Adventures WorldRace SethBarnes Sponsorship Giving

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After the World Race I said I was never going back. I was never going back to being okay with the ordinary, everyday routine of “normal” life. I was never going back to my old perspective of just coasting through life, waiting on God to show up and do something spectacular to break through the boringness of my routine. During our month in India on the World Race, as I wrestled through the questions in my head about what was next for me, God told me exactly what He wanted me to do, though it wasn’t the answer I expected or for which I had hoped. He said, “I want you to pursue My heart with your whole heart every day.” I have made that my goal since that day; to live in relentless pursuit of His heart to follow Him wherever He leads, and to love people the way that He does.

 

My attempt to live out that goal has been difficult since coming back to the U.S. as I have found myself becoming increasingly more comfortable in this culture. My resolve has been tested, my desires have wavered, but with His help, my direction has remained: following hard after Him. And He has led me to the place that He wants me to be.  

So, all of that was leading up to…this. It’s announcement time. And before I make the announcement, I want to assure all of you reading that this is a decision that I have been thinking about and praying about for a long time. Since before I went on the World Race, actually. Last November my World Race squad leader planted this “crazy idea” in my head, and for some reason (that would be God), it stuck.

While I was in India, the Lord did so much work in my heart. If you asked me what was the hardest mont for me on the World Race, I would hands down say India. But as difficult as it was, it was the place where the Lord really got a hold of my heart. And it is the place I said I would never go back to…at least, I said that for the first few days we were there. But in that month God completely changed my heart and began to birth in me a genuine love for the people of India, and a desire to return to India to work long-term. Which is why, in October 2011 I will be moving to Gainesville, GA and joining the World Race India Initiative team to begin a six-month training period. The India Initiative team is a group of young women who are committing the next two years of their lives to serve the Lord in ministry in the Red Light Districts of Mumbai. We will be traveling to India with Adventures in Missions in April 2012 with the goal of establishing a long term ministry. This ministry will aim to build relationships with women and children in the Red Light districts, and eventually we desire to provide a safe house for those seeking refuge from the grips of modern day slavery. Our primary goal is to show these women and children the love of God, and to spread the truth of hope and healing through Christ.

 
 

This is a big step for me – a huge step actually, and the decision making period involved much prayer and personal struggle on my part. I am not embarking on this journey because of anything inside of me – if anything, I want to turn around and run as fast as I can away from this opportunity because it scares the living daylights out of me. I understand the sacrifices that will result from this decision, but, I am also learning that when I truly understand the sacrifice Christ made for me, and what it truly means to give up everything to follow Him, then nothing He asks me to give up is too great a cost. I know that the road ahead of me is not an easy one, but I also know that following Christ is always worth all the struggles and that He rewards those who seek Him earnestly. I believe that He equips the called, so I am clinging to the faith that He will equip me for what is ahead.

So I am asking all of you reading this to please partner with me in prayer. The decision making was difficult and I know that walking it out and following through on this decision will be even more difficult. So I ask that you would please commit to cover me in prayer as I embark on this new journey.  

I said I was never going back…so as I prepare to go back to India, I am looking ahead with eager expectation to all that God will teach me and change in my heart as I trust Him with this next step.