(Part 2 of a 2 part story)
(Disclaimer: I realize I have told parts of this story before, but this whole story is to show the beauty and majesty of God’s grace and patience in the midst of calling his stubborn son to something bigger than himself. This story isn’t about me, but it’s about the one who calls even in the midst of sin and stubbornness of his children. And let’s be honest, we are prone to forgetting and this is a story that I don’t want forgotten because it glorifies God in spite of me)
God had slipped the World Race back into my mind minutes after being devastated. This got me thinking, what if I take time off from grad school and go on the WR. It’s not conventional, but it’s an option. So, now it’s March 2014. I start looking at WR routes and find a pretty sweet route leaving in Sept 2014. Naturally, I start talking to friends and family about the possibility of the WR or the possibility of the open youth pastor position at my home church (it still wasn’t technically open, but my church was starting preliminary interviews for candidates because the youth pastor was leaving in early June). Naturally, EVERY friend I talked to who had an opinion said I should do the WR. But, the good German in me was stubborn and holding out for options, namely waiting for an interview at my home church. Slowly the weeks pass by, March, April, May… at this point I have no plans, no options other than my home church or the WR. Towards the end of school in early May I start my application for the WR. Little did I know how lengthy it was. The application and online interview took me a couple weeks, but they were submitted mid-May. Around the same time I had an interview set up at my home church for June 5.
So, Friday, May 30, I miss a phone call from the WR and hurriedly call them back… it’s after office hours… BUT… my admissions person for the WR had the call forwarded to his cell phone as he was driving home from the office and informed me that… I had been ACCEPTED for the WR for Sept 2014. I was so stoked! I now had at least one option for next year… but what about my home church? What if I get accepted for that position? How would I choose? What would I do? I told my admissions contact from the WR my “predicament” and he said they need to know in about 2 weeks whether I am going or not. I told him I would have an answer by the end of 2 weeks.
So, I interview at my home church that next Thursday. I inform them that I had been accepted for the WR and was considering it. The interview still went really well, but I’m not really feeling called to my home church… but what if they extend an offer for the position? Could I turn down my home church? I was kinda going crazy on the inside. BUT, first things first, the youth group I volunteered with during my time at ONU was going on a trip to Tennessee for 4 days, June 9-12, just a few days after my interview with my home church.
The first night in Tennessee the youth pastor gives a teaching and then gives the youth 15 minutes or so to have some quiet time, process the teaching, spend time in the Word, talk to God, etc. I go out of the house and start walking the road, in almost pitch darkness, in the middle of the Smokey Mountains. And I just start pacing this stretch of road cause well, it’s dark, not super safe, and I like to pace. I am just letting thoughts and fears run through my mind about the WR and my interview, just crying out for God to give me an answer and for the first time in my life I realize that God actually is talking to me; it was just in a way I didn’t expect. You see, I love to talk to myself and am prone to carry on conversations with myself. And this night I was talking to myself like usual, but it wasn’t like usual, because I realized that sometimes when I’m talking to myself I’m actually talking to God and He is answering me in my self-conversation. On this night, June 9, in TN, as I argued and discussed back and forth with myself God told me to wait, stop thinking about the WR and the interview. Let me handle your future plans. Focus on the ministry you have with these youth, potentially the last time you will see them in awhile, possibly forever. You will have your answer by Thursday when you return from Tennessee, just don’t think about it. I knew I would think about it, but I promised not to dwell on it, not to worry about it.
So, the next day rolls around and the youth are hanging out in Gainesville. It’s after lunch and I’m with a couple of the guys at an arcade… and quite frankly I’m feeling a little sick. The arcade makes me sick because I realize it’s gambling for children. You spend tons of money and for what? A few tickets and a plastic whistle. I am sick to my stomach, especially thinking back to all the people I ministered to in Zambia on a previous mission trip, all the people around the world, who could actually use this money to survive, and here we are in America squandering it. I couldn’t stand it, but I was there because the guys were having fun playing the games and I was there to hang out with them, that was my ministry in the moment. Somehow, I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket, I look, and it is someone from my church’s hiring committee. I rush outside to get away from the obnoxious noises of the arcade and pick up. Essentially the conversation boiled down to this… We appreciated you giving your time. You are extremely qualified for the position and had a strong interview. But we feel you are just not fully passionate for the position so we are NOT offering you the position. The biggest smile crossed my face because I KNEW, I finally KNEW, 100% without a doubt, that the WORLD RACE was where I was supposed to be. I had run from the call, I had doubted the call, for a couple months now, my stubbornness leading the way and my doubts coming in 2nd place, keeping me from my call until God finally shut every other door and said, “hey moron, is this a loud enough answer? Do you trust me now? Can we go ahead and do this thing I’ve called you to for months?” Okay, it wasn’t quite like that, but I like to think God was shaking His head in the most lovingly and fatherly way at His stubborn son who finally was filled with the joy God knew was awaiting me on the WR.
Little did I know the chaos that was to ensue. There is so much to get ready and prepare for the WR, and for training camp, and I was on vacation for 9 days after I committed to the WR. Fundraising, blogging, getting hiking pack, tent, etc., all that stuff didn’t really start until after vacation, which was June 23 and it has been chaotic blessings, one after the other since then.
So, in closing, thank you all for reading through this story. Thank you all for your support. Thank you all for partnering with me. I couldn’t do it without you. I pray that God may richly bless you and reward you for being diligent in praying for me and the team and supporting me on this endeavor. I wholeheartedly believe God has called me to this WR route, at this specific time, and He has something big in store. I don’t know what, but I am nervous and excited for this next year that I get to share with you all. God bless!
