World Race: Here We Go Again!

“For the One who gave me life, nothing is a sacrifice Oh, use me how You want to God, have Your throne within my heart” – “Available” by Elevation Worship

My soul’s anthem and the words that haven’t left my head for many months now. This truth that ‘I came into the world with nothing but His breath in my lungs and I will leave it just the same’ has been the topic of several of my conversations lately. “For the One who gave me life, nothing is a sacrifice.” Humbling, I have not a thing to offer Him, tangible or intangible, but everything that He so magnanimously gave me first. I feel like we often talk about “sacrifice” for the Lord, but how can we when nothing has ever truly been ours to render that was not unmeritedly received? And how wholly worthy is He to be trusted with the life that He first willed into existence? During my time in the Word this morning I read this and was both floored with conviction as well as encouraged to extend every ounce of trust that I’m capable of: “I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that He is able to protect what I have entrusted to Him” – 2 Timothy 1:12.

I don’t say any of this to completely belittle and bash humanity, but rather to magnify the generosity and pure kindness of the Father to bless us with no demand of return. What an HONOR it is to be able to “sacrifice” my life and the throne of my heart for His infinitely greater purpose: that every soul would know and be loved by its maker. 

This understanding, belief, and passion of mine leads me to the point of this blog… HE’S SENDING ME BACK OVERSEAS! This time for about 4 months starting in January to personally uncharted territory, the 10/40 window (the most unreached region of the globe) and specifically Kyrgyzstan, Jordan, and Egypt. 

Today is exactly 5 years since I posted my first blog after being accepted to the World Race Gap Year and it is so incredibly kind of the Lord to have given me yet another opportunity to go overseas with AIM. Those that know me know that I have been less than patient about when this would finally happen again, though I was holding my “plans” and desires with very open hands, there has not been a thing I’ve wanted more in the 3 years that I’ve been stateside than to hop on the next flight and be His love sent out to those who need to be met by it. I know and love that there are those called to do the same stateside, and I know that I am not excluded from that nor do I neglect that duty and privilege wherever I am, but He has just made it so crystal clear that it’s the unreached for me. 

When we were in Georgia debriefing our time as team leaders, the director of Gap Year told me that she had a feeling that my time with AIM was not over yet, I was so excited to find out what that might look like and I gave my most excited and unhindered YES the moment He started to open His mouth about this trip almost 3 years after that conversation. 

Since getting back from alumni team leading for World Race Gap Year in 2019, I obtained my bachelor’s in international business, started a job at my home church as the administrative assistant for our middle school through college/young adult ministries, lived with the BEST roommates and friends, grown to love my little hometown more and more everyday, and all the while prayed about what it was going to look like for the Father’s promise of sending me back out to come to fruition. 

I am a big advocate of education and fully understand the importance of it, but the undying urgency I feel for the Gospel to enter and saturate unreached nations and people was ever louder and heavier than my desire to finish school. I did it but far from fervently. 

I had been home for just a little over a year when I visited a friend’s church for a worship night and the pastor that I had met only an hour prior, and who did not know my passion and calling, prophesied Isaiah 61 over me. “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord anointed me to bring good news to the humble: He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners…” The Lord so quickly confirmed that it was from Him and I have been living in that truth and calling since that day. 

As I prepare to go back out and begin what I am praying is the launch of a much longer season overseas, I ask for your support! Obviously financial support is the most physical need but I am much more concerned with spiritual support and prayers for me and my team as we prepare, Adventures in Missions and The World Race as they send us, our partners overseas that will receive us, and most importantly every single person we will come in contact with – that Jesus would have us minister to as His hands, feet, eyes, mouth piece, and tangible love here on earth. 

THANK YOU for reading all of this and I hope you will continue to follow along as I take the Father’s hand in this and help Kingdom come.

All my love and thanks,

Alex

(please tell me somebody picked up my Mamma Mia 2 reference in the title)