“Where do you see yourself in the future?
“When do you plan to settle down & get into a career?
“Are you going to college some day?
“You’re leaving again?
“Do you even have enough money to travel for 11 months, you haven’t had a steady income in how long?
“It seems like you start something new every time you come home & then just leave.
“What are you running from?
There’s more where that came from. There are more questions like these that the enemy has used in my life to try as hard as he possibly can to stray me away from my original design since birth, to go after God & His people with love. It sounds simple until it involves more than just complimenting my friend on how cute she looks, making time to eat dinner as a family at home, or commenting “Congratulations! Well deserved!” on the Instagram post of an old friend who recently graduated college. Loving my neighbor looks like this in so many ways but it also looks like this:
Creating spaces of inclusion full of laughter & fun for kids to hear a single bible story while having to be creative to understand in an unfamiliar language
Spending an entire month and a half chiseling away at rock & dirt to reduce the risk of a family’s church building, which is also their home, from flooding during the wet season
Sitting in the presence of a stranger to be an open ear though there is a language barrier & you can maybe pickup 5 words throughout the entire 30 minutes
Gathering all of the young adults in town to teach them new games & create a space that doesn’t include drugs, alcohol or gang violence
Going to the corner store every evening just to hangout with the kid who sits by himself all day long
Giving the church/home a fresh coat of paint to make it feel clean & vibrant again
I became best friends with people who look, live & talk different than me. Conversation was never easy but even God says in 1 John 3:18, “My children, let us not love with words or in talk only. Let us love by what we do and in truth.”
I have stories upon stories of all the glory I’ve experienced God do at home in Portland as well as while on the mission field elsewhere. Being home the past 9 months has given me the opportunity to reflect on God’s goodness, plan & purpose in my own life while also being able to intently listen to His calling on my life in the days to come.
That being said, throughout missions aboard & missions in the states, God has called me to 6 countries specifically in the year of 2024. From January 13th to November 24th of 2024, I will be joining a group of adults traveling throughout South Africa, Eswatini, Guatemala, Thailand, Vietnam & Cambodia with the ultimate objective of showing people the love of God through the gospel of Jesus. The Great Commission was a task or mission assigned to the apostles (missionary teachers of the Gospel) to make disciples (followers of Jesus) going to the lost (those who have not heard of Jesus before) & teaching them about Jesus, showing them His love & baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son & the Holy Spirit.
“Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matthew 28:16-20
Thank you for being a part of my life, whether you are a spectator, family member, friend, supporter, prayer warrior, mentor, colleague, neighbor, supervisor, whatever is it that you are to me… THANK YOU. I wouldn’t be able to continue this journey without the encouragement, love, prayer & financial support you have been willing to give. My life is a life I thought I could only dream of but you are the reason I get to live it out!
Stay tuned for details about my upcoming mission trip including the countries, why I even want to go on this World Race thing & why/how you can support me prayerfully & financially! 🙂 If you are ahead of the game & already want to donate towards my trip, here’s a link to my fundraising page: Payton\’s Fundraising Page
Here’s to another year of saying “YES” to the Lord’s calling!
Love Always,
<3 P
