Introduction

I'm sure you have found your way to my blog because you have either supported me financially or are somewhat interested in my crazy life. The purpose of this blog is to record my thoughts and adventures giving you a tangible way of seeing what God is doing in and through me around the world. This first entry is going to be quite lengthy considering I am trying set a foundation for the next two years of "blogging". I want to tell you my story of meeting the Lord and how he has changed my life, hopefully giving you a better understanding of who I am and why I’m doing what I’m doing.

I have had the privilege of growing up in a minister’s house hold. But despite my upbringing it wasn’t until 16 years of age that I surrendered my heart to the Lord. I grew up hearing stories about the Bible and knew all about the Lord, but did not know him personally. In High School I began to run after "worldly" pleasures, which eventually caught up to me. Two years later I became overwhelmed with sin and through many hard lessons and countless tears the God that I had heard about my whole life suddenly became very real. Jesus words “Come to all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest” (Mathew 11:28) leapt of the page and it was like He was speaking them directly to me. I didn’t have any one lead me through a prayer, or pray through the roman road, but at that moment I answered Christ’s call to come to him, giving him my burdens and my life.

Sitting here reflecting I realize that much has happened since I first approached God. During my time in the South Pacific with YWAM I began to get a glimpse of what having a relationship with the creator of the universe truly meant. God began to change from distant to intimate and he actually spoke to me (imagine that)! God drew me away and taught me to be silent, to be still, to clear my mind and listen to his whispers. It was during these moments, sitting under coconut trees, or standing on top of the base watching the sunset alone with the Lord, that his whispers penetrated my heart and changed me forever. God ruined me for the ordinary during those six months. Not only does the Lord know me, but daily I am learning what it means to know Him more; in knowledge, in intimacy, and in obedience.

Those personal moments with the Lord awakened a burden in my heart for international missions. God has been making it known more and more that he has first called me to take his story to the people around me and then to the nations. That initial burden has developed into a vision for the next two years of my life. In three weeks I will be leaving my friends and family and departing for Montana where I will be living on a YWAM base for nine months participating in a School of Biblical Studies (SBS). During the 9 months I will study all 66 books of the bible with students from around the world. After getting to know God through studying his word in the wilderness of Montana I will head off too the distant corners of the world in order to make God known among all nations and all peoples. This God vision of mine, which may seem crazy, is nothing new and countless others have left homes and former lives for the sake of the Gospel and many others will continue to do so throughout time. I am merely a participant in the greatest story ever, which belongs to The Author and The Creator, God.