So, you know how I was super excited to squad lead again for Semesters with AIM and go to Guatemala and Nicaragua? Well as of last Thursday I’m not. I am now leading a Study Abroad group to Spain and who knows where else after we complete our 2 week walk on the Camino de Santiago.
I was disappointed when I first got the news. However, I can already see how God has moved me to this trip for a specific purpose. I was planning on breezing through the other trip but this one has already challenged me in new ways and it’s only the beginning (if I were to take a guess). But God put this thought in my head the other day that has really stuck with me. It’s not super original but I thought it was pretty good: Don’t settle for the good, wait for the best. This has been a theme for the last couple years of my life of wanting and waiting for the best gifts from God and not settling for anything less.
A little bit about this Study Abroad program in case you were wondering. This program is in the pioneering stages and I’m so excited to be a part of it and watch it grow. My co leader and I will be empowering this group of eleven young adults and guiding them by what is called ‘curiosity learning’. We will be asking them to pray and decide where we will do ministry after our two weeks of hiking the camino in Spain. We will divide our day up by a few hours of online classes in the morning, then going out and ministry to the community in the afternoons and ending the day with spending time together as a team, all while creating a space of growth, learning, responsibility, and empowerment. I’m not used to leading exactly in this way so it has already been challenging me to step back and ask them questions instead of just giving them all the answers. Letting them decide if we are taking one bag or two (and in case you’re curious we are only taking one, YIKES!). If I had lead for the Guatemala/Nicaragua trip it would have been a walk in the park more or less cause I know how to lead for that trip. God knew I needed a new challenge that would grow me by taking me to the next level and shaping me into a stronger leader. Instead of just coasting through another squad leading trip, I am already being pushed to humble myself, plan to live very simply on the field, be flexible, and so much more. Mr. Holmes, who led several of my highschool mission trips, always told us “we make a plan so that we can change the plan.” And boy is that true in ministry and life in general. Change can take me a few minutes or even days to digest. I need some time to ruminate on it before my brain has create a pathway that says ‘yes, this is a good thing, we can do this.’ So here’s to me embracing the change of a new program, new countries, a new leadership structure, a two week hike where we will walk approximately 200 miles, one backpack, and I’m sure that’s just the beginning of all the future changes to come.
For those reading this, I challenge you to examine your own life, wherever the Lord has you and see if there are any changes you need to/should make. I know I’m guilty of thinking ‘well this is what I always do, or what I always eat or what I always pack, or always wear on the Race’. We limit ourselves and can get stuck in ruts that put restraints on us and keep us from experience all the freedom God has for us to live in. We let ourselves call “normal” the life sucking, stress inducing, anxiety bearing patterns of our lives. We’ve gotten comfortable with bondage. How crazy is that! How about you start today with making a plan to change the plan?
Fundraising update: in a weeks time I got an additional 36% funded!!! I need $1,125 to be fully funded before I leave in less than two weeks. I got one monthly donor and would love to get a few more that would give $50 for the three months I will be on the field. The link below will take you to where you can give online. Or if you prefer to mail a check you can make it out to Adventures in Mission, on the Memo Line write Khurry Bullard, Fall 2024 Study Abroad and mail it to Adventures in Missions PO BOX 742570 Atlanta, GA 30374-2570. A huge thank you to those who have already given and to those who are still waiting to give, this is the time! Don’t miss out on this opportunity to be a part of what God is already and about to do.
Give online here:
