t-minus 3 weeks

On Tuesday the semester came to a close, and tomorrow I'm moving back to Athens to begin Maymester which will run through June 4th.  Early on the morning of the 5th I'll be hopping on a plane and flying directly to Seattle to meet with the team and begin tour.  Honestly, right now these 6 days of summer break I've had have not even begun to repair the physical and mental tole this semester has taken on me.

This semester has brought huge challenges that have taught me that I have limits.  I cannot be at every meeting, make perfect grades on everything, or say yes whenever asked to do something or be somewhere.  I've known for years I have trouble saying no to people, it's just that this semester it has become an issue.  In effort to maintain my perfectionistic, type A tendencies, I have stupidly taken on more than I can handle.  I have survived thus far, but only because I believe God wanted to humble me and show me that I am human.  I've found myself frequently saying yes to everyone except God.  And, when I do say yes to Him, it's more of a "hey God, I have 5 minutes to talk to you while I walk to my first class," rather than actually conversing and listening.  

This brings me to my latest life ambition: to slow down and just be for a while.  These two verses keep running through my head as I think about my self-induced chaos:

"Be still and know that I am God.  I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."

Psalm 46:10

and

"Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

Isaiah: 41:10

Actually, I should be honest.  My brain had me convinced that this was once verse that read "Be still and know that I am God.  I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."  Even though I got the verses wrong, I got the the content right…. 

Thankfully, tour will allow me to slow down for a little while.  Even though my leadership responsibilities will be a lot more time consuming and stressful than my role as a participant last year, it'll be impossible not to stop and reflect on God's creation on the days I get to bike.  I can't wait to be back on that too tiny of a bike seat, biking the mountains and valleys on Montana and everywhere to the east and west of that state.  I look forward to spending time in community with my team and learning to grow in Christ together as we ride this country one pedal stroke at a time.

However, before I head off for this journey, I have a little less than $1000 to raise.  It was my goal to work and earn all of my funds this year without having to ask for help, but considering I leave in 3 weeks, I am going ahead and mentioning that I do in fact in need help, friends.  Please only donate if you feel lead.  I know many of you have mission trips and adventures of your own, but if you do wish to help me out, I would be very appreciative.  I can wholeheartedly say this is a cause I truly believe in. If you're interested in donating, checkout my donations page on this blog, or contact me.

Until I land on the ground in Seattle, I'll continue to work, study, and ride my bike when I get the chance.  I ask for your prayers for all the above mentioned concerns as I know that returning to Athens tomorrow will bring incredible stress once again.

As always, please contact me if you have any questions about the cause, tour, or where your donations will be spent.

Blessings,

Sara 

Road of Resistance

With all the urgency of fundraising and training, I've been bad about posting about the actual cause we're biking for.  I posted this documentary last year before I left, but it's the best visual for showing people what the refugees we're riding for are experiencing. (note: this documentary was not made by Venture, but it is about the same cause and people we're biking for)

In short, the documentary talks about the situation in Burma and "the road" that they must travel in order to reach the Thailand boarder.  While the video is a few years old, things really haven't changed much since.  It's important to remember that this is the longest running civil war in the history of the world, so this is what these people have been experiencing since about World War II.  

Even though it's hard to see, I really encourage you to set aside 40 minutes to watch.  Once you're done watching, I encourage you to take a moment and just pray for the situation in this region (Thailand/Burma boarder). 

**Warning: the video is graphic in parts, so watch with caution.**

Isaiah 1:17 

Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.

I'll probably post again on Sunday about what's been happening here lately, so stay tuned. :)

Blessings,

Sara

Selfless, Advocate, Hope

My co-leader Carmen had the idea of picking three words to define our mission as a team.  We then asked each teammate to pick their top three before Carmen decided on the final trio.  The idea behind this is that we use these three words as a reminder of where our hearts, mission and focus should be.  Here's what she picked:

I was going to define the reasoning behind each word, but instead I'm going to copy and paste from Carmen's email because she says it best:

"Selfless: We want to completely give each day on the road to God's glory and to understand that the miles we bike are for the helpless (Burmese refugees) and for those that are oppressed. 

Advocate: Our bodies, bikes and hearts are tangible representations of the sacrifice we will be doing on behalf of those that need support and awareness! 

Hope: With our biking and with raising funds for Venture projects, we want to bring hope for those that need God and ultimately, we know our hope is always in God."

I love the three she chose.  She said one of the reasons she chose them is because they flow so well together; We want to be selfless advocates of hope.

While writing this, I'm listening to one of Bob Goff's podcasts (note: if you have a lot of work/school to do, don't listen or read Bob Goff's work.  It'll only make you want to drop what you're doing to go on amazing adventures to incredible places).  He starts by reading this passage:

"I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.  There is one body and one Spirit-- just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call-- one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.  But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift."

- Ephesians 4:1-7

I like this passage because it takes us back to the bigger picture of Christ's love and the hope that He brings.  Each of us has a specific call for our lives, which Bob describes as what it is that God has created each of us to be passionate about and spend our lives pursuing.  Despite the different individual calls we hear, each of us has the same big picture call: to be humble, gentle, patient, and loving to all.  

I'm still trying to connect the dots how these verses apply to the three words Carmen chose, but here's what I have so far: love is the ultimate action that trumps all others, and selfless, advocate, and hope outline how and why we should love.  We should love selflessly because we are advocates of the hope Christ gave us when He sent his son to earth as the ultimate sacrifice and greatest gift of love.

Thoughts?  Comments?  Let me know!  Hope you all are enjoying this beautiful, spring Sunday!

Blessings, 

Sara