I want to deliver the three-part story (as originally promised) about the journey that lead me to move to CO, and I've gotten motivated and a moment so it is now or never for me to tell you part two.
If you read Part One: True North then you know that my first big lesson in my journey was learning to listen to God's voice telling me where to go, what to do and who to be in EVERY area of my life- a lesson applied that ultimately lead me to my first summer spent in Fort Collins.
It was 2010. I just finished my freshman year at Texas A&M University, and my role was to be a summer missionary helping church planters reach their communities.
I was fresh and excited and had much to learn about well, everything really (still do). But there was one major thing that I needed to better understand that became the theme of that summer, then that fall, then the next spring, then the next summer, then the next year, and the next thing you know, the theme of my life.
What was this simple yet monumental life-changing lesson?
That missions is not only over "there" amongst the hurting and the lost and the broken in the desperate places around the world. It's also every conversation, every flight I miss, every long line at the grocery store, and every cup of coffee amongst the hurting and the lost and the broken in the desperate places in my own backyard that I encounter everyday.
As I gleaned from the wisdom of mature believers living their lives for the purpose of spreading the Gospel through church-planting in Colorado, I was stretched, prodded, and challenged to get away from the A-B-C, three easy steps, "pray the prayer" way of showing people how to know Jesus. I learned that there is no formula for following the Holy Spirit, taking on the messy but necessary investment of a person and walking with them as the God who seemed distant, scary and make-believe before, becomes real and true and an integral part of their life.
What was so powerful about it all was that I was learning this as I was doing the most ordinary things. Myself and fellow "summer mishes," as we were nick-named, played at the park, rode bikes, went to coffee shops, served at church and offered a helping hand. In these practical, ordinary moments we saw God turn them into extraordinary divine appointments. We saw our own lives change and got to see God at work in the lives of others.
Beneath the surface, something inside of me was also shifting. At first it was hard to explain, but later I realized that what I was feeling was what it's like to be exactly where God wanted me. This place and who God made me to be just fit like a glove. As the summer wrapped up, I knew I would never be the same.
The Lord had given me a new-found passion to see Christ made known wherever he placed me, but also gave me a very special place in my heart for Colorado and those that are lost here.
That's really what it comes down to- Summer 2010 and the Lord beginning a call on my life to the place He would later plant me for the long haul to invest in people and to serve him.
Here are a couple of snapshots from my adventures during that season:
 |
| On top of my very first "fourteener" (peak over 14,000 ft). After this I was hooked. |
 |
| This is Kayla. She was a huge part of that summer as God taught me how to teach, love and care more. |
 |
| Jared, one of my co-summer mishes that summer, and our friend Jeremy at The Alley Cat Cafe.
HA! Crazy to think that that was 4 years ago. What a journey it has been! So now you know another little segment of what lead me to move up to the Rocky Mountains.
So who is in your backyard that you can be an encouragement and messenger for Jesus to?
Part 3 coming soon..
|
