Prior to my sophomore year at college, I never believed that I could give up a ‘whole summer’ for a service project or mission. I constantly made up excuses in my head as to why I shouldn’t serve. The excuses I created in my head were not of God and I was being blinded to what the Lord wanted for me. During my sophomore year, God really challenged me to drop all of the worldly excuses that I constructed and serve His people for the summer. I decided to devote my summer to serving people with disabilities through PUSH America, the national philanthropy of my fraternity. I was chosen to be a cyclist on the Journey of Hope, a 65 day bike ride from San Francisco to Washington D.C. to raise funds and awareness for people with disabilities. Last year, the other cyclists and I raised over $500,000 dollars for organizations that support people with disabilities which we gave out across 32 different states. I truly believe that God used my experience on the Journey of Hope to exhibit how selflessness and loving on people transcends any other desire that I could ever have. Nothing has ever brought me more life or happiness than building relationships and serving people with disabilities. I could see God in the eyes of everyone that I met across the United States and I believe that God used the quiet time on my bike each day to listen to what He has in store for me.
Each day we spent between 6 and 8 hours on our bikes riding to our destinations and needless to say, we had a lot of time alone to think (or pray). As I was on the bike I would reflect on the previous days experiences and be open to listening to what God had to tell me. It was my understanding that God was telling me to continue following and serving Him, but in a community of Christians. Being one of 2 Christians out of 20 guys on my team, often times it was hard to have fellowship and keep all of my thoughts on God. Although I know God was with me during the whole trip, I really believe that He wanted me to experience the Christian community aspect of mission work and service. So, I guess I made the decision to serve last summer on my bike and chose to sign up for the ‘Messenger’ program through our college ministry that Caroline, Sarah, and Dan explained. I had no idea where the committee was going to send me, but I liked putting the decision fully in God’s hands and I couldn’t be happier with where I was placed!
So, I will meet all of you in 9 days. =-) That is neat.
