A month ago I packed my bags in the wee hours of the morning, 1am, 2am (I dislike packing and heavily procrastinate), left the house at 7am and headed to O’Hare airport to fly out on a new adventure of following Christ. I wasn’t quite sure what I was getting myself into, having been asked merely 2 weeks prior to help lead a group of 43 young adults around the world, helping them minister to the poorest of the poor, the destitute and downtrodden, and maybe most importantly, to each other, because the 9 months they have together around the world could very well be some of the most influential and pivotal in their lives.
In two weeks my bags were packed, my affairs in order, and I was off to meet my squad in Costa Rica, albeit 2 weeks late (yes, I got asked to lead them the day before they left). Anyways, in the O’Hare airport before heading out I wrote these words and today I was rereading them and felt like someone needed to read these words (besides myself)… so without further adieu…
“It’s strange leaving again… only this time with no fanfare. No training camp, no launch, no amazing worship, no squad bonding, no training, just hop on a plane and go. I’m not afraid but I’m definitely nervous (though the mere 2 hrs of sleep last night doesn’t help at all). It just doesn’t feel like I’m leaving, like I’m gearing up for 8 months on the road, like I’m going to be discipling these young adults for the next 8 months. Nothing feels real, nothing is real. Am I ready? Absolutely not… and yet… definitely! I might not have the preparation, the training, the relationships, the send-off, but what I do have is a lifetime of service and devotion to the Lord that is getting tested and proven, a lifetime of being molded in His image and made more and more like Him, and it is in that where my strength and confidence resides and in the complete belief in me of all those I leave at home. In a situation like this I will never be ready by normal standards or worldly standards, but I am always ready by the power of the Spirit in me and His guidance and walking beside me. It’s go time! I’m tired, I’m exhausted really from no sleep last night, but there is no turning back. This is what God has for me. I was created for this, to be here in this moment and I have been discipled and counseled in order to be shaped into the man that is walking into this situation with boldness, confidence, love, joy, peace, and wisdom, and it is time for Satan to sit back down and take a backseat to all that God has planned for me and for Gap H. Take no prisoners, either you are for us or you are against us, and if you vehemently oppose us you will not stand because only that which is of Christ will stand and go forth. Stand firm, fight the good fight, run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint, we go forth in the power of the Spirit and the everlasting, untamed, amazing love of God. Let’s get em!
