Big Picture Stuff (Part 2)

Okay, Part I of this blog left off with me attending Project Searchlight (PSL) in Gainesville, Georgia.  I was basically there for 3 reasons:

ONE:  I wanted to figure out what’s next. 

TWO:  I wanted to get connected with a mentor. 

THREE:  I wanted to hang out with the people I did life with for a year!!  

So to recap, at this point I am interested in pursuing missions that help people get jobs or that educate people so they can get jobs.  My goal at Searchlight was to find an opportunity - a job, apprenticeship, long(er)-term mission assignment, etc. - that would allow me to come alongside someone already doing this and learn from the experience before refining my own dream.  In my mind, I could easily see myself spending another year to two years overseas serving a ministry similar to Daughters of Cambodia before returning to the States (or moving to another country. . . ?)   

About halfway through the week, PSL hosted an opportunities fair featuring various ministries and opportunities that were currently available.  There I discovered several  internships in organizations that are doing what I am interested in.  

During the week, I was also able to have several conversations with the staffs of AIM and Kingdom Dreams (the branch of AIM dedicated to helping people discover, pursue, and achieve their dreams - so cool!).   These amazingly talented super-networkers gave me some amazing resources to get the ball rolling, and Seth Barnes (AIM/World Race founder) made a suggestion for a possible mentor here in Greenville. 

I knew that I wanted to stay close to home for a while - 6 months in my mind - to spend time with family and to begin the process of support raising (again. . . other things that require God-size faith).  Incredibly, God has provided me with not one but three jobs since returning home.  Within a week of being home, I was hired part-time at Books-a-Million.  While looking for a second part-time job, I was very unexpectedly offered a job as the after-school and summer camp director at Park Place Children’s Center in Simpsonville.  This job will allow me to work about 35 hours during the week.  I will continue to work at BAM for one shift each weekend.  In addition, I currently have two harp students and continue to perform for weddings and other events.

This new job at Park Place will keep me busy through the end of the summer.  After that time, I plan to move to Gainesville, GA to work as an apprentice for one of the organizations that I connected with at PSL.  I plan to be there anywhere from four months to a year.  After that time, I plan to attend the G42 Leadership Academy in Mijas, Spain.  The school, founded by Andrew Shearman, is a six-month intensive training school that equips people to establish churches, businesses, and ministries all over the world through discipleship, practical instruction, and a community learning environment.  The school has recently added a Social Entrepreneurship course, which is basically “business with a purpose” - perfect!  After returning from Spain, I plan to start my own business. 

This means that I am in the first leg of my 1.5 to 2-year plan.  I’ve got a lot to learn.  I plan to use this time here in Greenville to read, talk to people, pray, learn, and continue to serve.  I am also beginning to oh-so-loved fundraising process again.  The exact amount that I will need is unclear at this time.   In other news, while I continue to live in Greenville, I am very excited to be moving in with my grandmother tomorrow!     

Thanks for sticking this one out.  I hope my posts get more interesting in the future.  

A Date that might interest you:

I will be speaking about my year on The World Race in The Connection lifegroup at Taylors First Baptist Church on Sunday morning, March 18th at 8:30 AM.  I’d love to see you there! 

Part of Team Tandem at Project Searchlight

From L to R:  Scott, Anne, me, Roberto, Phil

Big Picture Stuff (Part 1)

“Security is mostly a superstition.  It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it.  Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure.  Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.”

Helen Keller

So here I am, two months after returning home from The World Race, broke and living in parents’ basement.  I cannot tell you the number of times I’ve heard, “What’s next for you?” since I’ve been home.  Not that I mind the question - it’s a legitimate one - but I haven’t really been able to give a straight answer.  Until now.  

I began this blog to continue the relationship I have with my readers and supporters and to let you in on what is happening next for me.  I want to begin by explaining my vision, or my “Kingdom dream.”

Last week, about a hundred recently-returned (and not-so-recently returned) World Racers gathered at the AIM headquarters in Gainesville, Georgia for Project Searchlight, a week dedicated to helping us discover our passion and take the next steps to making our “Kingdom dreams” a reality.  

I had no idea what I was getting myself into. 

I believe that God has given me a dream, something much bigger than myself.  I don’t even know the whole dream, but I've learned that God's not big on letting you in on the details.  I want to share fully and openly with you, my friends.   There’s a lot to it, so I’m breaking it into several parts.  

I have to take you back to Cambodia, our ninth month of ministry on The World Race.  The ministry we worked with was TransformAsia, and we worked with women who had been taken out of the commercial sex trade and were being reintegrated into society.  While at the site where we were, the girls learned a trade - either sewing or cosmetology - that would allow them to get a job and begin to provide for themselves.  We also visited another organization, Daughters of Cambodia, a similar organization in which women choose to leave their jobs at the brothels and come and work in one of their businesses.  This visit sparked something in me:  a desire to be involved in businesses that are helping empower people through education and employment.  This was it!  

So I returned to the States in November with a direction:  business as missions.  I’m a teacher.  I have no background in business, no experience running a non-profit, and no idea how to get started.  Not to mention I had very little money and was unemployed.  

So my next step was to LEARN.  I wanted to find someone who was doing what I wanted to do and come alongside them and LEARN.  My initial thoughts were, “I’ll find a ministry similar to Daughters and go overseas for a year as an intern/missionary.”  This was my plan.

Searchlight was my golden ticket.  It was perfect!  I knew my Kingdom dream but didn’t know how to reach it.  I was there to find that opportunity and to jump on board!

Again, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. 

TO BE CONTINUED (I know you can’t wait.) .   .   .