Psalm 96:3

“Publish his glorious deeds among the nations. Tell everyone about the amazing things he does.”

-Psalm 96:3 

 

I have felt so much conviction lately about sharing the stories that the Lord has given me over the course of this last year. When I think about all the things I want to share I become overwhelmed because there is simply so much. How can I begin to put words to all the things He has done. So I’m going to just start listing all the cool things the Lord has done since we started this thing. If you see something in the list you’d like to know more about, just leave me a comment below and I’ll answer you! I’m going to number it so we can all see just how much the Lord is actually working throughout the country! So without further ado…. (Names have been changed to letters for those who its necessary to protect)

 

1. God providing someone to take my car, so that I could leave with the team in January.
2. J in Asheville being open to talking about Jesus and debating faith
3. K in Asheville connecting with me on the very last night at the shelter over music. K had been very closed off up until this point.
4. N in Asheville hearing the voice of God for the first time!
5. 7 men in the shelter surrendering their lives to Christ!!!
6. God showing us the community in Black Mountain, NC so that I could see its possible to create something like that here in the states. It was the first time I saw community similar to what we lived in during the international World Race, yet these people were not a part of that community. (At least the majority of them weren’t…)
7. Having a friend provide me with antibiotics because I was sick but didn’t have money to go to the doctor. 
8. Meeting Ben and Corbyn who would eventually join our team later during the year.
9. Corbyn providing housing for us when we needed a place to stay and realizing that families were also going to be a huge part of our ministry this year.
10. The Lord giving us the opportunity to become friends with Zach and Hannah in Aiken, SC 
11. Seeing military men discipling each other and learning how to be strong christian men and soldiers at the same time.
12. The Cooks providing housing for us when we had none. 
13. Getting to see Lynden from my international race and get to catch up over coffee.
14. Lived with K and gave her space to share her stories. There is a reason why the Lord said to take care of the widows. K showed me why.
15. People donating money for me to get to my sister’s wedding in March. I left on this trip with $12 personal spending money for the whole year. The fact that I have always been taken care of is a testament in itself.
16. Got to go to The Send in Orlando and witnessing 60,000 people glorifying the name of Jesus. 
17. Finding Elyssa from my international race among those 60,000 people and getting to worship with her again! It was such a blessing to spend that time with her.
18. Hosting an alumni meetup where Hannah was able to meet the team. She later joined our team too!
19. Lauren’s grandmother providing housing for us to rest. (It was 2 months before we had a day off at the beginning of this trip)
20. The Lord providing a way when there was no way for us to go to Panama City, FL and help with the disaster relief efforts there. Amber P’s aunt blessed us to be able to afford a place!
21. Getting to share the gospel with a man in Birmingham, AL and remind him that he is seen and heard.
22. Dosson’s Family providing housing for us.
23. Being able to get my car back and drive to Texas for my sister’s wedding (My grandmother also passed the day before the wedding. So being able to be with my family during this time was something I was very thankful for.)
24. The Lord providing a second van for our growing team!
25. Getting to take the gospel to the nations without leaving the apartment complex we lived in in Houston, TX.
26. The Lord blessed me with being able to live with Henry and Loretta in Lake Charles, Louisiana. They became like family to me and I hope one day our paths cross again. 
27. K being willing to talk in Austin, TX. 
28. Jennifer reaching out and helping us find housing in Austin when we had no where else to stay. It was such a blessing to our team!
29. Amber M’s family providing housing for us.
30. Getting to talk with Amanda in Austin about faith. It helped me learn her heart more and how I can love her better. Plus hanging with my sister at all is a blessing to me, so this is a huge one!
31. Pecan Gap!!! There is a whole blog about this one. Ed and the whole thing was absolutely a God moment and one of my favorite memories from this trip.
32. Getting to spend time with the people working in the food pantry in Bonham, TX. 
33. Seeing a young man healed in Bonham, TX! And then having his mother confirm not only the healing but the complete change that it had made in her son’s life. It was incredible!
34. Getting to be able to see Mary Beth from my international race. It was great to catch up with her and unexpected because we weren’t supposed to go to Kansas but the Lord made a way!
