I know it has been quite a second since I have posted an update on here, but A LOT has happened! I will break my update into 3 parts. World Race community, changes to my route, and what the Lord is teaching me right now.
Community
I can’t even begin to accurately explain how beautiful our community has become, in just a few short months. It is the biggest blessing that I have seen come from COVID. I am convinced that this community wouldn’t have developed the way that it has amidst “normal” circumstances. Back in March we started having weekly zoom calls because everybody had time, and I am talking 8-hour zoom calls that went until 4am. Then in June, community got taken to the next level. Two friends from my squad drove 8 hours through the night to surprise me on a random Wednesday. They showed up at 6am, not even knowing if I was home. We got to spend that entire day together.
2 weeks later, another friend from my squad and I decided last second to drive all the way down to Florida for the 4th of July weekend. We met 3 more squad members down there. Then we got talked into swinging through Tennessee on the way back to go white water rafting with yet another squad member.
2 weeks later, 18 of us got the chance to spend 4 days at a lake house in Virginia together. Then 6 of us spent the rest of the week camping at Great Smokey Mountain National Park. After that we said some goodbyes, expecting to actually go maybe a month without seeing each other… Wrong.
1 week later I was back in Tennessee living with 3 of these squad members. We spent the last 2 weeks together, and have now decided to road trip out to California together. We will spend 1 week with another squad member who lives in the San Francisco area, and then we are road-tripping back through 16 national parks. It will take the better part of 3 weeks.
Essentially, I have become a nomad… traveling the country with these amazing friends while working remote. And let me tell you, I LOVE these friends. I love their hearts for adventure. I love their hearts for evangelism. I love their hearts for Jesus. I love their hearts that seek joy and laughter. My parents love them after spending 2 hours with them. My second family in Indianapolis loves them after spending one evening with them. JOY is so evident.
And not only is joy evident, I have watched the Holy Spirit be so evident with this group. Just to give you one example: About a week ago 4 of us were at a waterfall really late at night. One of my friends noticed a man who was sitting all by himself. She went and initiated a conversation with him. We got to spend the next hour and half hearing this man’s heartbreaking story, and praying over him. I just share that simple story to illustrate how many opportunities the Lord seems to put in front of this group when we are together. It has been INCREDIBLE.
World Race Changes
A few weeks ago my October route was cancelled due to COVID. We were given 3 options. I could still launch in October and start ministry in the United States with the hope of going international in January, defer my launch until January, or defer my launch until August. I chose to defer my launch until January. There are still a lot of unknowns around that. We don’t know where we will be going exactly yet. We don’t know if travel will be reopened at that point yet. But I feel so much peace and trust over what the Lord has in front of us.
What the Lord is Teaching Me
I am just going to post a link to a sermon that I was able to give a few weeks ago. I had the opportunity to teach while the group of 18 of us were at the lake house. The Lord has been speaking into identity, and this message is what it has all tied together to form.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9cd0K6wahE&t=5s
I love you all so much!
