I’m at a luxurious gym drinking a freshly made Peanut Butter Bomb using internet with my good friend Rye. Yes, I’m on a mission trip. Yes, God is the giver of all good things.
The last time I wrote to you [friends, family, future world racers, Seth Barnes, etc] I was in the chilly mountains of Lesotho, Africa [ its pronounced lesutu ] and oh boy, what a change of scenery. After my exquisite month in this country most don’t know exist, I’m here again in the beautiful suburbs of Cape Town. Lots have been going on, but I’ll spare you the boring details.
Remember the scene in Harry Potter 1 where Ron, Hermione, and Harry put on the Sorting Hat to decide which house they’ll be placed in. Well I feel like I can take the Hat off and I also feel like I just got put into Gryffindor. The Lord has revealed his plan and calling for my life, drumroll….. Someday & somehow I will lead and pastor a church.
The Lord has been teaching me lots of new things, one being not to focus on the past so much, but the future. No I’m not talking about when you or I were 17 and made some bad mistakes that kind of left you feeling scarred. Hey forget those too, but what God has been showing me is yes Cambodia was great and my quiet time there was incredible, but I’m in Cape Town now and things are different. God has continually been bringing me back to those moments where He has taught me great things, but also telling me to apply those to the now and apply them to my future. Conveniently enough He has simultaneously revealed my calling and purpose in this life, to Live, Love, and Lead. That’s the title of the book I’ve been reading by Brian Houston, you should give it a read. Trust me. The best way you can live your life is by waking up and asking God, “What do you want to do in me and through me today ?” This isn’t always the first thought in my mind after waking up on a jerry-rigged mattress, but the times it does run through my head are the days that are well spent, to say the least.
Do you remember when I first blogged, telling my story, my pains, oh and the big $$ that I needed to get where God was calling me. Take a second, with me. Take a second to just look at what God has done, is doing, and will do. One last story for you.
My youth mentor paid my way to a massive conference all about our Lord and savior in 2014. Along with the freedom I’d have roaming the streets of the big ATL he kind of paid my way, so I went. Passion 2014 was amazing, it was the biggest “camp high” I’d ever had, but sadly enough I went back to my old ways for the following year. Soon came rock bottom along with the truth that I needed to change my life. Well, Passion 2015 was just as great except it’s where I gave my life to following Christ whole-heartedly for the first time. Ever. 2 years, 2 passions. Passion 2016 in ATL, Georgia was about a month ago in January, I missed it. I’ll tell you why. 2 plus years ago at that first passion a speaker named John Piper said his bold prayer for the weekend was that 1,000 of the 20,000 young students in that arena would become long-term missionaries. Fast forward one year, I began to follow Christ. Fast forward 2 years, I miss this life-changing event because my life was indeed changed. I missed it because there was a bold man who prayed bold prayers. I missed it because of a God who has plans to PROSPER you and I. Oh, and for the first time ever Passion brought their conference to Cape Town, South Africa for one night. Conveniently enough, I was a long term missionary for the time being in that very spot. Let me leave you with this truth. In a crowd of 30,000 God was thinking of me that night when He brought Passion all the way to Africa, for me. He is a God of Individuals. We must have faith that speaks louder than our needs. We must have faith to reach out and touch his robe…
