This is it. I’m officially home in the United States or America. Definitely experiencing a bit of jet lag considering I’m writing this blog at 5am, also still in the midst of goodbyes, welcome-homes, and a heart overflowing with just about every emotion you could imagine. I’m excited, I’m sad, I’m hopeful, I’m scared, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. But there’s two things that remain: Gods faithfulness, and my gratefulness for everything about the last season.
As I transition home I know that I do not need to be afraid, because God has been nothing but good to me. He takes us from glory to glory and He meets me where I’m at when I am blind to it. I don’t have a super clear answer about what this summer and fall will look like for me, but I rest knowing He has a plan and He’s walking with me through this season of change.
But before I completely start to transition, I’ve been taking time to think about how blessed I am to have experienced this. Over the past nine months I have:
- made some of the best friends I’ve ever known
- travelled to six countries
- shared the gospel to people who have never heard it
- seen people be healed
- been healed
- trusted God like never before
- been fully funded a total of $15,800
- had strangers become family
- fully immersed in the cultures of four different countries
- become confident in a second language
- gained clarity about what I want to do in the future
- learned far more than I ever did in school
the list could go on. I owe some serious thanks.
First and foremost, thank you God for trusting me enough to put something as weighty and urgent as the gospel in my hands and telling me to share it. Thank you for never ever being a God of shame, but being a God who is abounding in grace and rich in mercy. Thank you for guiding me to scripture that has changed everything for me. Thank you for changing my heart when I don’t see things the way You want them to. Thank you for loving me even when I’m angry at You and don’t see what You’re doing. Thank you for the countless people you healed and for the people who said yes to You after hearing that You slid down Your life for us. Thank you for being with me in the waiting and always answering prayers. Thank you for provision, grace, love, finances, gentleness, Your presence, and every other good thing. Thank you God.
Thank you Gap V for being a squad of unity; one that fights for each other at all costs and doesn’t settle with good enough. Thank you for being people who uplift and edify. Thank you for being people who don’t dishonor another persons name. Thank you for joining me in prayer for really hard things and thank you for celebrating each answered prayer. Thank you for challenging me and calling me higher. Thank you for making holidays feel perfectly homey and joyful. Thank you for using your words, gifts, talents, and humor to honor people. Thank you for always treating people with dignity. Thank you for seeing people as who the Father says they are and not as what they’ve done. Thank you for being 30-something brothers and sisters to me.
Thank you to the strangers who first became friends, and later became family. Thank you for the hospitality that invited me in and the love the kept me there. Thank you for listening to me and for being a home and safe place for me when I was homesick. Thank you for endless grace when I have no idea how to function in a new culture and country and thank you for patience as you taught me. Thank you for taking care of me when I’m sick and knowing when I just need a back rub or when I need a doctor visit. Thank you for teaching me that there is no fear in love – oceans and continents have no reason to scare me with you guys. Thank you because you’ve proved it to be worth it to let down my guard and love the heck out of people because really amazing relationships come from fear-abandoned love. Thank you Mabe and Fabi. Thank you Julio. Thank you Beckham and Betsy. Thank you Auden and Wendy. Thank you Aderkee. Thank you Chris, Junior, and Pablo. Thank you AG Base Staff. Thank you Gette. Thank you Jonathan. Thank you to our favorite 11th grade class. Thank you Ronald and Cynthia. Thank you to the many other people who changed my life in some way.
And last but most definitely not least, thank you to my supporters – the ones who have supported me an any way, whether it be prayer, finances, words of encouragement, whatever it be. Thank you for believing in me. Thank you for donating a total of $15,800 for Jesus’ name sake. Thank you for reading my blogs. Thank you for reaching out to me and sharing verses, thoughts, and prayers. Thank you for investment. Thank you for rejoicing with me when I share testimonies and for being hungry for more. Thank you for sending me off with love. Thank you for all the hugs that await me as I come home. Words will never do justice to the amount of gratitude I have for each person who supported me in this journey. If you donated $1, if you donated $3,000, if you prayed for me, if you encouraged me, checked on me, celebrated my victories, thank you. I could not have done this without you – literally. None of this would be possible without your support; it’s one of the greatest gifts I’ve ever been given. I won’t ever take lightly the sacrifices it took to support me financially or the emotion and dedication behind joining me in prayer for the past nine months. Thank you for your support. Thank you a zillion times.
