My Last Day at Home

I leave for Honduras in about 4 hours!!! I am pretty exhausted and not completely packed yet, and when I probably should be freaking out, I instead have sense of peace about everything. So I thought that I would take a break from packing and write about it although I am half delirious. I can always sleep on the plane.

Today, my last day in the US for a while, has been pretty crazy getting last minute details taken care of, but it has also been so encouraging. The day started out with a text message from my good friend Flor in Argentina, who sent me some scripture verses that would help me on my journey. Here are a couple of them that I really liked:

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." ~ Joshua 1:9

"The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save." ~ Zephaniah 3:17

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." ~Hebrews 12:1-3

The first two verses I really like because it assures me that God will be with me on every step of this journey, even when I feel alone and home sick. And not only that, but it reminds me that I serve a powerful God who can move mountains, and split oceans, and change the hearts of men. There is nothing that God can’t do. All I need to do is fix my eyes on Christ and He will take care of everything else.

The day ended with getting to see and be prayed for by some of my closest friends. It was a very bittersweet moment, praising God to have such great friends, but also realizing how much I am going to miss them!

The Jump

I distinctly remember the first time that I ever jumped off the high diving board at the pool where I grew up. I was probably 4 or 5 years old and at that age, 3 meters is like a sky scraper and I was really scared, but I really wanted to do it! I remember standing up there on the edge of the diving board looking way down in the water where my dad was waiting, treading water with his arms extended up telling me to jump and that I could do it. I don’t remember how many times we counted to 3 together without me fulfilling my end of the bargain. My legs were shaking uncontrollably and the more I put off the jump, the more scared I got and the harder it became to do it. But then my dad told me, “Trust me! I would never let anything bad happen to you!” This was my dad who loves me more than anything in the world and I believed him and I trusted that it would be alright. So I mustered up all the strength I had left in my shaking legs and took the leap of faith! It was amazing and I have never looked back since!

If I had not trusted my father’s words that day and given into my fears, I would have missed out on an amazing adventure and many more exhilarating jumps to follow. In fact, I became quite good at it and was even on the diving team in high school! Well the point of telling this story is that I feel that this journey is another leap of faith like that one. Many times in my life, I have felt God’s call to jump and He has never, not once let me down. He says “trust me”, and when I have responded in faith, the result was more amazing than I ever imagined! I have learned to trust His word and call in my life. Right now, my father in heaven is calling me to leap on a journey down to Central and South America, and I plan on running off this diving board as fast as I can because I know that He is going to do great things both through me and also in my heart!

What is the Purpose of this journey?

1. Take a leap of faith and trusting God with the results.
2. To serve the Lord full time in Latin America in any way that He leads me.
3. Get to know different ministries through out Central and South America with the possibility of returning for a longer period of time if God so calls.
4. To be stretched, challenged, and even humbled through trials resulting in a deeper love for Christ.
5. Not come back the same man I am today.

Why the journey?

Why not? I am out of school, I don’t have a family to support, I am currently not working, I have no debt, I have been able to save up some money from my last job, I don’t pay a mortgage or rent (thanks mom and dad),… in other words, I will never be as free as I am right now. So why not go? If I didn’t take advantage of this opportunity, I would regret it for the rest of my life!