Why I’m Going on This Trip

Hey guys! I hope you were able to check out the ‘About Me’ post. I’m going to get a little more into what the last year of my life has looked like and why I am going on the World Race. I will be going on a World Race Semesters trip this January (2023). It will be a four month trip, and we will be going to Eswatini and South Africa.

As I mentioned in the ‘About Me’ post, I graduated from college last year in May (2021) with a degree in Secondary Education – Mathematics. I had always wanted to be a teacher for as long as I can remember, and the plan I had was to graduate early and get a middle school or high school teaching job in the fall. Following my time at IU East, I did a summer internship at my church, Community of Faith. This is a 10-week internship, and they have the option of continuing with their yearly internship. However, that was not what my plan was supposed to look like, so I was going to do the summer internship and teach in the fall.

I knew God was leading me to do the summer internship, and it was a pretty simple ‘Yes’ because I didn’t have to sacrifice all that much. I was a little shocked with the next thing God asked me to do because He started putting it on my heart to do the yearly internship, which would interrupt my plan of teaching, the sacrifices being: not using my degree, and not making money. I had to get through the questions of: ‘What will people think?’ ‘How am I going to make money?’ ‘Is this really what God wants me to do?’ and many more. It didn’t make sense to me to go nine more months in an internship without pay. It made more sense on paper to follow the set plan that I had. I knew God wanted to start to take me on an alternative route though, and that is the route I wanted to follow. I chose to do the yearly internship, and it was the best decision I had made up until that point of my life, aside from following Jesus.

God gave me so much through my time in the internship, and He has radically transformed me from the inside out. In the past year, I have been able to go so much deeper in my relationship with God. I have learned more about who He is, about how He sees me, and about myself along the way. God has given me a community of people around me who love me like Jesus does, who do life with me, and who add value to me. I have been able to be with people who walk in step with the Holy Spirit, and they have helped me cultivate a relationship with Him. This has been an absolute gamechanger for me.

I’ve learned what it looks like to truly follow Jesus. I’ve experienced Jesus in a way that I never have before, and this is a God I want to be with and live for. Through spending time with the Holy Spirit, I have been able to learn His voice and know when He is speaking to me.

At the end of the internship, I was concerned with what I was going to do next. I didn’t feel like God was giving me a clear path for what was next, and I was worried about doing something “big” for Him. Following the yearly internship, I did have the option of going back into education. While I was making that decision, it seemed like I was given two options: either get a teaching job or do something different. The only problem was I didn’t know what the “something different” was, but that was the direction I believe God wanted me to go in. The question God asked me was: Are you willing to give up something good (teaching) for something better? I was like: ‘Well, yes, but I would really like to know what it is.’

God doesn’t always work like that though. Instead of giving me clear next steps, He just gave me a word for this season of my life: ‘Training.’ He didn’t give me an answer to what I am training for, but I chose to be obedient anyway. He also gave me this: ‘Keep a flexible schedule, and be ready to go.’

This leads me to the yes of this mission trip. God put missions on my heart a while back, and I just couldn’t shake it. I researched trips back in May but stepped away from it because it didn’t seem right yet. However, July came, and I still couldn’t shake the idea of going on a trip. Things started lining up, and I believe God was calling me to go. I was pretty confident that this is where God wanted me to go, but I felt a lot of fear with it. ‘How will I ever make it in another country away from everything that I’ve ever known?’ I’m still asking this question, but my desire to say yes to a God who loves me, far outweighs the fear telling me to stay where I’m comfortable.

I believe God has something for me in Africa that I won’t find here in the next season of my life. I believe God wants to use this journey as a way to build our relationship. I am honored that God wants to use me to further His kingdom, and I am excited to join Adventures in Missions in fulfilling the Great Commission. I’ve said no to things in the past year that haven’t made sense on paper, but it all makes sense to me now because of where God is calling me to go next.

Now I know what I’ve been training for. Now I know why I’ve kept a flexible schedule. And now I know what He meant by, “Be ready to go.” Saying yes to the yearly internship put me in the position to be transformed by the love of God and learn the voice of God. That yes led to my next yes for this trip. I am extremely thankful for the ways God has been working in me in the past year, and I am grateful for the opportunity that He has given me for the next season of my life.

I’m super excited to be on this journey, and my hope is that you will join in with me. Thank you for following along. I appreciate your prayers for me in this journey and for the ministry I have the privilege of being a part of.