^^^
It is amazing how fast 4 months on the World Race can go but it is even more amazing how good God is to us in how he fills our proverbial cup to overflowing.
As I sit on a 13 hour flight to Ethiopia before transferring to a flight to Malawi and meditate/reminisce on the past 15 hours I was blessed to be able to spend with my absolutely incredible and beautiful girlfriend, Stephanie while I had a layover in Washington D.C., I was overcome with the realization of God’s goodness over the past 4 months.
So first off I am going to brag on my girlfriend. The hardest part of going, or leaving for the race was most definitely having to leave Steph. Knowing that I would not be there for her birthday, holidays, our 1 year anniversary, the good, the bad, and every bit of time in between was difficult to come to grips with. What carried me through was the assurance that God calls us to spread the gospel to every corner of the world; to every people, every nation, every tribe. In fulfilling this command He does not promise us riches or comfort but instead, he promises us more of himself. What more looks like no one really knows besides that having more of God in our lives is better than anything in this world.
What more of Himself has looked like in my life has been the answer to prayers in so many ways. Concerning Steph, I left for the race trusting that God would bless our relationship because I truly believe she is the woman of God that I want to marry one day. More than anything though, I wanted for her to fall more in love with God than with me. For her to become dependent on the joy and peace that only God can give her in this life. Because I love her and want the best for her and because there is nothing more attractive in a woman than for her to be bonkers for Christ ;). During the time I was able to spend with Steph on my layover, she told me (hope you don’t mind me talking about you Steph) about the excitement she was experiencing in pursuing and becoming dependent upon God and His love. How the deeper she was diving, the more she was motivated to keep going. How God was working in her life in miraculous ways. Talk about a good God!! I know this does not affect me directly, but how blessed I feel to have a woman in my life that loves me, such as Steph that is finding her joy, her everything in Christ. Seeing so much more joy and excitement about the Lord after only 4 months, I can only imagine the woman I will come back to in 7 more months!
Secondly, the way the Lord has been working on my life has been incredible. Simply the change in my mindset to appreciate and to have a true desire for the things of God and for pursuing a life that makes more of God. Obviously making a statement like this is easy; to say that I am pursuing God more and having all these changes in my mindset. But having spent 4 months setting aside my own desires and trying to focus on growing closer to the Lord and learning to pursue him far above my own interests has truly begun to change me. Little by little, but nonetheless changing me from the inside out. Choosing to start nearly every day with the Lord in His Word and in prayer has significantly increased my reliance upon God. In deciding to rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in EVERY circumstance, I believe God has begun to give me peace and joy in Him. In dealing with team and squad members as you would with very close family, working with difficult or monotonous ministries, or even difficult ministry contacts, I have been in circumstances that required dependence upon the Lord for, by my own strength, I could not succeed. To be able to be present wherever we are, loving people and love God in every way possible without the worry about my future, has had an immense impact on my life. Being blessed by every country and every ministry in differing ways has been absolutely incredible. Blessing me far beyond what I feel I deserve. But I know that the Lord loves me and desires to bless me far beyond anything I could ever imagine. Oh, the Love of God.
I would so very much love to continue writing, (I started writing on the plane ride but I am finishing at the only place where WiFi is available, for a price) but am unable to currently. I will try to gather my thoughts in the upcoming weeks and update you more on how truly blessed I feel by the Lord.
*Last minute addition. For the race, I have been able to really be present in each and every country and ministry and thus have not focused on fundraising. I truly believed that God would provide for my financial needs if this is where He wanted me to be. God is so good! I have nearly reached being fully funded! I am at 97% at $15,807 through the grace of God and the support of so many amazing friends, family, and so many others! I was just about to post a blog asking for support, but instead of directly supporting me, people who are interested in supporting can support others on my Squad as well as the Ministry of Pastor Gente in Malawi that my team is working to get Bibles for! Check out my other blog ‘A Call for Help’ for more information!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! So very much to all who are reading my blogs, keeping up with me, and supporting me financially! That is yet another reason why, by the grace of God, I feel so blessed and that my cup is most definitely overflowing.
OHHH P.S.!!!
I forgot, we had team changes and I am no longer on Team Free to Be. Sad, yes. I thoroughly enjoyed the 4 months I spent with Courtney, Megan, Megan, and lastly Luke. We had so many good times and pushed each other to be better people and closer to the Lord.
But I am excited to announce my new team, ‘The Fellowship.’ (Yes, it has to do with the Lord of the Rings) My team consists of Tom, Jessie, Katia, Brooke, Rachael, and Kaiulani. We will see what the Lord has for us, starting with Malawi!