Let me give you some statistics…
Starting September 9, 2014 and as of December 22, 2016…
835 days
517 days overseas in the missions field (counting 2 layovers in US airports)
31 countries (not counting the US)
Well over 85,000 miles traveled long distance (not counting taxis in cities, short bus rides, etc.)
Probably around 1000 hours traveled long distance (again, not counting the 100s, probably 1000s, of hours spent on taxis, public buses, getting to/from ministry, hiking to ministry, etc)
107 people traveled with
1000s of people met
Dozens of worship sessions led
Handful of sermons preached… a half-dozen more written but never delivered
Around 100 different beds/floors/sleeping pads/sleeping bags slept on (including a hospital floor)
Over 80 cities/villages visited
Miracles seen and heard
The Gospel shared and lives saved and transformed
Read through the Bible in 55 days… working on doing it the next 6 months… probably read the equivalent of the Bible 1-1.5 more times (just bounced around though)
Ferris Wheels ridden
Rivers jumped into and swam in
Mountains hiked to the summits
Games played
Friendships and brotherhoods made
Tears shared
Holidays and birthdays celebrated
Dozens of pastries given to the poor
Tons of gelato and ice cream consumed
My dad even visited me for a week
And I could share a story from nearly every country I spent time in (not just traveled through) about God’s goodness and how people came to know the Lord in an intimate way…
1. Guatemala – I learned about the Lord making all things new, but I also got to see kids at the hospital transformed by our efforts in a simple kids program during a day celebrating the kids
2. Nicaragua – I met so many amazing people doing the Lord’s work, one story simply isn’t enough… lets start with this amazing couple who was doing amazing work with men, mentoring and discipling men who have fallen in life (drugs, alcohol, abuse, etc.) and worked through the hardship and pain to see them transformed in less than a year, BUT, when I met them, they had recently moved to Nicaragua after doing this work for 10+ years successfully in another nation before God called them to Nica and they went by faith. Or how about the couple who opened their own ice cream shop in order to be in the community and provide funding for a foster home (maybe more than just 1 foster home eventually??). Or how about a ministry started and run by Nicaraguans (I don’t think there’s much foreigner influence) successfully for about 20 years that provides jobs and support for adults with disabilities and a school for children with disabilities. They have everything from pinatas to painting old CDs to making yogurt and cheese to running a cafe to repairing wheelchairs and crutches, and all, or almost all, of the work is done by people with mental and physical disabilities, people who society looks down upon and often can’t, or won’t, provide for, which frequently leads to overburden families or simply neglected people who die as children or certainly much sooner than most people
3. India – I met a man while we were visiting his relative who was completely overcome with depression. His face had zero joy, he was practically lifeless. And the Spirit spoke words of love and life through me to him to where his face was beaming with joy that only comes from the Spirit when he left and he still had that same joy when I randomly saw him on the street nearly 3 weeks later. Miracles!
I could go on and on with stories of God’s goodness while I’ve been overseas, but the point of the statistics and stories is this…
God had a calling for me. I haven’t been certain of it all the time, in that I haven’t known the future nor been able to foresee it until it’s practically on top of me. But each step of the way, what I have done is trust and follow the call. Sometimes the call takes time. My call to Squad Lead (which is what I’m doing now) came nearly 2 years ago and included a failed attempt and other “hiccups” along the way. Following the call definitely takes patience. It takes pursuit. Oftentimes some “failure” along the way, usually because we try to make it happen in OUR time and it doesn’t, but it will happen in God’s time and it will ALWAYS be good!
And let’s not forget the time at home…
In 318 days at home…
Weeks of missions training and debrief
Dozens of hours volunteered at a soup kitchen
10 days volunteering at World Race Training Camp
Volunteer high school cross country coach
Dozens of worship sessions led (for youth group and church)
2 youth retreats worked (led worship at)
Spoken at multiple churches
Fundraising (letters, pictures, sharing pictures/stories after trips)
Visiting friends to share the joy of Christ and my stories from the nations
Substitute teaching for 4-5 months
Managed to sneak in meeting a girl, pursuing her, and starting to date (though a lot of that was also done while overseas)
This is not to boast in that I’ve done a lot, but this is to boast in Christ who has given me the opportunity and calling to do all of this and so much more because I have simply said “yes” and “stepped out of the boat” (think Peter) in faith. And this is also a thank you to everyone who has supported me through prayer, finances, encouragement, being Christ to me, making hard days better, and on and on. I could not do this without you and I definitely could not do this without the surpassing greatness of love and grace extended to me by the Father.
Love y’all
