Who knew..

Thanks for checking out my blog. This summer I'm planning to go to Sydney, Australia through an interdenominational campus ministry called "Campus Outreach." I'll be living in Sydney for eight weeks, hoping to have to opportunity to share the gospel with college students that live there, and see God work in miraculous ways. I'll be a part of a team of about 12 students from Samford, Montevallo, and UNA. Right now I'm in the process of raising prayer and financial support from the US. Each person on the team has a personal goal to raise $6,000. If you would like to help me out, send me an email and I'll give you my contact information.

I never thought that I would be at this point. As a kid in church, I was always terrified that if I surrendered to my life to Christ that he would call me to be a missionary. I was appalled by the thought of packing my bags, and leaving my comfortable situation. But right now, I'm extremely excited about it. It was a little over a year ago when I finally started my walk with the Lord. I went to a conference that Campus Outreach does called "New Years Conference." That's where it hit me that God's grace was what would save me. God used Luke 15 to show me that like the prodigal son, I had nothing to offer God, no righteousness to bring to the table, but that in spite of my sin, I was unconditionally loved and accepted by him. This was a truth that I had heard my entire life. I grew up in church and have a great family that taught me who Jesus is, and what he did for us. These things were great, but it took the Holy Spirit's conviction to show me the magnitude of my sin, and my need for grace. This was the realization that made it all worth it. I think of Isaiah 6, when he sees the vision of the Lord. It didn't take much persuading on Isaiah's part, he just said: "Here I am, send me." I want my life to be characterized by this sort of obedience to God's will. I'm still trying to see God's will in my life, but I know that this summer I've been given an opportunity that doesn't need to be taken for granted. God has opened up a door, and I can't see any reason not to jump through it..