Many of you know that birthdays haven’t been my favorite time of the year but I will admit this year is different! The reason why I haven’t liked them is cause I don’t agree with the fact that I’m getting older haha. Silly reason ey…. but now I understand that I can choose to either throw a fit for no reason [cause I’m not getting younger] or celebrate an amazing year Gods given me!??
WELL THIS YEAR I’M CELEBRATING!! TODAY!!
See this year isn’t the same as my previous ones. Since January I’ve been on this mission of sharing the gospel to so many people from nations all around the world. I’ve met and learned from so many people this year and I still have a month left! It’s seriously been the best year of my life and I want to celebrate every memory. I also have an incredible community back home in Atlanta that is constantly praying and being available for me. It’s probably you reading this so THANK YOU for being a part of my life and walking alongside me during this year. I know it’s hard cause I’m miles away but many of you still manage to show me your love. It blows my heart away! I miss every single one of you and I can’t wait to hug you in late November!!!
As the race comes to an end our squad has begun to prepare and debrief our reentry. We’ve spent time asking the Lord to show us what He has or wants us to do when we get back home. During one of our sessions, I was praying and the Lord told me to keep traveling. I also wrote down the countries I felt He wanted me to go to:
Canada
Mexico
Brazil
Chile
Argentina
My plan was to update my resume and start applying for jobs that would allow me to travel. That way I could save money again, right? I had it all planned out in my head. Take December to debrief and spend it with my family. Then I would start work in January or February. See the funny thing is those were my plans and although I did ask the Lord for guidance He still had a different plan!
A week after that session I got a call from our mentor. She told me that she needed to ask me something very random. At this point, I had no idea what she was going to ask me. She told me the coaches couldn’t shake my name and they’ve prayed about it and felt peace. I was SOOOO confused. Then she asked if I could consider squad leading next year’s squad….. ME??!! I was still VERY confused. She told me I could pray about it before deciding. If we’re being honest I had no desire of squad leading so why pick me right? One of my biggest fears is missing out on what God has for me so I asked my team to pray for me. I also invited my mom, dad, mentor, and uncle to pray with me during this decision. My prayer, “God if this is what you have for me next year make it clear!”
It’s important to note that Chile and Argentina are both on next year’s route. They were also two of the countries I had written down in my journal. CRAZY HUH. God was dropping hints before I had that call. I knew this was what God wanted for me but I wanted to be a bit stubborn. This year has been difficult for my parents having me away and I thought my mom was going to say “No Ronny come home!”. Instead, she said, “We feel peace and the Lord wants you to go so say yes.” I knew that was God confirming again. My uncle texted me and also said that the Lord told him that I needed to say yes. I wanted God to change my heart from confusion to excitement and He did. The more I prayed the more I felt God wrapping His hands around me saying, “WE GOT THIS”.
So I called my mentor and told her YES. What does that mean? It means YES to 5 more months of this race that I get to share the love of Jesus. YES to praying and helping prepare the next squad. YES to all the questions that I once had that I’ll be able to answer now. YES to doing life and ministry with an entirely new group of people. YES to growing. YES to learning. YES to discipleship. YES to getting out of my comfort zone even more. YES to the sacrifices and tears. YES to the joy and laughter. YES to missing my family even more. YES to the hardest part of this journey: FUNDRAISING and YES to so much MORE!!!
So for my birthday, I’d like to invite you to say YES to walking alongside me for 6 more months!!! That would be the best present ever! You can do that in the following ways:
1. Praying for me
2. Donating any amount at the top of this blog
3. Sharing my blog with others
I will return home in late November and relaunch on January 6th with an entirely new group of people that are on FIRE for Jesus and the mission work. I have 3 months to fundraise $8,000 and I’m fully trusting that God will provide. I can’t do this without your support so THANK YOU SOO MUCH!!!
Don’t forget to drop some love…
