After almost 2 months of praying and seeking God’s next season for me, I finally have an answer!! I have been accepted to be a Passport leader for a fall missions team! It’s random, unexpected, but definitely God’s plan for me right now!
Passport is part of the same organization as the World Race with Adventures in Missions (AIM). The World Race was an eleven-month trip for ages 21-35, and Passport is a three-month trip for ages 18-22. This fall, there are five Passport teams going to five different countries. Two leaders lead each team and they stay in the same country with the same ministry for the entire three months. On this trip, Passporters will secure their identity in Christ, get equipped, and grow empowered to advance God’s kingdom. In addition to sharing and living out the gospel in community, they may be presented with the opportunity to seek justice on behalf of orphans, the poor, and the trafficked.
This process is happening fast too! I will be moving from Tennessee back to Georgia in the next week. I will begin my first day of leader training at the AIM headquarters on Aug 22, the Passporters come four days later for their training camp, and we fly out Aug 30! I’ll be back in the U.S. a couple of days before Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, I do not know my co-leader or country yet, but no worries! I know that God will place me exactly where He needs me with the exact people He wants me with.
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So yea, that’s all the logistics info about the trip—now here’s my heart behind it:
To be honest, I was stubborn about this at first. I went back and forth on it for almost a week. I was ready for something else. Ready to settle down permanently somewhere. Ready to get a paying job! I’ve been frustrated, but hopeful in this whole process. I’ve been slowly opening my hands to what God wanted to do in my life and not holding on to my own plans and wants. (Because, His plans are always better anyways!) In the mean time, my time with God was stronger in the waiting. It was deeper. Passions began to arise in my heart for discipleship and speaking God’s freedom and truths to people around me.
I’ve been looking and applying for jobs like crazy since I got back from Africa in June. I’ve mostly been drawn to apply for leadership type jobs. But I would cower every time. I’ve listened to lies from my past. I have held the failure that was spoken over me and allowed it to sink into my heart until I didn’t have the confidence to think I was good at anything. I know it’s not true, but my head and my heart were at different places!
This is the time. This is the time to step into that fear and insecurity, take my Father’s hand, and go where He’s leading me. The leadership skills I will learn at training will be forever life skills. God’s whisper of wisdom is literally all I have to hold on to. This experience will challenge me. And I know I will become stronger from it.
Please join me in this next season as I prepare to leave in a month. Please pray for me that I’d stay focused on the Lord and following Him in what He wants to teach me in these next few months. Please join me in praying for my team and co-leader that I haven’t even met yet! And please pray for me financially. I need to raise $1800 to go on this trip and have no idea how God will provide, but I know He will!
If you feel led to give, there are two ways:
For tax deduction:
https://www.adventures.org/give/donate.asp?giveto=worldrace&desc=For%20Stephanie%20Bittick
(You can keep the program choice as a World Racer—> It will still go into my personal account!)
For a check straight to me:
Send to my home address in GA. Email me at: [email protected] if you need the address!
Thank you so much! Can’t wait to share more details and stories with you in the coming months! =)
