Wrap up of my time in the states

I haven’t blogged in a while and wow, there is so much to catch up on. Training camp is officially complete, and I can confidently say I’ve grown more in that time than I expected. We had three sessions a day most days and one Sabbath a week. I spent most of my Sabbaths with the Lord, getting coffee, and sitting at the laundromat. It was slow and peaceful and so needed.

Training was stretching. I was equipped, and I was also taught how to equip others. I was thrown into an environment like nothing I’ve ever been part of before. World Race is an inner dominion organization, meaning it doesn’t claim any one denomination or style of Christianity. So I was suddenly surrounded by people with so many different backgrounds and perspectives on faith. The World Race is very Spirit-led, which means I encountered things I had only heard about. I heard people speak in tongues for the first time. I watched someone be healed. I heard people cry out loudly in worship, almost like something supernatural was leaving them. I’ve seen people fall face down on the floor crying in surrender. While that level of intensity is not always my personal style, I really respect that God meets everyone differently. What I do love is the worship style our leaders choose. It’s beautifully repetitive and reflective. We don’t rush through songs -we sit in the lyrics, we let them sink in, and it creates such reverence for the Lord. That atmosphere has changed me.

One morning during worship, I felt convicted to start taking off my shoes before I praise Him. I’ve been reading through the Bible slowly, without a schedule, just letting it unfold from Genesis onward. I landed in Exodus 3 where Moses approaches the burning bush. God calls his name and immediately tells him to remove his sandals because he is standing on holy ground. That hit me. I realized that during worship, I am literally stepping into holy space. Yes, I am always in His presence, but this is my time set apart for Him. So when I take off my shoes, it’s not about the shoes. It’s a heart posture. It’s my way of saying, “Lord, I know where I am standing. I honor You.” It helps me leave my anxieties beside my shoes and focus only on Him. I don’t do it every time. There is freedom in Christ to worship in many ways. But when I do it, it means something.

But it wasn’t all beautiful moments. There were times I felt overwhelmed. Times I felt numb. I was being constantly poured into and constantly learning, but barely had time to be alone with the Father. Living in community with 32 people is amazing and hard. It is nearly impossible to be alone. It’s hard to refuel when you can’t step away, so I struggled to apply what I was learning. There was a night during revival when leaders were praying over me while I cried and told them I felt like God was having an identity crisis. I told them, “I don’t know who I am worshiping. I know His character is good, but now they’re telling me His children still speak in tongues and cast out demons and heal people through His Spirit. I’ve heard about those things but never seen them. So who is this God? Who am I praising?” I found myself trying to force answers out of Him. I was demanding a response from the God of the Universe.

He gently checked me. Who am I to question God like that. That’s when I started studying childlike faith. I read Matthew 18:1-5 and Mark 10:13-16 where Jesus says the greatest in the kingdom are like little children. That image is so clear. A one-year-old can do nothing for themselves. They rely completely on their parents. If a child is screaming for food but it is not time yet, the parent doesn’t panic. They know what is best. That is how God is with us. He knows when to give. He knows when to speak. He is not in a hurry. My job is to sit with Him, ask questions, praise Him, and trust that He knows who He is. I do not have to rush revelation. He will reveal what He wants to reveal in His timing.

So that is where I am. God is saying, “Come here, sweet girl. Sit with Me.” I am choosing to do that. To learn His history. To trust His character. To take Him at His word. WHAT A GOD.

We also had an evangelism day in the town square in Georgia. We prayed before going and expected God to guide us to a specific place, but instead we all heard the same thing: “Just walk.” So we started walking. We found a woman sitting on the side of a building during her break. She spoke only Spanish, but one girl in our group spoke fluently, and our mentor knew some too. They spoke with her for an hour while me and my friend Abby sat and prayed. Later we found out it was her birthday, and she had been sad because no one had called her. She said she was a Christian. God sent strangers to sit with her, pray for her, and sing happy birthday to her on the sidewalk. He is so intentional.

Last week we did domestic ministry in Black Mountain, North Carolina, where Hurricane Helene hit hard last year. A sweet man there had signed with an insurance company right after the disaster, but they completely forgot about him and never helped. He eventually reached out to Adventures Relief, and now we get to rebuild his home and minister to him. How cool is that. My team helped tear down damaged walls, restucco, mud, rake leaves, and haul wood. I had sprained my foot the week before, so I couldn’t do as much, but I swept, carried what I could, and encouraged my team. It was tiring and beautiful.

This week is debrief. After every ministry location, we meet with our mentors and talk about how we’ve seen God move. We rest. We reflect. It has been sweet.

And now, this Saturday, we leave for Swaziland. I am so excited. We had our logistics meeting and learned that all the girls will be serving in Nsoko at care points daily, and the guys will be in Manzini. It’s sad to think about being separated from people I’ve shared life and growth with so deeply, but I know God has a purpose in it. We’ll be in rural Africa with little to no phone access for two months. Honestly, I’m excited for the disconnect. It just means I won’t be able to blog or message much until Malaysia, where we’ll likely have internet again.

Please be praying for me and my team as we step into this next season. And to my donors -thank you, truly. I know some of you probably see pictures of coffee shops on my Instagram and wonder where your money is going, so I want to be completely transparent. Every dollar donated to my World Race link goes straight into my World Race account, and I do not have access to spend it personally. Anything I spend outside of ministry is from my own pocket. Your generosity has carried me here. I don’t take it lightly.

I love y’all. I’m sorry I’ve been inconsistent. God is moving. I am learning. I am trusting. And I am taking off my shoes.