What the Lord has been doing in my life recently has truly left me speechless . . . completely and utterly speechless. It’s hard to believe that this is even my life. A year ago, I would have laughed if you had told me what the next 12 months of my life were going to look like. God has brought me through some crazy stuff, and the last two months have been no exception.
So let’s see, first we have training camp . . .
Wow. Training camp. Where do I even begin? I think the best way to put it is, it was the best 10 days of my life and the worst 10 days of my life. We had fun, we laughed, we worshiped, we cried, we hugged, we slept in the dirt, we ate like animals, we took bucket baths and used porta potties, we worked out, we carried our packs, we became experts at packing and setting up our tents . . . and then, God destroyed our world. Honestly, I’m not sure what part of that was the good and what part of that was the bad, it was an exhausting week, but it was also life changing. Embracing the mess of life is totally worth it when our Savior is involved. The people, the culture being developed, the realness of the God who created the universe in our lives . . . you just can’t explain it.
So let me introduce you to some of these unexplainable, beautiful faces.
First we have two of our squad leaders, Casey and Maggie! These amazing women of God will be leading us through this nine month journey. They will be serving with us on the field, and guiding us as we live out God’s plan for our lives. The time they have already invested in my life is incredible, and I can not wait to see how our Papa continues to use them to draw me closer to Himself.
Next, is my team!!! These five women are INCREDIBLE. Let me tell you, God knew what He was doing when He put this team together. These women will be by my side day in and day out serving the Lord, and maybe adventuring a little too. These girls know what’s up, and I am beyond thrilled to embark on this journey with them.
Left to right we have: Lauren, Nina, Emily, Abby, Me:), and Kate!
Then, we have my amazing squad! This is our oversized family of 51. 51 personalities, 51 stories, 51 beautiful smiles. These women of God have already taught me so much about family and loving each other despite our flaws, and I can not contain the excitement I have for the next 9 months with them.
So, that is just a very, very small taste of training camp. It left me speechless, yet if I was able to put words to everything God did, I could write a book.
The second thing that has left me completely speechless, has been fundraising.
I have officially reached my next goal of $10,000!!! God is so crazy awesome. I have been in awe of how He has provided. From running a concession stand, to literally counting pennies, every bit of this second goal has been fulfilled through you! People simply emptying their pockets and sacrificing what they have. So first, I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has played a part in that. Thank you for being obedient to your Father.
Three quick stories:
1. Football Concessions
My church allows our local school district to use our property for youth football every fall. This year my pastor approached me and said that if I was willing to organize the concessions, that the church would donate all of the proceeds to my trip. This was such a blessing, and not only did it help financially, but it allowed me to share with hundreds of people, who might not otherwise ever be at a church, about my trip and what God has in store for my next year. So all you Urbancresters, these are the kinds of things your church chooses to do with its money, and I can not say thank you enough!
2. Veggies for Jesus
Several of the older men in our church found out about my trip, and they decided to sell vegetables. They went out to their gardens and sold their tomatoes and green beans on the side of the road. They would find me around church and hand me twenty dollar bills for the crops they had sold that week. Guys are you hearing this? I’m going to say it again, God is crazy awesome! They had no obligation to do that for me. Some of them, I had never even met. This is how God’s church is supposed to take care of each other. So those of you who sold vegetables so that I could go show God’s love to people around the world, thank you from the bottom of my heart. You have no idea how much that truly touched me, and what an encouragement it was to see that you cared enough to do so.
3. Adopt a Country
A couple of months ago I started handing out mason jars, each labeled with one of the countries I am going to. I asked people to fill them with their pocket change until September, and then to return the jar to me. I expected to maybe hand out five jars. But, remember, God is crazy awesome, and about 70 jars later I am $1,700 (and still counting) closer to being fully funded. Not only did this get hundreds of people at my church involved, but when you walk into a bank with over a thousand dollars in rolled change, one, every teller looks at you like you’re literally insane, but they also want to know what in the world you could be doing with that much money.
In case you were doubting the goodness of our Papa, let me tell you, He takes really good care of us.
Alright, one more thing, for now, that has left me speechless.
While we were at training camp, we received the news that now, rather than our trip being three countries in nine months, it will be FOUR countries in nine months! Which means on October 5th, I will be flying to Cambodia and spending a month there before I head to Thailand. Guys how cool is that? One more stamp in my passport, one more new culture, one more group of people who need to hear how crazy awesome my Papa is!
I know that’s quite a few words for a life that has left me speechless, but trust me, it’s taken me awhile to even get that many out. I can’t believe that this is the life God has chosen for me, and that He would choose me to be a part of this life. He’s pretty cool, that Papa of ours.
