London

Arriving at Heathrow airport/shopping mall was like a punch in the gut. A concentrated dose of everything I am about to leave behind, it took me by surprise with its cleanliness, efficiency and countless cosmetic counters. The other thing that took me by surprise was my reaction to watching M.A.C. employees give make-up lessons and makeovers:

"That should be me." "I'm nuts for leaving all this behind."
"I'm good at what I do. I should stay and concentrate on building my portfolio."

For a brief moment, I looked around with envy at the twenty somethings grabbing perfume samples and wished I could stay. The beauty industry was my scene and I felt a definite amount of pride telling people I was a make-up artist. Then I remembered what it was actually like to be a part of it: exhausting. It's a game that never ends. Trends change and there is always something new. It's impossible to keep up with and there is always someone to compete with.
I'm still passionate about this industry, but how I involve myself in it is changing. Instead of using my skills and talents to build myself up and gain the praise of my peers, I'm asking God to show me how He wants me to use the talent He gave me. Answers await me, and in the mean time I plan to find a way to turn that red African dirt into the perfect rouge.

Serve Project Training: Day 6

"Wonder is an emotion comparable to surprise that people feel when perceiving something very rare or unexpected..."

I had less than 10 weeks. I knew less than 70 people to reach out to. I had to raise almost $20,000. To myself, most of my friends and some members of my family, this seemed impossible. 6 days ago, though, I showed up at my church with 98 lbs worth of luggage and high expectations. If God had worked miracles in my life to get my here, what does He have for me in Uganda? Time will tell. For now I am camped out in Clifton, Texas for training.

The miracles I referred to consist of, but are not limited to, the following:

• I called the mother of a close friend to tell her about my trip and ask her to pray about supporting me. I chickened out on the second part and awkwardly ended the conversation after asking if she new places to get long skirts. She later wrote me and said when I called she had just finished telling a friend she was going to start praying about what missionaries to support. Her and her husband will be supporting me monthly.
• I went home (to IL) for 4 days and planned on doing a presentation about my trip at my church while I was there. What that actually looked like was me sharing my testimony for 30 minutes and Mama Wasion saving the day by grabbing the mic and reminding people I was going to need money to get to Africa. I left with close to $700 and then accumulated thousands of dollars and many supporters in the weeks following from people who were there that night.
• A family friend (who is a realtor) wrote me and shared this story: He knew I needed to have 80% of my support by August 19. He told God that if one of his homes closed on that date he would give me 10% of his profit for my trip. "You must be pretty special to God and He must have big plans for you in Uganda, because one of my houses just sold.." He sent me that message on (you guessed it) August 19. Rumor has it that the house closed over a month early!
• It became common for me to see names I didn't recognize while looking at a summary of money donated to my account. I have many people who I have never even met supporting me!

I haven't had a camera in over a year and I had struggled all summer with how I was going to get one. Any extra money I had was going toward shots, luggage and stamps. Right before I left for training my coworkers presented me with their goodbye gift: my new Nikon. I sure hope they understand that crying is one of the many awkward ways I say thank you.

In a nutshell

God made.
Adam bit.
Noah arked.
Abraham split.
Joseph ruled.
Jacob fooled.
Bush talked.
Moses balked.
Pharoah plagued.
People walked.
Sea divided.
Tablets guided.
Promise landed.
Saul freaked.
David peeked.
Prophets warned.
Jesus born.
God walked.
Love talked.
Anger crucified.
Hope died.
Love rose.
Spirit flamed.
Word spread.
God remained.

ELEVATE: Completed!

10 months and 2 journals have flown by, and I find myself an Elevate alumni. The discipleship training school was a spiritual crock pot of sorts. It wasn't until I was done that I realized I had changed. Everything seemed so subtle and slow, and then BAM! I find myself a more secure, loving follower of Jesus who will be moving to Africa in the fall.

Say what??

"If you love me, show it by doing what I've told you." (John14:15, msg)

"God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I'll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:19,20 msg)

SERVE:Project is an internship that will allow me to do the two things I desire most right now: love God and obey God. My team and I will spend 10 months in Uganda sharing the Gospel, discipleing believers of Jesus and starting house churches.

Let's put this whole situation on the list of things I never thought I would do. Actually, let's take a look at one of the lists I had created for myself in the past...

Things I was OK with before October 2009:

• Doing beer bongs before youth group
• Smoking joints on the way to school
• Walking out of math class because I was bored
• Shoplifting gum, and then jewelry, and then fur coats
• Leaving church early to watch my friend get high for the first time

Since then, I've changed the title to 'Things I Am Not OK Doing' and have added 'eating meat', 'watching True Blood' and 'kicking my little brother in the groin.'

Like, I said...I've changed.