God Moves

So around this time last year I had a lot of big news. I bought a horse and was about to move out, and I graduated college. This year I have lots of different big news.

1) I have made the difficult but very necessary decision to join the Air Force Reserves, hopefully in the Spring of next year. Why? Well, I love my country, I love the people in my country, and most importantly, I believe God has told me to do so. It is also one of the only ways I can foresee being able to go to graduate school like I need to. It's also the biggest reason I've been working so hard to loose weight.

2) I'm working on moving to Colorado as soon as all my training is over for the military.

3) I have decided to go to Colorado Christian University in Colorado Springs to pursue my Master's in Counseling so I can become an LPC who can utilize Equine Assisted Psychotherapy with Veterans and children in the foster system.

4) My application was accepted to go to Sierra Leone with 25Project in February. I applied on a whim because something about it just seemed right. It's perfect timing with everything else going on in my life (military and moving). Then the guy from 25Project, Nathan, called and told me all about the trip, the team and everything. There are Air Force members from Phoenix, Arizona going. How coincidental is that? Everything about this trip, it just feels right. I have peace and excitement about it. I believe God showed the door, gave me a little glimpse and then let me open it the rest of the way.
Y'all, God moves. It all started back in 2010 when my family switched churches. After 17 years at the same place, walking the walk and talking the talk, God spoke to me. He opened that locked door in my heart and started really moving in my life. In 2011, at the Passion Conference in Fort Worth God spoke strong. Everyone was supposed to have their head bowed, and Louis Giglio asked for people to raise their hand if they felt called to take the Gospel to the unreached people in the world. I accidentally raised my hand because I didn't understand the question, but in 2012 I discovered it wasn't an accident. In 2012, I went to Kenya, Africa to work at Naomi's Village. I loved it so much that I went back in 2013 and interned there for 2 months. While I was in Kenya, I heard about social work and God lead me to Texas A&M University Commerce where I studied Social Work. I've been wavering throughout 2016 trying to figure out what step is next in my life. Where to go, what to do, should I join, should I not? "It's just too much work! I want the easy/lazy way out of this." Then, God moves, He speaks. If I am quiet and calm enough, I can hear Him speak over my confusion and my wavering. I can hear Him through the peace He gives me in my heart. The only time I find that peace is when I trust Him, I seek Him. I didn't even notice how much I missed Africa until my aunt mentioned that she wanted to get me an Africa shaped necklace. I kind of mindlessly told her that I was "over Africa" and that "I was over it". Well, apparently not. God moves in such weird but cool ways. He's opened the door to me being able to go to Sierra Leone, which was one of the countries who suffered from Ebola. He put it on my heart to go. I'm still trying to figure out how God wants to use me in the mission field, but for now, I know that it is through short term missions wherever He decides to send me.

My trip to Sierra Leone is February 2-11, 2017 and I need about $2600 and I need $1300 of that soon to be able to buy my ticket. I covet your prayer for me and the team as we prepare to go on this journey. If you feel at all led to donate to this trip you can go to www.25project.org/support. My name is in the drop down list and there are a range of donation amounts, but there is also a spot "other" that allows you to donate how much you would like to. Any amount counts and I thank you in advance for it.

God moves in all of us and in all different ways. It's been amazing to look back and see just how God has been working in my life. I never know what He's going to throw at me, but I know that He knows I can do it, with Him. He uses all of us. He loves all of us. He wants all of us. How can I turn away when He pursues me so hard? He wants me. He wants you!! Look into His word, fall into His arms and seek Him and just see where He will take you. He can take you farther than you could ever imagine. We serve an AWESOME God who moves in His perfectly ordained way.