This whole journey has been completely about relying on the Lord, listening to His voice and being obedient to His calling. Everything happened so quickly and chaotically, but this is all in the plan that God has for me. The Lord placed this calling on my heart, and I applied to Adventures in Missions one day before the application deadline was due. The next day I was interviewed, got accepted 24 hours later and finished raising my support the day before I left for my trip.
Since everything happened so quickly, I don’t think I was able to fully process what I actually was doing. The first night we got to Atlanta, we met up with our group and had to find our way to a homeless shelter in the city, where to my surprise we would be spending the night. As I lugged my new, but broken suitcase through the freezing streets of Atlanta I started questioning why was I there and what I was doing.
When we got to training camp my doubts were weighing on me. I was starting to get really scared and was reasoning with myself why I decided to leave the comforts of home, family, friends, familiarity and school. That night I had an incredible encounter with the Holy Spirit and He whispered to me the verse I continually strive to live by, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it” (Matthew 16:24-25). As I cried out to Him, the Lord totally took away any fear, doubt or anxiety I may have had and turned it into complete joy and peace.
Being at training camp has really drawn out in me why I am here and what this is all about. The Lord knew exactly what He was doing by putting me where I am and my trust completely rests in Him. I am so excited to completely surrender my life to Christ and live out the purpose He has for me for His glory. My team has already formed a strong community and I am so thrilled to share in discipleship with them on our journey in Kenya and Uganda. I can’t wait to see and experience the transformation in Africa in the lives of the people there, my group members’ lives and my own life.
One of my teammates, Chelsea received a word from the Lord for me today and it was Matthew 5:6, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” I am just so eager and hungry to grow closer in my relationship with the Lord and have Him work through me. When I think of this I envision being the hands and feet of Christ. My desire and passion to serve has been deeply placed in my heart by the Lord and tomorrow my journey to Africa begins to live out what I was created for!
