I’m PURE?

24 more hours. It’s so surreal. The moment I’ve been waiting for for months on end is finally here. May I first begin by attempting to express my love for these 10 other young people that I have the honor of calling my teammates. If I honestly get to spend 3 months with these people, every hour of every day, I don’t think I could ever get tired of it. God has specifically placed each one of them on this team with me for a reason and every 24 hours I get to spend with them, I begin to realize what that purpose is. The girls are unified sisters. The boys, our protectors and brothers. Community like I’ve never experienced it before. I speak for everyone when I say, anticipation is welling up inside each of us. We can’t WAIT to see the beautiful faces of Kenya. 

Training camp-an experience I’ll never EVER forget. I’ve been required to step out of my comfort zone more than I think I ever truthfully wanted to. One of the very first things the staff communicated to us as a group was that none of us truly knew what we had signed up for. Because… had we known what we were about to do, the world would call us crazy. WOW were they right!! And I wouldn’t change any of it for anything. My sweet little Baptist and Methodist backgrounds were about to be shaken in the love, truth, life and FREEDOM of Jesus Christ like I’ve never known it before. Here…it’s loud. It’s vibrant. It’s truth. It’s a beautiful display of the glory of God radiating in the young men and women surrounding me. At times, I’ve been anxious and terrified, but for what? The fact that I’m about to leave everything I love and hold dear to my heart behind and travel to a foreign country? No. That’s the easy part. How is it that proclaiming the truth and freedom of a gracious God is the most nerve wracking part about the next three months? We’ve shouted proclamations and declarations against these anxieties and fears, and I believe that His love, grace and mercy is overcoming that fear of rejection from complete strangers. Relationships are about to be built with individuals only longing to breathe in the fresh air that comes with knowing the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ. 

You’ve surely read about our adventures with the homeless individuals of downtown Atlanta. We met some of the most spiritual and encouraging men and women of God who have unfortunately been caught up in the flesh of this world. There aren’t words that I can say that would do justice to how much I value that experience with some of my brothers and sisters in Christ living on the streets. 

One experience I particularly feel like sharing is my prayer experience two nights ago. I had begin to feel like I was holding onto previous circumstances in my life that had taken me captive for the past 5 years. I started telling myself that I wasn’t worthy of being here. That I’m too dirty, filthy, and covered with sin to be effective for the kingdom of God. In worship Thursday night, we had been prompted to ask God what He thought of us. I already knew this wasn’t going to be a good experience. My head once again filled with the lies of unworthiness. I was honestly too scared to ask the Holy Creator of the universe what He thought about His daughter. I mustered courage however, and did what I was prompted to do. Within seconds, my team leader, Hannah, was standing underneath me, holding my hands. First words that came out of her mouth….”Brittany, I feel like God is wanting me to share with you that you are PURE.”  WHAT THE HECK?! ME?! PURE?! No possible way. Slowly this idea of freedom and liberation from the junk holding me back was all that captivated my thoughts. I’m pure. I’m radiant. I’m joyful. I’m a coheir with Christ. I’m His daughter and to think anything other than that is a lie!  Great truth. 

On a fun note, we’ve had dance offs, learned really strange war chants (called the “Haka”…look it up on youtube, Its entertaining) and created our own games entitled “Ninja, Pirate, Dinosaur”. I still haven’t figured out the object of the game, but….all in due time I suppose. It’s a blast.  And I can’t wait for the adventures to come with these mighty men and women of God. 

Around the world and back,

Britt