I love the reminders that God is God and we are not.
Sometimes they are the small rainbow sprinkles in life and sometimes they are the avalanche of soft serve, but both are the reminders that I need.
Over the past few weeks I have gotten an overwhelming amount of encouragement and advice from countless people. I have been reminded to be safe and call my mom. Journal, blog, and take pictures, but don’t be too invested in your documentation that you miss out. Be open to anything and everything. Be safe and love abundantly. Do not miss an opportunity because it may be a little “pricey”. Be safe and call my Mom because she is going to worry at least a little bit. Pray to see and experience things you never thought possible like healings and miracles. Be safe and please call your mom.
As I have taken in all the words of wisdom, I kept going back to the fact that God is God and we are not.
We can choose to be open and see God in situations. We can choose to see the beauty in every scenery. We can only control our safety to an extent, and then rely on God to protect us. God has got this, and that is where my hope lies.
As I finished saying my goodbyes to my friends and family in Durango, I listened to the song “New Hellos” by Stacey Ballinger, on repeat. It has themes around hope, growth, and starting a fresh. Stacey was one of my roommates this summer. She wrote this song last month and I really connected with it. Take a listen and watch out for her, she will be big soon! 🙂
One of the lines from the song is:
“And I’m terrified but in grace I can know, together and apart we will grow.”
God is God and we are not.
But we are the church! We are one body all over the world doing good. Whether you are serving widows and orphans in Africa or bringing cookies to your neighbor, you are serving and loving people the same. One awesome thing about the church is that I believe we are connected through prayer. As I am walking the streets in Cambodia, you are there as your prayers are surrounding me. In the same way, as you are visiting an old neighbor in a nursing home, I will be praying for you, and I believe I am there as well. I am excited to come back and see how God has worked in the lives of my friends and family. “In grace I can know, together and apart we will grow.”
I want to challenge you to something. Whatever it was you challenged me to do or advice you would have given me, I boomerang it back. I challenge you to live your life here on mission. Journal about how you saw God today. Be open to see him heal someone. Pray over someone in a public place. Abandon something to live simpler. Call your mom. Do something you wouldn’t normally do that would make someone’s day. Live a life on mission for Christ through loving people. But remember, it is not because of the nice things you do that God loves you, He already loves you, so go ahead and spread it!
You change the world when you change someone’s personal world. But don’t get tied up about it because God is God and we are not.
WOO WHOO!! It is finally here and it feels like it!! I have taken every step needed to get here and now the only thing left is to go!
I am excited to announce that I am the J squad worship coordinator. From the description, I will be organizing worship during squad debriefs, communicating with the worship people back in the Adventures in Mission office to get resources to the different teams, and working with different ministries in terms of worship aspects. I am excited for what is to come of it!
I leave Friday morning for launch. I will travel with Mom and Dad to Atlanta, Georgia for some final training. Mom and Dad will attend the “Parent Launch” where they will meet other World Race parents, go to sessions to find out more information on the organization and what to expect on their end for the year, and we will say our final good bye on Saturday afternoon. I will leave with my squad for Lesotho Africa On August 8th! Thank you soo much for all your love and support!
Mom helping me pack! 🙂
Mom’s artwork on the bottles! I will always smile when I go to use them!
This is everything I am taking! My big pack’s name is Pooh and weighs 38 pounds. My day pack’s name is Roo and weighs about 14 pounds.
