Welcome to my CGA blog! You made it 🙂
Let me start by giving you a little backstory.
In 2011, I went on my first international mission trip to Nicaragua with my youth group as a little 16 year old. Being a new believer, I saw this as a way to see who this God is that I’m now following and quench my curiosity about what a missionary’s life looks like. In church, I had been told what surrender is and how to walk by faith, but I had never really challenged myself to pray boldly and ask God for this desire. I didn’t really know too much about the Lord to give Him 100% of myself…until this trip. Here, I began asking the Lord “What do you want from me? How can I love and serve You? Where do you want me to go?”. These bold prayers were answered as I slowly began loosening my grip on my life and asking the Lord to use me. This trip lit a fire in me and I began seeing His creation with His eyes for the first time. There had to be more to this life than the “American Dream” or settling. It left me wanting more. This is when I knew. I’m called to be a missionary!
Over the course of the last 8 years, I’ve graduated high school, am a licensed registered nurse, and have now been to 15 countries proclaiming the good news of the gospel (wowzers!). As the years tick on, my desire to spread His love grows stronger as I grow closer to my Father. He’s shown me more about myself and often overwhelms me with who He is (thanks God!). He’s continued placing people in my life that spur me on and challenge my faith.
There was a question I heard from a pastor years ago that really shook me. He said, “If you were to die today, what do you want to be remembered for?”. Woof! Surprisingly, my answer came pretty quickly. I want to be remembered for the way I love others and point people to Christ. I want people to not only know about the Father’s love, but experience the Father’s love in an active and tangible way. Because He is an active and tangible God! I want to walk alongside people in their faith journey and help them see how crazy cool the Lord is. In doing so, I pray people come to know Him above all else. The decision to follow Christ will change you, I promise. It fills me with so much joy seeing and hearing people make that decision! This is what I want my life to be about. Loving God and loving others. Everything else is filler.
So, back to the main point of this blog (lol sorry, I can blab). Let me give you a little more info about what is at my doorstep next.
CGA (Center for Global Action) is a 5 month leadership and discipleship program through Adventures in Missions. This program values the development of Christ followers as they seek Kingdom here on earth wherever the Lord takes them. It is an opportunity to dig deeper into what I have learned as a disciple, challenge my own personal and spiritual growth, cultivate a more intimate relationship with the Father, and step further into leading others.
Know yourself. Lead yourself. Lead others.
This is their vision. It all starts with intimacy and weeding through the roots. The last year and a half has completely transformed me. [For those who have followed my World Race journey, you have heard/read about some pretty cool stories of how His Kingdom is advancing. If you’re new or want a refresher, check out my WR blog here]. The World Race provided a beautiful atmosphere to sit and dig deeper into identifying the things that make me, me. I learned a whole lot about who God made me and even more about His unwavering character. I then went on to alumni team lead where the Lord highlighted areas of weakness and insecurities; all of which were really really hard and really really good.
Now, I have the opportunity to reintegrate into American society in a healthy way, challenge my faith, disciple others, and identify my next steps. Some current/pending ideas: Move to Chicago? Mercy Ship? Squad leading? Opening up a practice in Africa? Who knows. What I do know now is that CGA will help set me up for whatever the future brings.
I am stoked and so thankful for the opportunities that continue to fall in my lap. As with every season I walk into, I give Him my yes and He takes me on a crazy ride! Let’s see what happens 🙂
Thanks for your love and support!
~A
