But Why Gainesville?

When I first got involved with AIM in 2012 it was just by chance. They had a user friendly website, offered a mission trip that appealed to me, and had been recommended by someone that I highly trusted. I just kind of went for it. As I was preparing for this trip to the teeny tiny country of Swaziland the only thoughts I had were,

“How many skirts should I bring?”

“I wonder if I’ll actually be living in a hut?”

and

“Maybe I can stay up just a few more minutes so I can read another AIM blog.”  

Little did I know that I would be working with this organization for years to come and so many of my favorite moments in life have happened because of the opportunities this organization has put in front of me. 

But why do I keep coming back?

Why don’t I just travel and do missions on my own?

Why have I chosen to live in Gainesville, Georgia vs. my hometown that I adore greatly? 

Because four years ago in the middle of Swaziland I realized that I had found a group of people who believe in propelling individuals into the nations to build the Kingdom of God. Although Adventures In Missions is a missions organization they are, at the core of their being, a discipleship organization as well. They simply don’t want individuals to just go on trips to share and show the Gospel with the nations but they also desire to see healing from past hurts, growth in self awareness, and boldness in the gifts the Lord has blessed them with.

And even though I have only been living in Gainesville for about two weeks, the Lord has just confirmed it over and over again that this is where I am supposed to be. All of the emotions and thoughts about AIM that I had cultivated over the years were reaffirmed 10,000 times more as I’ve sat in on meetings listening to how discipleship models can be improved, heard people talk about how they love working on the phone all day because they get the priveldge of hearing the stories of people who are applying for different trips, and how the kitchen staff wants to bless the staff daily by cooking two meals a day for them.

It has been a truly humbling experience shifting into daily life with the Adventures staff and I am excited for the unknown lessons to come in this season, to be a part of a team that has a common vision, and most of all to just learn from The Father as I am in this new place.