and I am so excited, nervous and everything in between!
I am about 40% packed, feels like I am only 10% packed, and I’m a little stressed. What do I take? What do I not take? Training Camp gave me a good idea but 10 days seems so much more different then 9 months! 10 days of clothing and toiletries is easy to figure out, 9 months is harder to estimate. I know I can buy things in other countries, but it is still hard to guess. 10 days away from friends and family is totally doable for me, but 9 months is starting to become a scary large amount of time!
During my time at Training Camp, a phrase stuck with me during every worship time, and every time I stressed about being on this trip. It was “Yes Lord”. Simple yes, but saying yes can be harder than it sounds. It is more than just saying yes to being gone for 9 months to do mission work which can be difficult on it’s own.
Saying yes to going out of my comfort zone, especially for the Lord is very hard. Being a missionary is very much out of my comfort zone. Speaking in front of people is one. I shake like a leaf, and stutter a lot. But I’ve given a message once because I was crazy and said yes. For some reason praying out loud is out of my comfort zone. It probably goes alongside of speaking in front of people. But I know it is something I am going to have to do a lot while I am gone, and I will have to choose to say yes each time I am called to. Evangelizing and trying to lead people to Christ is always something I thought of other people being able to do, not me. And again, I will have to say “Yes Lord” when He calls me to talk about Jesus.
Saying “Yes Lord” is a choice made daily, not just while I am on the race, but everywhere I go. Holding in my temper when my sister eats all the pop-tarts. Extending grace to someone who says something rude to me. Little things that give me a chance to show the love of Christ are included in saying yes. And sometimes these little things can be harder to remember, and I know I need to work on them.
As you can imagine, “Yes Lord” has become important to me. So a couple of weeks ago I got it tattooed on my arm. While at training camp I knew I wanted that tattoo I just wasn’t sure where. One day, of the trainers named Erika, explained her tattoos to a few of us. She got one of her tattoos placed on her forearm where she would be able to see it while she was worshipping. Ever since she said that I figured out where I wanted it to be. Sorry Erika, for stealing your idea!
I wanted to be reminded every time I worship to surrender to the Lord and say “yes”.
Please keep my squad and I in your prayers as we get ready for launch tomorrow, and as we head to Costa Rica the 11th! Thank you for all your support and prayers!
Love,
Katie
