Since being back, the Lord has opened so many doors. It was hard to comprehend it all, but it's been good.
A friend that I met once, who now follows me on Facebook. She decided to donate a gently new/used stove that's worth over $600 to me. My job is to sell it and whatever profit I make out from it, I can donate it to the El Salvador base. How cool is that. So if you know anyone interested in a Black Maytag Electric stove, let me know!
As silly as it sounds, I felt like I gained boldness from this mission trip. In the past, I hated speaking in front of people. Like seriously, I strongly hated it. My mentor would always put me in front of a crowed and make me pray for them. I wanted to be obedient to him so I did it, but at the same time thoughts were running in my head; "What am I going to say. Will this even make sense? What if I messed up. Oh no all the attention is on me. etc..." All those thoughts would always race through my head when I'm on stage. Since being back, I've been given so many opportunities to speak about my trip. At first, I didn't want to do it. I wanted to plan it all out and be ready. Then as I started praying about it, the Lord revealed to me that I should ALWAYS be ready. Always be ready to give a word. Jenn Johnson said, "If you were saved for 10 minutes, you were saved 10 more minutes than someone else." In other words, there's no excuse to not share Jesus to anyone. Since I had that encounter with the Lord, I don't hesitate any more. I go with the authority that the Lord gave me, trusting that the Holy Spirit will speak through me (which he usually does). Within the past month or so, I've spoke twice. I can't wait to tell the kids at youth camp what the Lord did in my life and what He can do in their life. "Always be ready!"
This past weekend we had another Kingdom Generation conference, our third conference that Young Adults Koinonia hosted. Every time we host something like this, it gets better. The role I play in this conference is the "Event Coordinator" along with assisting the director with any issues that he has. This past conference, we had Sean Smith from Jesus Culture who was one of our main speaker. Wow, was I blessed. I got to know him on a personal level and he was so chill and cool. I'm not trying to bash on any speakers or anything, but usually if you're a well known speaker you want to hide from people. Avoid the commotion etc. This guy got down at our level, walked through the front door and chilled with us until the conference started. He was so real. I love that about people. Anyways, another person we had was Father Craig Vasek from Bemidji. Praise the Lord for what He's doing in the Catholic community. Overall, it was a great weekend spent with great people. I met a lot of wonderful people as well as building a stronger relationship with others.
When I was in El Sal. I met some people in Iowa who wanted to me visit their base when ever I move back to MN. So here I am in MN waiting to see what's next in my life... The Iowa team messaged me asking when can I visit them. So with that being said, I'll be visiting the Iowa CFCI base sometime this summer.
Here is something new: My sister and I was presented with the opportunity to lead a youth team down to Mexico. I'm praying that this the next step in my life. How cool is that? It's not quite official or anything. I'm praying about it and we'll see what happens after this. I mean, I am learning Spanish for a reason, right?!
A lot of people will come into your life and ask you what you're expecting in your life within the next 5-10 years. Of course you would give them a rough estimate of your life plans. I would do that too. But you know what, I can't be upset with my life. Every day I experience something new, gain new memories with my family and friends that I probably wouldn't have imagined 5-10 years from now, and build new relationships. I know it's great to dream big because our God is big. But it's also good to enjoy the moment. Media & Society will tell you that you have to stay productive and make money. Money will lead to success and happiness. Honestly, I'm happy where I'm at in my life. Yeah, I may still live at home but hey I'm still enjoying life, I pay bills and I'm just like everyone else. In other words, God has a plan for you whether you can see it or not. He's not going to reveal it to you because we, as humans, are very critical. What I've realized is that, He likes to surprise us. Through our trails and happiness, that we may continue to praise Him. So keep trusting in the Lord because He has great plans in store for you. Never in my life did I expect to go to Mexico and El Salvador with it all being provided financially. If He can do great things in my life, so can He do it in your life as well. Stay encouraged my friends! Love you all.
God Bless! :)
