Friends and family—this has been an exciting adventure as I have finally moved into the International Learning Center up here in Richmond, VA! This place is where missionaries with the International Mission Board are trained before going overseas. The training has been great! I have had the opportunity to learn more about church planting, cross cultural witnessing and my spiritual life. To give you an idea of everyday life here at the ILC—I get up for our sessions that start about 8 or 9 everyday and I sit in sessions until about 5PM that night. We have had sessions about medical information, living arrangements and also many on spiritual development. Some sessions (I will be honest) are extremely boring but many of them are very helpful in getting me prepared for overseas service.
Can I tell you how grateful I am for people? I have met some of the most amazing people on the planet. These people actually live, eat and breath missions. They have the same heart I do to reach the nations for Jesus Christ! There is a handful here that will serve with me on my team in Peru! Their names are Jessica Brooks, Mindy McCord, Jim Gilstrap, and Christine Jackson. My team is a dynamic one that I am confident will see God do great things while we are down there. On the larger scale—there are nearly 375 people out here and I hope to at least meet all of them! LOL—I am not sure that’s going to happen!
So all of that to say my friends and family—I love this and this is everything I have been waiting for! I finally get to do what God told me to do—“go” and reach the nations for His name! I have wanted to do this since my sophomore year of high school and I couldn’t be anywhere else right now.
Please continue to pray that God will give me a hunger to share. To give you an idea of what is coming up—we have to share Christ at least three times a week while we are up here. Please ask the Father that He will plant people in my life to invest in up here—people that do not know Jesus Christ. Secondly please pray that God will develop some beautiful friendships while I am up here so that I can have even more support on the field. And finally ask God to change me while I am here. I need to learn so much it is overwhelming—I know nothing about church planting and I need an overhaul when it comes to evangelism and spiritual development. So would you ask God for that? Ask Him to change me into a new man.
I love you so much and thank you for your prayers, your love and your support as I begin my preparation to move to Huancayo, Peru.