We were asked to write
a blog about how we were called to this mission trip. Here is my story…
About a month after the 9/11
attacks I found myself on a plane, alone, heading to California to stay with a family I only knew from the internet.
They had (and still have) a ministry called Streetside Hope, much like Bill
Wilson’s Metro Ministries, and had invited me to come out and help. That day
somewhere in a small city in California I was painting faces for hundreds of kids, many who
did not speak English. One little girl, Vanessa, immediately took to me shortly
after we arrived and wouldn’t leave my side. I was struck by how much some of
these kids had to deal with on a daily basis – broken families, drugs, abuse,
hunger, etc. – and how much they just needed to be loved. I fell in love.
I went off to college with
high hopes as a Christian Ministries
major. I was part of a couple of drama teams and
while it often put me in situations the shy and introverted me
struggled to
deal with, I really did love it. We ministered in children’s homes,
homeless
shelters, etc. and when we weren’t doing dramas or a service we just
loved the
people we were around. I remember well the kids who would hang onto
every bit
of attention we showed them and having them wrapped around us begging
us not to
leave. However, because of my insecurities I found myself pulling away
from
ministry. I didn’t feel like I was good enough or could offer the
people we
came in contact with what they needed. I fell back into what I was
comfortable
with, things that didn’t require lots of hard questions and uncertainty
but my heart to reach out to those in need wouldn’t leave me alone.
While I was applying for an internship at the
International House of Prayer in Atlanta, God spoke a simple question to me: If you never
leave the country am I enough for you? It was a tough few weeks, but I came to
a place where I could say yes.Sometime during that
internship I reconnected with Ashley Musick to see how life was treating her
after her big adventure. We talked for a while and to my surprise at some point
in the conversation she asked me when I was planning to do the World Race. “Yeah right, not for me.” Over the next few
months we talked some and every time somewhere in the conversation Ashley asked
me when was I going to finally apply. I told her she could just keep praying
about that because I didn’t see it happening – I guess she took me up on it.
A few months passed, I
returned to my job at the local church and saw a drastic increase in those
coming for food assistance. I was able to talk and pray with them and really see the
needs that are just in our own area. I started dreaming of different
places and waking up in the middle of the night burdened for different
countries or different situations around the world – that has always seemed to
happen but it was happening more and I was losing a good bit of sleep. Every
time I sat down to read and study the issue of justice would be like neon signs
flashing everywhere. My heart was being pulled towards the World Race but my
mind had a bullhorn and was declaring every reason why I could never, ever do
it.
for weeks, praying and trying to determine if I’d really heard God. I spoke
with several close friends and leaders expecting at least one to think maybe I
was missing it, but instead they were all supportive. I met up with Allison
Johnston for a late lunch one Friday afternoon and we talked about various
things for a couple of hours. She prayed at the end and in her prayer asked God
to make it clear to me if The World Race was His will even to the point of
giving me a billboard that either said “Stay” or “Go”. I secretly laughed
inside at that but didn’t really expect a billboard. However, a week and a half
later driving down I-85 toward Atlanta I glanced to my left and there it was – a billboard
with the word “Go” in huge letters and a different color from the rest of the
wording. I must admit I almost ran off the road. While normally a billboard
that said “Go” wouldn’t make me look twice, that seemed a little more than
coincidence so I conceded that just maybe God was actually saying something. So
here I am.
