Posted in General Posts by Brad Smith on 7/11/2011
But what happens when you don't assume? What happens when you embark on what is probably one of the greatest journeys of your life and you attempt to make no assumptions about what will happen? You end up with your mind blown in another country, experiencing God's love is what seems will be most likely to me.
From what I already know about the World Race, I'm attempting to have few expectations of events that will happen to me, but more about personal changes and actions, so that I have no choice but to follow where I am led, instead of trying to create or mold events to my expectations. But needless to say, there are some things I have in my head, and we'll see how accurate they are when I'm 8 months down the road and I'm actually departed for the Race.
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I fully expect to LOVE LOVE LOVE on people. If I do nothing else on this journey, I pray I do this.
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I know God is going to blow my mind and obliterate my current perpective and put it back together in a new and holy way.
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Days or months of eating the same foods, or similar.
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Continuing my current trend of living out of my backpack and having fewer showers than our society prefers.
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Times where I am overwhelmed and confused.
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Sites and smells that will be incomprehensible to me.
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A new me at the end, with my visions and goals polished and refined by the Father.
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Missing my family and family of friends from home.
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Embarassment from personal ignorance.
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And to LOVE some more!
Overall I pray that I come out of the World Race a true MAN of God who hasd stepped into the role I was meant to step into and am living up to Yaweh's expectations of me. I want to be someone who holds up to the tattoo that says Be Love on my chest and embody love. I want to be broken for what God breaks for, and to be moved by the things God is moved for. I want to end my worldly visions and have Heavenly visions. I want to return with better discernment of what God is telling me, and to have a better ability to pray and speak prophetically.
Be Love.
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Posted in General Posts by Brad Smith on 7/8/2011
My calling to the mission field began my senior of high school when I met Aaron Bruner before I was even a Christian. He was one of the wrestling coaches and had been a participant in a previous World Race, and was soon to find out that he was being called out again, this time as a leader. I found his blog from it, although he had only mentioned the trip in passing, and began to read. At one point in reading about a young boy who truly impacted Bruner, I was crying in the computer lab of my high school from being so incredibly moved. It gave me a vision and dream of eventually applying for and being a participant on the World Race, but in my head at the time it was just the dream of a high schooler. I was in the beginning processes of reading the bible as someone who could comprehend and even appreciate the message now, and just began to attend a youth ministry called Student Venture, with some people who have remained some of my good friends. I went on a trip in June with the same ministry but with people who were from all over the country, and led by a terrific leader. Traveling over Idaho and Wyoming, backpacking and rafting, I found God and prayed to recieve Christ on a mountain peak overlooking waterfalls, an ice covered lake, listening to a group of girls singing worship songs, and watching a group of guys throw a football after ascending to about 13000 ft. (I think?) backpacking. And in that prayer, and realization, I realized I was exactly where I was meant to be, and learning exactly what I was meant to learn. Theologically and personally, and interpersonally, I was exactly where I was meant to be. And it gave me a purpose and calling. I was called to the outdoors and given another vision. I was meant to be a follower of Christ leading others to do the same, but through the medium of the outdoors, much like how I did.
So after I graduated high school I began my college career at Georgia College and State University where I was going to school for outdoor education to further my ability and potential as an outdoor leader. I had a brief period as a Young Life leader, but I was lead to step down, due to my ineffectiveness caused by other things that were calling attention. I was blessed by the experience and given relief from many of my troubles during training period, where God used several of the leaders to blow me away and help to transform me, and feel God's love as I do today. But this past Spring, I was unable to attend school as I could not get a full time schedule and it was going to cost an incredible amount. I notified my mother and step dad that I could niot let them pay the amount for what it was and stayed at home for the semester. It was an incredible semester of growth and bonding with friends and I was blessed to see my mentor Aaron get married to his wonderful and Godly wife Katie. SO as I recuperated and worked at home I was messaged by a close friend of mine named Ryan Herald, who was a HUGE proponent of me becoming a Christian, and told that I should apply for the World Race January 2012 because I would turn 21 on the trip and am therefore eligible. The thought was tempting but I pushed it aside, thinking that it didn't fit into my plan of doing it after graduation. Several days later she messaged me and told me she had applied and been accepted and to get on it and apply. So I took it as a sign. I applied and went through the interview after some difficulties with my application. I got an email saying that they were sorry and that I was more than welcome to apply for the second World Race route for January, but that the first route was full. Then several hours later, I recieved a call from my interviewer Jacob and was told that I had been accepted for my original route! So now I am embarking on what I view as a sort of vision quest. An initiation of sorts, to be shown God's love and to show others God's love, and to have my vision blown apart and put back together, all shiny, faith based and refined by Abba.
Be Love.
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