35. Alumni in Wichita, KS creating their own community that they had been searching for. I am a huge proponent for making sure you have a good christian community around you. So this was huge!
36. Getting to play music during an Easter cross walk in Pawnee, OK. It was the first time I realized that I had the ability to lead people into a space of worship through music. 
37. Alex’s family providing housing for us.
38. A woman in Amarillo blessed my whole team and my family by paying for our meal when we went out to lunch.
39. A woman at my home church experienced physical healing! It was so cool to see the Lord moving like that in my own hometown! That is one of my favorite stories!
40. Dosson also experienced physical healing in Amarillo. His shoulder was completely healed by the Lord! 
41. Alumni in New Mexico also choosing to create the community they had been looking for.
42. Getting to talk with the Muslim family at the Grand Canyon. 
43. Getting to share about my faith with the couple on the bus at the Grand Canyon.
44. Someone donating money to my personal account. The money came just in time and was such a surprise. I had wanted to go see Antelope Canyon but couldn’t afford it. The money showed up the morning we were leaving to go! 
45. Getting to see Becks from my international race multiple times! She is one of my favorite people on this planet so getting to see her was fantastic!
46. Ryan allowing us to stay in his hotel room while we figured out where to go during out ATL time.
47. Getting to meet and encourage a missionary family returning back k to the states on a bus in Zion National park.
48. Lauren’s friend providing housing for us in Cedar City, Utah.
49. Fio and their family providing housing for us in Phoenix.
50. Playing worship in Fio’s backyard and reminding them of what the Lord was calling them into. It impacted the entire family for the better! Plus we’ve been blessed to hear testimony of how it helped their daughter when she came back from being on the field internationally with the World Race.
51. Getting to encourage women in their faith during Beck’s friday night bible study group.
52. Our team getting to share the gospel at a park in Phoenix and pray over a family with big prayer requests. 
53. Tim, Loren, and LJ providing housing in Westminster, CA for our team. They were an answer to prayer for us.
54. Celebrating Iftar and being able to speak about God with the muslim community we were living in. 
55. Randomly finding the house where another mission group lives in Huntington Beach and having a worship night on the beach. 
56. Ally and Melanie providing housing for us in Carlsbad, CA
57. Talking to B in San Diego about faith and praying for him. Then seeing God immediately answer the prayer and seeing the realization hit him of the truth of God. 
58. Joanna providing housing for us in San Diego on her birthday! 
59. Jess’s family providing housing for us in Indio, CA.
60. Getting to see Ashley from my international race in Riverside, CA. The Lord placed us both in the same place at the same time and it honestly was such a blessing to get to see my friend!
61. Elaine providing housing for us in LA.
62. Getting to encourage and be encouraged by Elaine. I love this woman so much and am so thankful for her friendship. There aren’t many like Elaine. She’s a gem for sure!
63. Getting to give away prophetic paintings to strangers. These were sweet moments and I pray its something I continue to do for a long long time.
64. Being able to go out on Skid Row and pray for many of the people who live there. It was something we felt the Lord guiding us to do and He made a way for it to happen.
65. Getting to spend time with the Father in nature in some of the National Parks as we traveled north through California.
66. Alleigh’s father providing a hotel for us in Roseville, CA.
67. Lauren’s uncle providing a hotel room for us in Elk Grove, CA when we needed housing but had none.
68. Meeting Zaria and being able to help her with her garden. Though the true blessing was hearing her story. There is a whole blog on her that if you want to know more you can go read!
69. Getting to meet Kathrine and Gary and learning more about what pioneering something like this was like for them. We learned a lot from their stories.
70. People providing housing for us in Redding, CA when we had none.
71. Mama Llama providing housing for us in Canby, OR.
72. Getting to wash feet for the homeless community in Portland. This was a beautiful moment and one that holds a special place in my heart. 
73. Being able to remind a family of the transformational power of Jesus through us transforming their yard. All we did was clear blackberry bushes, but the impact for the family was far more than that.
74. Getting to share the gospel with the homeless community outside of Snohomish, WA. 
75. Lauren from my international race providing housing for both teams as we travel across Washington to Yellowstone. 
76. Being able to sit with Lauren and talk was such a huge unexpected blessing for us both. It was so nice to get to spend that time with her.
