Updates and Confessions

Hey everyone!

Well obviously by the presence of this post I did indeed survive my mid-semester review. Overall it went well and I received plenty of great feedback which is going to make my project even stronger than I originally conceived that it could be. I had every aspect of my project worked up to a color comp and I felt very prepared for the entire endeavor. I have not received my grade or official letter of feedback, but God continues to prove His faithfulness day in and day out!

I also went to Birmingham today for my first adult interview with the organization called Student Life. This event also went smoothly and I enjoyed spending some time to get to know two of their staff members, one of which is an Auburn Alumni so we had plenty to talk about! I'm not sure if this is exactly where the Lord intends for my path to go, but as I've always said I am trying to be as open as I can to whatever direction He's tugging.

Speaking of that tugging, I have a confession to make.

For the past couple of months I have honestly been struggling with what kind of direction my life will be headed after I get that lovely piece of paper from Auburn University. After my experiences in Brasil, Memphis, and Ghana my heart really hasn't been the same. During my search for an internship I stumbled upon the organization called Adventures In Missions. (This is the same group that I am designing my senior project around too.) I met with Ericka Bennett who works for AIM and we hit it off instantly. Before our meeting while I was delving into the web site I found out about The World Race. The basic idea is as follows: You and three other young adults travel to 10-11 different countries over the span of a year. You and your team mates spend a month in each country participating in various ministry efforts with the missionaries in that particular region. I like to call it the nomadic missionary trek - but you get the idea.

As I was reading the site sometime ago a few things stuck out to me that I wanted to share:

"An entire generation that has a sneaky suspicion that maybe they're on a path that is too easy. Maybe they've been tempted to sell out to a career track and a lifestyle that doesn't or shouldn't define them. Maybe the versions of themselves that the world is starting to see is not the best one.Not just a few wild eyed adventurers are looking at this and thinking, "That's it, that's what I need to do!" Thousands resonate with the idea, maybe dismissing it as impractical, but secretly wishing they could say goodbye to society's expectations for a year and go on a pilgrimage."

"this generation will respond in numbers that overwhelm us. We owe it to them to gear up and do it right. We owe them not just this experience, but the opportunity it represents to tap their deepest yearning to not sell out, at least not before they've given a wild alternative their best shot." - Founder, Seth Barnes

"World racers abandon everything, depend completely on God, give as they go, live with the poor while building a community and a deep sense of family"

So after reading that I thought - wow that's powerful, but isn't that unrealistic? I mean how does someone just up and go be a missionary for a year? How do you know if your want to do something as insane as that isn't motivated by a selfish desire for adventure and not for the glory of God? Does God simply hop on His trusty heaven PA system to say "Hey - GO! Yea I'm talking to you. GO!"? Am I crazy for even considering such a journey?

I sat on those questions for a while, and I am still sitting on most if not all of them as I type this. Then I read a blog by a girl named Amanda that is just finishing her 10th month on the World Race. Click here to read it - and you should. Seriously.

I say all of this as a form of confessing to you that I don't have my future figured out, but I do know that I want to learn the same lessons that Amanda is learning. I admit that I need wisdom by the tons because I know that things like ministry or missions are HARD. It's not just about the sweet postcards! So I invite you to plop down beside me as I sit here sorting through my dreams and desires to discern really where God is leading me for the next chapter of my short blip here on this blue dot.

Thanks for reading the epic post - and if you have any comments leave them! I'd love to hear from you :)

As always, thanks for stopping by.