Hey everyone!

As most of you probably know, my plan was to be starting training camp today so I could be in the Philippines fully prepared to share Jesus' love for the month of June. Well, just as so many other things we had planned for our spring and summer, this was canceled.

When I got the news I was pretty crushed, all this planning, preparation, prayer, and money went into something that would never happen. I wanted to ask God, "why?" Why had He put me through all this? Why had He brought so many people into my team for something He knew would never happen? It wasn't as if this pandemic had surprised God like it had the rest of us, so why put me through all the crazy circumstances that lined up for me to go on this trip?

The answer is actually quite simple. If God had shown me further into His plan than right where my feet were, this trip that felt like such a huge step, I would have run screaming like a little girl! This trip felt like a huge leap of faith for me. It meant leaving my family, job I love, kinder kiddos, and youth girls for a whole month! But I thought this was the perfect trip: I’d have to trust God more, I was going into the unknown, and at the same time all my life here (family, friends, job, youth girls, and kinder kiddos) would be virtually unchanged when I got back, totally ready for me to just step back into. What I had forgotten is that God’s plan is so much higher than my plan. Proverbs 19:21

So, in the wake of my cancelled trip, Adventures/World Race gave me this great option. I could use the funds I had already raised to go on a future trip with them, or I could drop out and the funds could go back to those who donated. I told God I wanted to go on the July trip, but that I'd wait a week to make the decision (as if it was my decision to make).

Over that week I started to pray about my options; you know, so I could say I did my due diligence. But as I prayed and read through the book of Matthew, God began to gently pull me back to where he was. He worked on my heart, and pretty soon I realized I didn't want to be somewhere God had not sent me. Matthew 7:23b was a big reminder of this:

After about a week of God showing me part of his plan and me coming up with every reason in the world why that was a great plan... for 3 years from now, I finally accepted it enough to seek council on the subject. Over the next 6 weeks or so I prayed harder than ever before. I sought God and questioned, questioned, questioned.

God's will became clear, and with the knowledge that all He was asking of me right now was to be obedient, I told Adventures/World Race God's answer.

In January 2021 I'll be launching with a team of 30-40 peers to go on an 11&11 trip. 11 countries in 11 months. We'll be starting in South Africa and ending in Indonesia. I'm ecstatic about this opportunity and also kind of terrified, but I know I won't be doing this alone because my Lord has promised to go with me.

If you've made it this far I thank you for listening to my long winded story. And I encourage you to consider if there's an act of obedience you need to be doing. Not because you have to, but because it will honor your father in heaven.

May God's peace and joy be on you,

Rebekah Sartain