Today is the last day of my 20s. I look back at the last 10 years of my life and I can't believe that this is my life and just how far I've come. 10 years ago in 2009, when I turned 20, I was counseling at the camp I grew up going to. The place where I recommitted my life to Jesus when I was 13. Where I was challenged in so many different ways. Where I dressed up ridiculously, lost my voice so many times and laughed so much. Where I met lifelong friends who I still catch up with whenever I am home. Camp is and forever will be a very special place to me. Camp is where I learned SO many bible verses that I have used so much when I am telling people about Jesus and declaring the truth of who God says they are and who He says He is. I've gone from being a camper, to a jr. counselor, to a counselor and summer staff, to a program team member and not I observe from afar and I am a prayer warrior. I believe in the power of camp and I believe in the power of taking time set apart for God and for adventures and for fun. I will always smile thinking back to my time at LGYC and am so grateful that I said yes to going to camp when I was 8 because I wouldn't be the person I am today without my time there.
I graduated University in the past decade. Got a degree that I wasn't so sure I wanted, but God has used the things I learned during my time at North Park and through my education degree to reach the nations. I have taught English in a few different countries now. I know how to teach to different learning styles. I'm grateful for North Park and my time there. The people I met, that challenged me, that changed me and that helped me become me. North Park was where I led small groups, gave tours of the university, lived in community, had challenging conversations of what I believe and why, growing in my faith and making it my own. I am grateful for those 4 years and the good, the bad, and the ugly. To my friends from North Park, thank you for the part you've played in my life and I am grateful for you.
When I was 21 and 22, life was hard. Life was dark and I didn't know what God was saying or calling me into. I didn't know what the purpose of my life was. But I went to a conference that changed my life. Where my heart was broken for justice and I felt the call to go and do something. So at the age of 23 I hopped on a plane and flew halfway around the world and landed in a small town in the middle of the South Island of New Zealand and God flipped my world upside down. I found a home. I found a tribe of people to run with. I found myself. I discovered more of why I was made, the dream God had when He created me. Ever since that day when I came to do my Dts, my life has been radically changed. I have been radically changed. I have become more comfortable in who I am and who God has made me to be. I have been challenged in so many ways. I have led teams to countries I've never been to. I have had to speak in front of 100s of people. I have had to step out of my comfort zone so many times. I have been to 11 new countries. I have done things I never knew I wanted to do. I have fallen in love with a nation I couldn't find on a map 10 years ago. I have met some of the most extraordinary people with amazing testimonies of who God is and how faithful He has been. I have been challenged to step out in leadership, to step out in speaking and to pray for miracles. And I have seen my God be faithful and for Him to turn up and for miracles to happen and for healing to come.
The last ten years have also been filled with moments of sorrow and confusion, of sadness and grief. I have had to say goodbye to my grandmas. I have learned to grieve from afar when people pass away and you are on the other side of the world. I had a season of being home int he States when all I wanted was to be home in New Zealand. There has been seasons of walking through confusion and just uncertainty of what God was doing, but knowing that He is worthy. But I've also had the great joy of seeing friends get married and have babies. Of the joy of becoming an aunt to two of the best boys and adopting so many other nieces and nephews all over the world. I have the bitter sweetness of watching them grow up from afar but when I am with them, it is the best time and I treasure it with my whole heart. I have gained another family, really I have gained many families all over the world. I am so grateful for my New Zealand family, for the people who have adopted me into their families and made me one of their own. I am grateful for my YWAM family- all of them, wherever they are. I am so grateful for the time I had with you, wherever we met and for however long we were together, I am grateful for you.
If you had told me ten years ago I would be living in New Zealand, being a part of a global missions movement, teaching about God and traveling the world- I would have laughed at you. I would've said no way, that's not me. I have been pushed and stretched in the last ten years. I have grown and become more of myself. I have learned SO much in the last ten years but also realize there is still SO much more that I don't know. Life looks a lot different then what I thought it would, but honestly I wouldn't trade it. Life is good and it is full and I am so grateful that this is the life God has called me to live.
The last ten years I have learned that He is just so worthy of all of me. Of all my gifts, talents, time, money, passports, visas, homes, and my life. He is worthy of my comfort and my being uncomfortable. He is worthy of my voice, my tears, my joy and my sorrow. I have fallen more in love with the one who created me in the past ten years and I have fallen in love with sharing His love with people. I want to be a shining one for Him, that people see a difference in my life and how I live. that they want to know about the one who has set me free and has set them free, the one who created me and knew me before I was born 30 years ago. The one who knows my name and knows the days ahead and never leaves me.
So thank you to each of you who has played a part in my life. For my North Park family, thank you for all the memories, for classes, weekends, hanging out and to helping me out of my comfort zone. To my camp family, thank you for full summers. For late nights and early mornings, Caribou and Starbucks runs, messy games and losing my voice. For the craziness that is camp. Thank you. To my church family, who has loved me and supported me my entire life, thank you. I would not be the person I am today without you in it. I would not be able to be where I am today without you. Thank you for praying for me. For loving from afar. I am grateful. To my YWAM family, all of you, all over the world. Thank you. Thank you for revealing God to me in different ways, through culture, through conversations and through love. Thank you for seeing me at my best and my worst. I am grateful for each and everyone of you in my life. To my New Zealand family, thank you for adopting me and making me one of your own. Thank you for loving me and accepting me. Thank you for being a safe place for me and for being an escape when I need to get out of my YWAM bubble. And to everyone else that might not fit into one of these boxes, thank you for your role in my life. I am grateful for you and whatever part you played in my journey.
And to my family- thank you for loving me for the past 30 years. Thank you for being there for me. Thank you for the prayers and love. Thank you for your support. Mom and Dad, words can't describe how grateful I am for you. Thank you for always challenging me to do my best, to seek God's heart for what He has for me and for all that you have done for me and will do. I am eternally grateful for you.
So here's to 30 and a new decade of my life. Here's to all the adventures that it holds for me, the challenges and the excitement. I can't wait to see where I'll be in ten years.
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