Hello there,
As I sit down at my desk and prepare to write a blog post that will introduce me to someone who ventures to my website, I am met with excitement – not fear, not tepidness, not even nervous butterflies.
I am excited because I cannot begin to fathom the type of person who might be reading this posts. Maybe you are someone who I grew up with, or someone I went to high school with and now you get to witness the next chapter of my life journey. Maybe you are someone I met college and you have played a strong role in encouraging me to go for it. Maybe you are someone that I only spoke to briefly and your curiosity let you to my website. Maybe you and I have not even met, which is the most excited at all, yet, somehow you wound up reading one of my blogs. There are a million different ways for someone to be reading this but all I know for sure is that you are here now. You are a member of my tribe now (you’ll understand my lingo once we get to know each other better). You are a friend, a supporter, a rock, an encourager and a blessing to me.
I will start my story by introducing you to my family.
When I was about fifteen or sixteen, I began talking about my interest in a mission trip. (As you will quickly learn, I am a very passionate individual) so my interest in a mission trip quickly transformed into me moving to Africa after high school graduation.
Here is a picture of me, at my high school graduation, just weeks before I moved to Charleston, South Caroline to attend the College of Charleston. As I write this post, I am in my Fall semester of my Senior year at the College of Charleston. Clearly, I did not uproot everything and move to Africa when I was eighteen. My decision to go to college was a result of the people you see pictured above. My family encourages me and supports me, always, but they also introduce me to a concept called reality.
I am thankful to live in a country that allows me to learn. Education is something that I value; it is not something that I take for granted. I am proud to have earned a college degree. I will always be grateful for the words of wisdom that my family offered to me during such a vulnerable and impressionable age.
That being said, when I graduate in May I will have earned my Bachelors degree in three years instead of four (or the new average, five years). I say this, because I think the fact that I set a goal to graduate early and accomplished that goal, highlights personality traits about myself that are encouraging to someone who is meeting me for the first time.
I tend to dream big. However, because of my support system, I understand the concept of practicality. I think a lot of people think it terms of “leaps”. I think it terms of “next steps”. Meaning, so many people want to make a giant, inhumane leap from where they are to where they want to be. Instead of leaping, I take next steps that eventually lead me to where I want to be. Right now, there is no where that I would rather be than in the protected arms of Jesus, traveling the world, interacting with His creations, and serving His people.
I am getting ahead of myself (that tends to happen frequently too). I have not even told you the story about the time that God spoke to me. Rewind back to high school; back to the age of 16.
I was shopping on TOMS Shoes Website (if you know me, you know that this is the only pair of shoes that I wear). While I was on the website, I saw an opportunity of a lifetime… TOMS was going to send people on one of their giving trips! (For those of you who are not aware of what TOMS are, let me explain: TOMS is a shoe company that for every pair of shoes sold, they give a pair to a child in need) I asked my mom if I would sign up for the trip. she said yes and I could feel my determination growing under my skin.
I submitted a picture, a bio that was filled with quotes from the Bible and my word of choice was Evangelism. I remember my mom telling me, “Logan, you know TOMS does not identify with any religion so this may hurt your chances of winning the contest” but honesty and transparency are very important to me and I wanted to be honest and transparent with TOMS about my intentions for going on the trip. I wanted to introduce people to who Jesus is through personifying His compassion for His people.
Long story short, 10,000 people applied and I was one of 50 that was chosen to go on the Giving Trip. I remember reading the email from TOMS that I had just won; I broke down and started crying. I sobbed and sobbed and sobbed, not because I was sad, but because I could hear God saying, over and over again, “Go.”
TOMS flew me and my mom to California for a tour of the TOMS Headquarters. Then they flew us to South America, to a country called Paraguay, and together we placed over 300 pairs of shoes on the feet of impoverished children.
This trip was a pivotal moment in my life for many reasons. One reason was because it was Gods way of communication to my parents that this was what He wanted me to do with my life. I also think that my trip with TOMS was Gods way of assuring my parents that He was going to take care of me wherever He sent me.
A second reason it was such a defining moment for me was because it was the moment that I felt fulfilled. I cannot even begin to tell you the emotions I felt during that trip. It would be an injustice to restrict how I felt with words.
A third reason this trip to Paraguay was so important to me was because this was the trip that planted the seed that has grown into who I am today.
I would write a Harry Potter sized novel about my life and still feel like I did not write enough. God has been so faithful to me, always. I have always felt His presence near me, protecting me and guiding me.
I feel confident that World Race is my next step.
I hope this has given you insight into who Logan Finley is. Please, feel free to contact me and ask me any questions that you might have. So far, I have gotten questions about my faith, questions about the trip, questions about fundraising… I was even asked a question on TOMS’ behalf.
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Facebook: Logan Finley
Thank you for letting me tell a little bit of my story.