77. Being able to share the differences in our faith with a mormon woman at Old Faithful.
78. Having a worship night with the campground in Yellowstone and meeting Rob, Leslie, Troy, and Diane.
79. Having Rob, Leslie, Troy, and Diane provide housing for us on Rob’s birthday!
80. Getting to see 6 of the people I did my international race with in Colorado! I saw Audrey, Soto, Hannah, Jess, Naomi, and Kasie! It was so much fun being able to spend time with them.
81. Randomly seeing someone that we met in Black Mountain in Colorado reminding us that we want to end our trip where we began!
82. Got to listen to S in Springfield, Missouri share about how the church had hurt her. I got to listen and apologize to her on behalf of the church for the hurt she was caused. But what made it even better was seeing her over the course of a few days come alive and start walking in her true identity. God was in the business of redeeming hearts in Springfield.
83. Becky. That woman did so much and loved us so well.
84. Receiving a word from the Lord from a woman and knowing that the Lord was calling me into something more.
85. Witnessing a man dedicate his whole life to Christ in front of not only a bunch of strangers but in front of his wife and child. If we did nothing else in Springfield other than create a space for that man to return to God, then we did our jobs! 
86. Lauren’s family provided housing for us.
87. Lyn found out we were sleeping in the church and offered to host us in her home in Indianapolis.
88. Getting to rebuild a play set and watch kids play on it for the first time ever in Indianapolis.
89. Getting to go door to door and share the gospel and pray for the people of Indy. 
90. Getting to stand in front of the church and call them to step out in faith and then seeing people immediately do just that.
91. Amber’s family providing housing for us in Columbus, Ohio.
92. Becoming fully funded on the day of my final deadline! 
93. Getting to deliver beds to people in need in Columbus.
94. Getting to talk with J and hear her story during the bed delivery process. 
95. The Lord finally revealing what is next for me and sending me help to make that happen!
96. Getting to visit Tessa from my international race and get to know her some. 
97. The Lord sending sign after sign confirming that I was taking the right steps towards the next thing he has for me.
98. The Lord providing space for me to have interviews for what’s next without it interfering with ministry.
99. Rethink retirement and KEVIN!!! Kevin was such a blessing to me and I am so glad the Lord made our paths cross.
100. Stepping out in faith and prophetically speaking over an older generation and seeing the fruit that came from those moments.
101. Seeing an older generation fighting to live out their faith in a new way. It was so encouraging to see such humility from multiple generations willing to work together for the good of the kingdom> It was an incredible weekend!
102. Alleigh’s family hosting our team.
103. Getting to prayer walk through the White House… after only getting detained by the secret service one time! 
104. Getting to see both the TL, and Jess from my international race while in Virginia. 
105. Justin’s family providing housing for us.
106. The Lord being my voice and protector. Living out Matthew 10:18-20.
107. The Lord provided a safe place for me to land.
108. Helping a mother with a special needs son be able to pack her garage up. Being able to lighten her load a little.
109. Louis! Just being able to feel normal for a couple days and find sweet friendship with her.
110. Going out to Broadway to evangelize and seeing people evangelizing in the midst of the part scene. Salvations and deliverance happened this night!
111. Getting to sit and play worship music on the street during all the partying. (I didn’t even bring my guitar that night but the Lord provided!)
112. Getting to hear from a visiting pastor from Rwanda and remembering all the little things I had begun to take for granted. It was such a sweet reminder of how blessed we truly are here in America.
113. Being able to play worship music and intercede while my teammates did evangelism on Memphis University’s campus. It was a sweet moment that the Lord created to bring light to people’s day as they walked to class.
114. Finding a shop to fix our van that was trustworthy.
115. Trest’s family providing housing for us. 
116. The Lord calling us to go move furniture so that when the two trees fell during the storm our van wasn’t underneath them.
117. The Lord cutting the power and giving our team space to be together without distractions.
118. Ryan and Amanda housing me while I stay back to get the van fixed.

 

And that’s only a small portion of all the things from this year that I could talk for hours about. I felt it necessary to share this list so that you can share in the joy I have. The encouragement I feel knowing the Lord is moving so much within the states. There is a stirring here and its absolutely beautiful! I hope you see this list and can see it too! Until next time….