“Laura, you should pray about doing the World Race.”
“It would be cool, but I don’t think its for me.”
“The Lord kept telling me $500 for Laura for the World Race.”
I prayed about it because I told her I would; Little did I know what wild and crazy adventure embarked ahead. Month 2, the Lord gave our squad leader, Alys, each a question for each of us to answer by the end of month 3. His question for me, “What is your greatest fear?”. Immediately I knew, because the Lord was already pursuing me in this area. My greatest fear was judgement from others because of my past. I continued to struggle with this for another 3 months until finally enough was enough.
The end of month 4 was team changes. As my new team leader, Harris, and I sat outside of one of the Buddhist temples in Bangkok, he asked me the most impactful question that has completely changed my life forever. “If there was on thing you could do and know you wouldn’t fail, what would it be?” I said, “To have a coffee shop to give jobs to women coming out of sex trafficking.” My answer still shocks me. Restaurant, food truck, yes…but a coffee shop to impact broken vessels, not once. For the next month and a half my mind began to mull over those words. I was encouraged by others to pray about it, but every time I did my past would come up and I would stop praying about it. Half way through month 6 I shut myself in a room and cried out to the Lord asking why. He said, “This is the last thing you need to get out before you can have what I have for you.” Imagine a scale completely balanced. On one side was the coffee shop to bring healing and restoration and on the other side was fear and me clinging on to my past. I was done allowing fear to dictate my life. I surrendered my past and no longer carry the weight.
The Lord did a lot of inner healing the next couple of months. He continued to use others to speak in to my life and to show me his promises even more. Month 8, in Ireland, was my birthday and Hutch knew a lady who made prophetic birthday cakes so he asked her to make my cake. All she knew was my name and then prayed about what to put on it…”you prepare a table for me in the midst of my enemies.” If that’s not conformation, I don’t know what is.
Its been 2 years since coming home and I am in awe everyday at the beauty of surrender and letting go of fear. I could go on and on about the journey, but that would take a book haha. I am now a missionary for Bridgepoint Mission Center/Bella Goose Coffeehouse located in Wisconsin Dells, WI and the Director of Operations for Bella Goose here in the Philippines, which will be our second location. I’m currently living out the passion that was literally placed inside of me just 2 1/2 years ago sitting outside of that temple.
It took the intimacy and the community of the World Race for my eyes to be opened to this whole new world of faith and a God who operates outside of the box He was always kept in. The Race is a missions trip, but for me it was more. It was where I found a real and deep connection with the Father and He has launched me further than my wildest dreams. Screw fear. Screw judgment. The Lord is changing lives before my eyes and that is the most beautiful thing in the world.
