Hey friends, so I guess this is the start of my blog. :) I decided I wanted a way to document my journey to South America throughout 2011 and 2012. Though I plan to leave in September, this journey really started way before that. God began speaking to me about poverty in the developing world when I was just a kid. He broke my heart for children living in poverty before I really even understood what that looked like. In 2006, as I was wrapping up my last year of college, I asked the Lord to send me a dream and show me which country He wanted me to move to. I had dream after dream after dream about Africa. LONG story short, a few months later, I was living in an orphanage in Uganda. I returned to the states after a year in Africa, determined to get myself back to this beautiful continent. It took quite some time, but in 2010, I felt God calling me very specifically to Mozambique to train with Iris Ministries. My hope was that I would fall in love with Iris and be placed as a long-term missionary at one of Iris's bases in Africa.
But then something changed. God told me to surrender my dream of living in Africa and to seek His heart completely. He showed me that my identity was not in Africa, was not in an orphanage, and was not as a missionary. My identity was simply His. And as I sought God's heart, I began to see His FURIOUS LOVE. He didn't call me to Mozambique to make me work or to force me into the mission field. He brought me there to relentlessly pursue me with His furious love. Somehow God is both gentle and strong. His love is comforting, but it is also mighty and furious.
After experiencing such deep love, I opened my heart in a way I never had before. I told God I would go wherever He led me. And shortly thereafter, an opportunity to go to South America arose. It's funny, because before I went to Uganda in 2006, I was really hoping God would bring me to Latin America. I had to re-adjust my mind to get excited about Africa, but once Africa had become comfortable for me, God led me back to Latin America. Anyway, two Iris missionaries who had been living in Africa for years felt the Lord calling them to Latin America to bring revival fire and God's furious love. As soon as I heard their heart and calling, I knew I wanted to be a a part of their team. And now I am.
So here's the plan. We will be driving from California to Mexico, through all of Central America, winding through every country in South America, selling our vehicles in Venezuela (if possible) and then taking mostly boats throughout the Caribbean. We will be partnering with various ministries along the way. We will help out wherever needed, whether encouraging burned-out missionaries, playing with children, talking to prostitutes on the street, or trekking into the jungle to preach to unreached tribes. The journey is going to be pretty wild!
The thing that excites me the most is that I have no idea what will happen on the trip. We will only be successful if the Holy Spirit leads and guides us. I can't wait to see God's mighty hand on the trip and the people we encounter. Please pray that hearts would be changed along the journey (including my own), that I would experience more of God's furious love, and that I would have the courage and compassion to share that love with others.
More to come as we get closer to September...
