So I realize this is a pretty big first post, but I just wanted to share with you guys some of what God has done to call me and fire me up to leave on this crazy adventure in July!
The story of why I'm going to 11 countries in 11 months starts years ago with a desire deep inside of me, a desire that's tough to describe fully. It was a feeling of restlessness, of adventure, of wanting to do something that mattered, of wanting to make a difference. In my highschool years I decided the best career to satisfy that desire would be in the US Army Rangers. I figured getting paid to travel, jump out of planes, and shoot a lot of ammo would be a pretty sweet gig.
My decision to go military led to my decision to crank out a bachelor's degree in two years so I could get in as an officer. It wasn't until I graduated that God redirected and took away all desire to pursue a career in the military. Looking back I'm extremely thankful for God's hand keeping me in Arkansas. Here he's given me an amazing church home at New Life, life-changing ministry opportunities, and some of the best friends of all time.
I've been incredibly blessed during the 4 years since I graduated. But the desire for adventure, to do something different that makes a difference, never went away. I remember telling a couple friends that if I won the lottery, I would just store all my stuff and backpack around the world looking for ways to bless people. So when I heard last fall about a trip called The World Race that did just that for 11 months, I had two immediate responses.
My first thought was "Wow that's amazing…this is exactly what I've always wished I could do!"
And the second was "Man, I wish I had $15,500 so I could go…but there's no way I can get that much by July, so oh well"
I had a lot of things going on through November and December, so I pretty much forgot about The World Race. I started focusing on finding a job in firefighting, something else I've wanted to do for awhile. Long story short, I found what looked like the perfect opportunity, only to have the door slammed in my face out of nowhere.
It turned out this was the best thing that could have happened to me, because it forced me to take a step back and get real with God about where he was leading me in 2012. Coincidentally this was right before my church family started our annual 21 days of fasting and prayer, so for me it was a perfect time to give up some of my favorite distractions for three weeks and spend more time hearing from God.
Immediately the almost forgotten World Race popped back into my head. And immediately all the reasons it wouldn't work came back with it. Putting my career plans on hold, storing everything for a year, figuring out what to do when I came back, all seemed daunting…but the biggest issue by far was the price tag. I felt like if I had $15,500 in my hands, I could figure out all the logistical issues of being gone all most a year.
That's when God spoke to me. It wasn't a dramatic vision or even a still, small, voice. It was just a simple thought, a question really:
"So Micah, you're basically saying you would love to go represent Me to 11 different countries if you didn't have to rely on Me to get you there?"
Then I realized the only thing better than winning the lottery would be seeing the Creator of the universe provide for me "infinitely more than I could ask or even think."
So I decided to let go of all my fears and give God room to show up big in my life. And that's where I am now, doing everything I can to prepare but knowing that ultimately everything I need has to come from God. My worries and doubts are gone, because I am CONFIDENT that my God will supply all my needs from the amazing riches that has been given to us in Christ Jesus!
eleven countries. eleven months. one GOD
-Micah
