When I first got accepted to the race I wrote a blog about not feeling qualified to come on this race. I felt like I didn’t know the bible well enough, I didn’t think my relationship with the Lord was strong enough, I truly felt very under-qualified to be coming on this journey and telling people all about God.
What I did know was that God called me to go to these countries and he called me to go to tell everyone about me. I knew that I was going to be the one to change while gone. I knew that this was going to be more about my relationship with Him, rather than what I was going to do for others. I wanted to impact the world and I knew that I would, but I knew He was going to impact me.
I am in my last month. I fly home in exactly 3 weeks from today! I can’t even begin to express everything I have learned on this journey. I now have a stronger relationship with the Lord than I ever thought possible for myself. I strive to read my bible daily, and dig deeper into His word. I hear His voice. He speaks to me and I no longer let my pride tell me that its my own voice.
Don’t get me wrong, I am still not where I want to be, and I still have a long way to go. I still cannot quote you the entire bible, or tell you all the prophets, or even tell you all the books in the bible, but I can tell you that I have seen God move the last 10 months of the race. I have painted schools, brought bible stories to life with plays and activities, helped build a church, taught english, worked in homeless shelter, volunteered at church camps, taught more english, helped prepare for life skills classes, evangelized on the streets and to young people, and worked in an orphanage. Some of these things were not what I expected when I singed up, some of these things did not exactly put joy in my heart or fill my cup but they created the space to grow and depend on God, things like evangelism put more in some of the most uncomfortable situations but were some of the most rewarding experiences I have had on the race, and lastly some of these things were exactly what I expected, wanted, and prayed for.
I have seen the Lord heal the sick, feed the hungry, change hearts of strangers, and give me personal strength in many situations. I have learned patience and grace, and how to meet others where they are and love them in the ways they need to be loved. God has given me words when my human brain has failed me of them, and he has given me the strength when my human flesh feels like it can’t go on anymore.
God has qualified me. He called me and He qualified me. The Holy Spirit in my is what got me though most of my race. I would not have been able to speak to strangers without the help of God. He is the one that gave me the people to talk to, and the Holy Spirit spoke though me on many occasions. Thanks to God, I have gone into so many nations and spoken his word, I have been apart of making disciples of all nations, just as the great commission tells us to do in Matthew 28:19.
God always qualifies the called.
Again, I will leave this blog with this one simple bible verse: God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called” 1 Corinthians 1:27-29. I have personally seen this come to fruition, thanks to Him.
