Hi everyone!!!!
I am so sorry this post is long overdue, mainly due to the ~rollercoaster~ of emotions that I have been on since hearing the WR gap year COVID-19 updated plan, and partly due to my days as a grocery store clerk taking over my life LOL. Times are scary right now and we are constantly living in the unknown, but guess what… THE RACE IS STILL HAPPENING!!! But now, the race just looks a little more according to the Lord’s plan and a little less according to mine.
As of now, the plan is for all squads to stay at the Adventures in Missions headquarters in Gainsville, GA from September until December, and if the Lord’s Will allows, launch overseas come January. In Gainsville, we will be doing a variety of discipleship training, team building, leadership training, learning opportunities, and local outreach. My first thoughts upon hearing this came from a place of doubt and worldly fear. My mind raced from “this isnt what I signed up for” to “maybe I should do the race after college instead of now”, I was overwhelmed and unsettled. However, it did not take long for the good Lord to change my mind. The first words I heard that really compelled me to stay were “this isnt what you thought you were signing up for but this is what the Lord KNEW you were signing up for”. In that moment of hearing those words, it just came down to a simple choice of pursuing obedience or not. I could either listen to the world and go with what was more in my comfort zone, attending college next year instead of WR. OR I could be obedient to God’s will for my life and attend what He knew I was signing up for before the first case of corona even existed. For me, the choice was simple, because the Lord will never lead you on a path that does not bring abundence to your life. So, on to Gainsville I go!!!
After making my decision to stay on the WR gap year path, I had a lingering question– “Why?”. Why would the Lord call me to international ministry at this time in my life, knowing that half of the experience would be spent here in the states. Well, God answered this question through a conversation with a friend. A few days after hearing the news, I got the chance to have a picnic with a friend of mine who was just returning from an international ministry experience in Australia through a program called YWAM. The program is set up in a way where the first few months of their experience are spent on the base to attend lectures and do discipleship training and the later few months are spent internationally serving. She explained to me that upon her arrival there, she was just so ready to be the hands and feet of Jesus but did not realize how much she really needed the lecture time and discipleship training to be healed and freed from things that she did not even realize were holding her back. Her main takeaway from this experience was that sometimes you need to first be freed in order to free other people. This was the answer. This is what the Lord wanted to provide me with before allowing me to go build His kingdom and serve His people. I mean my whole intention for going on the race was to love on and serve and free His children around the world, but the Lord wanted to give me more time to prepare before doing so. He is giving me a time for healing, a time for growth, a time for learning and a time for freeing before giving me the time for internationally serving. For this I could not be more thankful or excited. I get to spend four months with Jesus, learning and growing, while being surrounded by a community that wants nothing more but to help each other heal and grow before we all become a vessle for Christ. HOW COOL IS THAT!?!?
So as a girl who has spent the majority of her life only knowing the west, the south isnt in my vocabulary. However I said yes to this, fully trusting my teamates to properly introduce me to southern living and I could not be more pumped. Thank you guys for following me on this journey and I would like to apologize in advance for when I start saying “Y’all” after living in the south for 4 months. Anywho, I will catch you next time, but for now just remember that maybe the Lord is trying to free you from something before allowing you to serve others in the way you feel called to.
stay groovy, ciao,
Ellie Zeller xoxo
