“I can’t believe this is real life.” I kept saying to myself that early morning that I left the states. I felt my last goodbyes at the airport in Dallas and gazed out of airplane windows as I flew away from my home for the last time in 10 months. I watched as the dreamy lights of Dallas faded into the vibrant green mountains of Guatemala and navigated through the chaos of a foreign airport. I heard the joy of my celebratory team as I finally reunited with them, and we embraced like we hadn’t seen each other in years.  

    I felt with my own heart, saw with my own eyes, and heard with my own ears. Yet nothing I had experienced that day felt real. It’s funny to think about how God was just chilling next to me the whole time, laughing at how in awe I was to finally step into a promise He’s given me as if I didn’t actually believe I’d step into it. 

    Isaiah 54:1-6 (MSG)

“Clear lots of ground for your tents! Make your tents large. Spread out! Think big! Use plenty of rope, drive the pegs deep. You’re going to need lots of elbow room for your growing family. You’re going to take over whole nations; you’re going to resettle abandoned cities. Don’t be afraid-you’re not going to be embarrassed. Don’t hold back-you’re not going to come up short.” 

    Not long before I heard about the World Race, God spoke this verse to me. I was going through a difficult time because I knew I was called to missions, but it had been years, and I had hardly stepped into it. I doubted I would ever get to where I am now. God gave me this verse as a promise, as a dream. That’s why I couldn’t believe any of it was real. It was an actual dream coming to fruition before my eyes. 

    Even now, I feel him speaking, “If you can’t believe that, wait until you see all that I have for you this year.” Only about a day in, and I’m already so in awe. I can’t wait to dive in deeper and tell you about the ministry we are getting to do here.