The Day I Turned 28

January 12th, 2021

I woke up on Tuesday morning with a surprise; a handwritten sign next to my bed and a crown to wear for the day. I had been leading my squad in Ecuador only 6 days at this point and I was about to experience a day that I hope to forever remember. 

(Writing this blog for memory!) 

The evening prior I accidentally hit my head pretty hard walking out of the cellar of the house that I was staying in. Rather having concussion symptoms, the pain and symptoms went straight to my neck. I was afraid I may have sprained it. 

(Since then, I’ve been taking it easy and my squad has covered me in prayer. I’m back to doing manual labor ministry and my neck feels healed! Praise God!) 

So I went to bed super bummed that night thinking I’d have a concussion on my birthday. Well that being said, I did wake up with terrible neck pain and a headache. I rested a bit on my birthday morning after breakfast. 

But I’d love to talk about how loved I was on this day. Not only did several racers and my co-leaders pray and laying their hands on my head, I also had family praying for me. So I was checked on frequently through out the day. I felt loved! 

One thing I wished  and asked to do was to do yoga with my squad with the gorgeous view of the mountains! Sadly, I ended up having to stay back from that exercise. But instead I sat at the table and helped my racers with their fundraising deadlines as it was a necessity for them to get done. Fundraising is itself a ministry. During that time, I felt so appreciated that I was able to use my time to sit down with them and give them ideas or correct some grammatical errors in their emails before they sent them to their supporters. It was just a few hours that I enjoyed using my time to help them. Because I was so appreciated I felt loved!

While helping I was able to pray, celebrate and glorify the Lord with them and watch the Lord send people/donors to drop donations into their accounts. It really blessed my heart to see that the Lord was coming through for them with their hard work and time being put into it as they had to skip out on some things the squad was doing together at our ministry site. Thanks God! 

During each meal, my squad chose to let me go ahead of them in the line. I guess that would be a typical birthday thing, but still, I felt loved! 

After dinner, my squad gathered around singing Happy Birthday while my amazing World Race host was walking into the room with a perfect size of an apple pie that tasted more like a dulce de leche cake! Oh man, it was so good! I had to share pieces of it with who ever was sitting with me. 

Later on that evening we had to finish our daily chores and ended our night with team time. Team Resilience is the team I am currently squad leading/ discipling. They are an amazing team of 6 ladies who love to laugh and create spaces to feel safe, loved, be intentional, and have fun. Whenever this team is together, they laugh until their lungs hurt and they get me crying so many times! During their team time, I joined them and they each took a turn and spoke words of life and truth over me and shared about how much they appreciated me! Sweet, sweet moments! Seriously! They are excited to get to know me more over the next 5 months and I feel just the same for them. When they took turns sharing wonderful and kind words to me, I just felt so loved and appreciated like never before! Even though the racers like to say, I was “concussed” on my birthday, I have to say that my 28th birthday will forever be one the most memorable snd sweetest birthdays I can remember in my life time! Even if we weren’t in Ecuador, I know the squad and the team would go out of their way to make my day so special.And they did! I love them all so much.

I am so happy and blessed that God brought me into the lives of Gap E! This squad is incredible and the amount of love they have for one another, for the leaders, hosts, and people is entirely inspiring because they’ve chosen to seek the Father who is pouring out His love to them. And I feel loved by the Father because He has allowed His love to pour out of my racers to me over and over. Love is a constant cycle.. from God to His sons and daughters, from sons and daughters to the world and back to God Himself! For my birthday, my biggest wish or prayer is that people would come to know Jesus as their Lord and savior and would encounter God’s love that will transform their lives radically as He did for me 7 years ago and that they’d find a community of believers to be encouraged in their faith in Christ! Salvation in Jesus is a free gift and my heart breaks for those who won’t ever turn to Him because I fear for their eternal souls after death and not living in eternal glory with God. Today is the day for salvation, Grace, and Love!  Amen! 

“And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.” I John 4:16 NKJV

“But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.” John 1:12NLT

“If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9 NLT