Faith Tested...Confirmation Recieved

It’s been two weeks in Birmingham now and every step has been one of faith. I’ve questioned the Lord and His plan for my life every day I have been here and each and every time He responds with confirmation that I am exactly where I need to be. For example, last week I was getting really nervous that I wouldn’t be able to find a part time job while I was here for 3 months before I left for Uganda. So I went out one day to look for jobs and the 2^nd place I went to hired me on the spot, without any “in-restaurant” experience I might add, and with the knowledge that I would be leaving in three months for Africa for three months. It was as if the Lord put a silver platter right in front of my nose waiting for me to get a whiff of it.

Not only has God been providing answers to my many doubts and questions, but He has surrounded me with people who love me and that I’m able to love. I’ve had the opportunity to spend some quality time getting to know the staff of Sozo and we just had a retreat this past weekend for all of the summer interns who are going to Uganda. We went up to SIFAT (Servants in Faith and Technology) where they take the knowledge they have and the knowledge of leaders from third world countries and have conferences and seminars that teach these leaders to provide for their communities using very basic and easily accessible resources. For example, they teach them how to use clay that they live on to build an oven that they can cook with. It was really awesome to learn about the connections they are making with people across the world and see how they deeply care about this world and the nations of it. We spent a lot of time doing team building and leadership exercises. It was a great opportunity to see each aspect of our soon to be team and have the chance to bond with one another.

Besides that life is good. I'm trying desperately to stay in touch with my friends and students from back home in Wilmington as well as with my family. I miss them a lot, but trust that if the Lord wants us to meet again, we will. I've been blessed tremendously with an amazing family, friend group, and group of students that I can love on and I'm beyond thankful for them. I pray daily for them as they continue life without me and fully believe that the Lord is doing incredible works in their lives.

It's a little different right now because the Sozo staff is in North Carolina, ironically, for a dinner fundraiser in Winston Salem. I couldn't go because of my new job at Chili's, but this has given me a premium opportunity to be impacted by the Lord with the One Word He has given me for the year, stillness. I've been able to be still and truly hear the Lord speaking into me and my life. I hope and pray that I'm able to be truly impacted by this word as this year progresses and I'm thankful the Lord has already given me opportunities to practice it. Thank you Father.

I look forward to the coming month ahead of planning and preparation for our journey. We've been spending a lot of time getting things together, but as of right now we are working from the home of Suzanne who is one of the founders of Sozo. She is married with a daughter still in high school and it's starting to get a little tough for 8 to 10 people to be working out of her dining room with her family there as well. All that to say we are desperately looking for an office building so that is something we are praying about. We are actually looking in to moving into a former Bahama Breeze (restaurant) building. It's full of open deck space that would be perfect for concert venues and fundraisers as well as opening a coffee shop to raise funds for our homes. We are still praying through it and awaiting the Lord's provision for this area of Sozo. I hope this informed you all a little bit as to what is going on in Birmingham. Thank you for your prayers. I love you all.

The Move

Well it started.

I finally took the leap of faith and moved out to Birmingham, AL to work with Sozo Children. Sozo is a non-profit missions organization that's focus is to save, physically and spiritually, the fatherless of the world. This is something that I've been thinking and praying about since May 2011 and it's finally here. We were in a dinner/staff meeting last night and it seemed so surreal.

I'm in this.

There's no turning back now.

It's been a really good start. I will admit there were a few bumps and a few moments of distress, but the Lord is good and He is so faithful. He allowed me, through the assistance of a few friends and some much need time of stillness, that this is His calling on my life, for the time being, and I have to completely trust Him in that. He has shown me that my days must start and end with Him and without that implemented throughout my life, my days will be extremely rough. Now, there will still be times of struggle, but nothing that amounts up to the feelings that overwhelm you when Christ isn't at your core.

I left Wilmington what will be two weeks ago, Sunday. It was such a hard surrender to offer over to the Lord my friends, family, church, and experiences and move to a foreign place. I will say that I did a fairly good job of containing my emotions while in the town of Wilmington, but once I got on the highway and left the city limits the tears began rolling. Listening to a CD that my best friend made me of some of the most meaningful songs of my college career and meditating on the memories that I've been tremendously blessed to be a part of, I just couldn't contain myself. I went from memory to memory and experience to experience re-living all of them in my head as I embarked on the two hour journey home. They will never be forgotten and it's always encouraging to know that a familiar voice is just a phone/skype call or letter away.

Arriving at home in Greenville, NC for a few days was a much needed time of rest. After rushing to pack up my room at school and say goodbye to everyone that had made an impact on my life in Wilmington I was able to get home and relax. Stillness, which is my one word for the year that I'm using to focus my life and attention more on the Lord, was my experience. While parts of me were racing to get stuff unpacked and then repacked for Birmingham, most of me was able to read letters and notes and remain in a state of solitude. That didn't last long once the weekend arrived and my parents wanted to spend every waking minute with me while I was still at home. It was good being around my parents and basking in the goodness of the home I grew up in.

I left Thursday morning for Birmingham, a ten hour drive. But the Lord blessed me with the most BEAUTIFUL day of driving; the roads were clear, the skies were blue, the weather felt perfect, and I enjoyed every moment of the mixture of blaring music with the windows down, as well as music off and enjoying the warm breeze and the quietness of God's beauty. It amazes me every day that His Almighty power is contained and represented by STILLNESS and QUIET.

The arrival in Birmingham was portrayed just as I envisioned it. I went straight to the office and was welcomed with familiar smiles and warm embraces. This place is filled with the love and joy of Christ and I feel completely blessed to be a part of it. I've started a little bit of work here at the office over the past couple of days and we've begun talking about this summer and what I can expect to experience. This weekend we will be bringing all of the summer interns together to go on a training retreat. It will be full of team building and the opportunity to form relationships with the people we will be spending the entire summer with. I look forward to what the Lord has planned and watching the Holy Spirit move throughout each person as they open their hearts to everyone.

I hope and pray that this blog that I'm starting can keep you updated on how my life is being transformed in the likeness of God, but can also impact your walk with the Lord, not to boost my ego or pride, but for the Glory of Christ and that we can become one.

As it says Acts 1 "All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer..."