I
got an incredible letter of encouragement today from Amy Morris, who is
currently on the World Race. Here is what Amy wrote; “I’m so excited
for you and your husband to get to go next year on the World Race! It
is an AWESOME blessing to be a part of! I would recommend it to anyone
who is adventurous, ready to have their world rocked, tired of living
mediocre/status-quo and wanting a taste of radical, wanting to really
KNOW Jesus more, willing to give up comforts and “rights” to live in
community and lay everything down, to get to meet the body of Christ
and to share of the blessings you’ve been given with others all around
the world!!! It’s INCREDIBLE and totally worth every trial and every
thing you are leaving behind!”
After reading this, I am even more excited about being a part of the
2008 World Race! Just thinking about it fills me with so much joy and
anticipation. And, to top it all off I just found out that my most
amazing brother, Johnny Pratt, and his wife Marissa will be joining our
team as well. I love my brother so much and am really looking forward
to doing this together. My brother is good at everything he does and one of the most giving and humble people I know. I am excited to get to know Marissa better as well. And, of course sharing this experience with Joshua!
Josh and I are leaving for Mexico on Wednesday to work with Shalom
Church, one of our partner churches, in Merida. We will be serving a
local special needs school and hosting a special olympics. I can’t
wait to meet all of the people and experience the culture of a place I
have never been. Plus, Josh is a special ed teacher and he will be so great with the children. This trip will be Josh and I’s second mission trip together as we went
to Kenya in April with 410 Bridge. Our trip to Kenya and what conspired after is what led us to the World Race and I can’t contain my joy and excitement about this opportunity. To understand the extent of my joy you must know where I have come from to get here.
In 2002, I went to Tanzania
with the Jesus Film project and ever since have longed to go back to Africa. I
started going through missions training and was in the process of
preparing to go to Mauritania with an organization called Servant Partners. I took Perspectives courses and spent countless hours on my knees weeping on behalf of the nations! I longed to share the love of Christ with those who did not know him, especially in Africa and amongst the poor. Needless to say the timing of going to Mauritania was not right and so I
waited.
I got married and I waited some more. I knew that God had put
this passion in my heart for the nations since I was a Junior in college and I did not understand the waiting. At one
point I realized that I was not trusting my
husband and ultimately not trusting God. I got on my knees and asked
my husband and God for forgiveness and decided from then on I would
wait patiently on God’s timing to go to the nations. And, give my dream, passions and desires over to God and await on him if he was to give those dreams, passions and desires back to me.
Then, something changed and over the course of the next year Josh and I adopted 2 compassion children, went to a meeting about Africa at Northpoint led by Lanny Donaho and soon after went to Kenya with 410 Bridge. Not long after we arrived at the Christ Compassion Rehabilitation Center in Joska, Josh began
to fall in love with the people and I knew he was changed
forever. He came home and could not get those amazing people out of his mind. So, we began seeking God on
what was next and decided that we would go to Mexico in July as well as
lead a trip back to Kenya in September. Then the bigger step, go on the
World Race in 2008.
So, I have now come full circle! God has granted me the desires of my heart and fulfilling a dream that will be 7 years in the making. And, I know the waiting has been vital to my spiritual growth. I love analogies and believe that in the hard times we can compare ourselves to a tree that is deprived of water. As the tree is not being provided with the water it needs for survivial it’s roots grow deeper into the soil. The tree is therefore strengthened and more deeply rooted in the ground. Just as in the dry times in our lives we need to be fulfilled and sustained by growing deeper in relationship with the Lord. I believe these times of perseverance and hardship are there to make us stronger and prepare us for what lies ahead.
