Homeward Bound

Hello Everyone! 

I want to again just thank each and every person who has been following my journey the past six months and has faithfully trusted the Lord with their money and donated to my trip. I have been having the time of my life getting to serve all over God’s kingdom and just see how beautiful he has created this world. I have found a new appreciation and purpose in this world rooted in Christ. This is exactly why I did this trip to begin with. I wanted to burn for the sake of Christ and share his love all over this world and I am grateful he has given me the opportunity to grow in many ways and experience the world.

 With that being said… Due to the severity of the corona virus my race has to come to an unexpected end. I am on my way back to the states with my whole team and in the next few days I will arrive back in Ohio. This answer is beyond comprehension and I do not really know what is going to happen from this point forward in my life because I thought I had five more months to figure it out. This is actually something I never thought would happen and I never thought I would come home early because I am not a quitter. This is a circumstance that I had no choice of and I did not want this to be the outcome. God has been reassuring me that I am not a quitter and that I finish what I start. My worst fear is what everyone else thinks of me coming home and not finishing what I started but it does not matter because God knows my heart. His heart breaks that I cannot finish this race I started. This is one of the hardest things I have had to face in my life because of my passion for missions. There is a lot of unknown for me right now but I am optimistic in Gods plan for my life. 

One thing I am sure of is that this race is not my identity. I am not found in missions I am found in Christ. As heart broken as I am to leave the field I am not lost because I serve a faithful God who knew of this from the start. He knew I would leave the field month six and as hard as that is to understand I see how he has slowly prepared me for this. The past month I have reflected on my life and talked to God about going home and he has shown me how ready I am. He has shown me that going home has purpose and I have a role in Ohio for his kingdom. It’s crazy how God has given me so much revelation. The past two days, before I even knew I was coming home, I have been talking to God about the community I am going to hold onto when I go home and how I am thankful for good friends and family. I was asking him about how to handle hard situations and he reminded me of James 1:2 “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” So from that point I made a vow to find joy in the hardest of times having no idea this was coming my way. I will choose to be joyful even in this grieving process because choosing joy is choosing to trust in the one true King. I know he has a great plan for my life and I am going home expectant that he will speak whatever it is he wants me to do next. 

I am so thankful for the lessons God has taught me in these past six months for me to find peace in coming home and making that my mission field. The way I live my life forever will reflect Christ and I know I do not have to do a missions trip to do that. Everywhere is a mission for me. Wherever I am at is an opportunity to speak Christ’s name into existence. No matter if I am traveling the world or I am in my back yard there is opportunity to share the good news of God. I refuse to come home discouraged and defeated because that’s exactly what the enemy wants. I am walking home with grace and truth. A truth that has yet to fail me. My faith stays consistent in the Lord because glory will come to his name regardless of where I am in the world. 

Again I want to say thank you all for believing in me and trusting what God would do while I was gone on the World Race. As of now I have no idea what the future holds. I am unsure if we will relaunch after the virus dies down or if I am home for good. I do know I will be coming home and getting some quality time with family and friends. I will never stop sharing about this experience I have had for it is like no other. The memories I have made and the people I have met are forever important to me. A Squad is a family and I love each and every person on this squad so much. These past 6 months will forever be held dear to my heart because I have seen the Lord sanctify me and my brothers and sisters so quickly.  I have watched him change me from the inside out in a way that felt years away. He has transformed my mind and has shown me my true identity and who I really want to be which is a daughter to him and I want to follow him all the days of my life because he’s never unfaithful. I want to fall into his deep love every single day and cling to what is good and hate what is evil. God is good and anything not good is not from him so I stand rooted in the fact that the enemy is trying to destroy our world but it’s not going to work. I will continue to pray hard for God to bring glory to his name through all of this nonsense that the corona virus is bringing. My faith will no longer go unnoticed because it is who I am. I am proud of who I am and I am excited to come home and see what God will do. I love you all and I pray blessings and protection over you and your families during this time. I only ask that you would pray for provision in my life and trust that God is going to provide good opportunities in my path. Thanks for tuning in and loving me well!