A few weeks ago our squad leaders and coordinators let us know one new piece of information about our route that we had been eagerly waiting for: the day we leave.
I am very very excited to share with you that in just one short month from today, on January 8th, I will be leaving the country with my squad to travel 11 countries throughout 11 months sharing the love of Jesus with everyone we come into contact with!
There’s one thing I want to say though before I go anywhere else with this post. What I want to tell you is that I am very sad to be leaving. Let me say that again. I am VERY sad to be leaving.
This past weekend I had to say some of the hardest goodbyes I have ever had to say as I graduated college and packed up my dorm for the last time. And yes, I know that I will **hopefully** see most of my friends again when I get back from the Race as they are all friends that I am going to keep for the rest of my life, Lord willing, but I absolutely hated leaving. It wasn’t just that I left my friends though, it was that I left the first place I have actually felt at home.
There’s a lot that I can say as a “missionary kid” about what “home” means to me. I can tell you that answering the question “where’s home?” brings up more emotions than it usually should. And truth be told, the idea that home isn’t necessarily a place is more true to me and my siblings than it might be for some of you. This is why it was extremely hard for me to say goodbye this past weekend, because for the past four years when people have asked me where home is, I say Lynchburg, VA.
Community is extremely important, and community is like family. The past four years I have built up a close community of people that I trust, people that I love, and people that I would do anything for. They are family to me. And I am so so thankful that the Lord has brought them into my life exactly when he did.
Liberty University is not my home though. Neither is Peru. Neither is wherever my family lives right now. It is nice and important, and I would even say almost necessary, to have places like this to go back to. BUT, all of these places are not my true home.
How does that work though if I just said that the first place I really felt at home was at Liberty? You ready for the answer? Here it is:
The reason I say that the first place I actually felt at home was at LU, but that LU isn’t my home is because that was the place I first really opened myself up to the Love of Jesus. There was where I experienced true vulnerability and started learning about fully trusting my whole life to the Lord. To put it simply, in is presence I found peace. In his presence I found comfort. In his presence I found true love. And in his presence, I found my home.
My “home” is where He is. Where He is is where I want to be. And I am going to be carrying this truth with me for next year, and for the rest of my life.
And through letting go of these things I have found joy that is so so steadfast. That doesn’t mean that I can’t be sad about leaving, because I am and I will also be sad the day I say goodbye to my family for a year. BUT joy is not found in my circumstances, it is in my relationship with Christ and he is what is pushing me into this next year.
I wanted to end this off with a scripture that has stuck with me for a while and is my vision for this next year on the race. The verse is Acts 20:24. It reads:
“But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”
For this next year, I pray that as my team and I travel to these 11 countries we will be completely open to the Lord’s radical love and grace no matter what. And that we push away all the comforts of what we want and solely focus on sharing his love with the people we meet because I truly believe that is the most important thing we could ever do. It is going to be hard, and it is going to challenge us in ways that we never imagined, but it is worth it.
I would greatly appreciate it if you joined me in praying for this as well, along with all of the goodbyes that are currently being said for myself and my squad mates as that is extremely difficult. And also continued prayers for fundraising. If you want more info about any of that, or where we’re going, or just need to talk, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me!
Much Love,
Michael
