Jumping off bridges

Mum- 10+years ago: “Devin, if all your friends jump off a bridge will you?”

Devin- today: “Yes mum, that's exactly what I'll do & DID.”

There are many adventures that take place on the World Race
There are so many things your eyes get to see

Scenery so lovely a camera no matter what brand- Cannon or iPhone, they can hardly do it justice.

There are so many things your heart gets to feel

That moment you gaze into the eyes of a rescued little one who was going to be a sex slave before people like you came along

That moment your beside yourself because your at your lowest low, and then come along these angels you call friends that gather around you to help lift you up, encourage you, and help you become the very best you, the you, you were meant to be.

There are countless miracles you witness

A woman rising from being dead on a pile of trash in Honduras

A man paralyzed getting off his bed an walking in Rwanda

There are adventures that take your breath away like seeing the temple ruins of Ankor Wat in Cambodia. Or Basking in the masterpiece that is Lankawi Island in Malaysia.

So many of these adventures I never could have imagined I'd see, or feel. . . experience!

The Lord has been so good to me. The Race is full of adventure and I haven't missed a one. Even the times I opted out like choosing to not go on a safari in Africa because I knew the money just wasn't there, it was when my pride was too much for me to ask YOU my friends, my family, my support to help make it happen.

Still He saw past my foolish pride & He provided a way for me to go on that safari in Africa, just like He provided a way for me to jump off this bridge today.

Wanna know summin kinda cool? He told me to jump off this bridge. He told me to take this leap.

I want to open my heart to you for a sec an get real vulnerable.

I received good feedback recently about self preservation, and how it's something I sometimes walk in out of habit. It's not me, but it's what I've always known. It's what I've grown up with.

There are times when I believe the lie that I will not be taken care of. That if I want or need something I will have to do it myself. Trust is the issue here.

Need an example of self preservation?

Picture this I'm in a store shopping, and when I shop I'm a one shop stop kind of man. I'm in, find what I want, I get it and I'm out. Now this isn't because I despise shopping. It isn't because I'm super manly or that I'm a tight wad; although I am a tight wad.

It's simply because I believe some lie that says if I don't take what I desire right then & there it most likely will not be there when I return, when I no longer just want something, but need it. I'm afraid someone else will come and take it from me. I believe more often times than not that I will not have what I want, and more importantly what I need. It's a 20 summin year old habit, so it's not easy to break.

This Race is life, and life is the Race

We racers are no different from anybody else and have very little we've really figured out in life.

I will not come home and be some super Christian who no longer acts out of self preservation, BUT I will be a man who recognizes his weakness and allows the Lord to fill that void. I WILL be that man who sets his feet on a platform and decides to trust, and let go of everything else.

Jesus was really on to something when He stated “to gain your life, you must lose it” So, it's essential for you to lose (give up, let go) of your life to really live.

Yeah, I'm starting to understand this. . .

There's that moment. It was magical. Beautiful beyond my words could express. I'm standing on the platform looking out at the lovely landscape of Nepal, the rain clouds rolling in over the mountain tops, I hear the rushing water in the canyon below me, and I'm about to jump.

Leap of faith? Yeah, you can say that.
This jump has become so much more significant to me than those that have come before me. Most come here to jump for fun or for the adrenaline rush, but oh not me. .

I have come to jump so that I may trust.

The moment my feet left that platform I conquered death.

The moment my body hung in the air I leg go. . .

Arms out wide I let go of fear

I let go of worry, doubt and anxiety.

I became dauntless “brave” this day.

I let go to live

I jumped to trust

In life, and on the Race we have adventure. We have invitation, and we have bridges to jump off of. It's ultimately our choice, YOUR choice to respond to it.

I will have many more bridges to jump off of in the future. . .

And I'm looking forward to every single one.

Which bridges do you need to jump off?

Month 10-Peter Pan Said It Best

I think Peter Pan said it best.

“To live would be an awfully big adventure.”

Somewhere along this season of my life, and this 11 month journey I began learning how to really live. I began learning how to to dive deeper into this great big adventure we call life.

And I thought saying yes to the Race was that plunge. . . this young buck had a lot to learn.

Isn't it funny that when you type the word “love” spellcheck corrects it, turning it into “live”.

Those two should be, and are synonymous. To truly love is to fully live. To fully live, is to truly love.

A friend asked me the other day about my heart, and what was going on with it. “Care to share?” they said. At first I was at a loss for words. Silenced by the compounding amount of emotion my sensitive heart has been feeling. I had no clue what to say, or how to say it. Questions arose in my mind “what is going on in my heart?” “Am I truly living?” “Am I fully loving?” Can I share my life & love, and will it be an adventure for others as it has for me or is this just some nice mission trip?

I began to write, not just about month 10, but the journey and adventure before me, and behind me. . .

There is something revolutionary about this journey

Something captivating about this adventure

This invitation to capture

This invitation to have & hold

Maybe it's washing clothes by hand everyday

Or maybe it's pooping in a hole

Maybe it's the bucket showers

Or making your bed in a sketch place

Bus terminals, airport floors, bamboo huts, dirt floors. . You know how we do

Bedding down with bugs an all

I've become a man of sorrows acquainted with grief

I've become a man of joy acquainted with peace\

Everyday invites me on an adventure not just a mission trip

It's not a trip where He sends a rigid itinerary, He simply invites me.

God simply ask what it is He's made me to love, what it is that captures my attention, what feeds that deep indescribable need of my soul to experience the richness of the world He made, and then leaning over me He whispers, “let's go do that together!”

Most great adventures work that way. You don't plan them, you don't wait to get all the details right. You just go and do them.

With this adventure, this World Race I'm learning to RSVP His invitations, and go after the things He's made me love. It's not all planned out for me either, and that's where most people get too nervous to take the next step. We get nervous to take that plunge. But know this: when Jesus invites us on an adventure, He shapes who we become with what happens along the way.

A couple of other things happen when we say yes to His invitations to participate with Him in life. Obstacles that seem insurmountable aren't. Impediments that we believe disqualify us don't. When we show up to participate with Jesus in in “doing life” we're participating with the very One who created Life. He simply asks us how we are, a lot like my friend asked, and then He invites us to get better with Him.

So here I am month 10. Getting better with Him. Saying yes everyday to doing life with Him.

Loving & Living

Truly & Fully

Ps: If you haven't already read it, please read Love Does by Bob Goff. This book inspired this blog, and also my life. This book is a book that dives deeper into what little I hit on in my blog- living a life of invitation, truly loving, fully living. It dives into what love does, not just what it is. Love that is not just words “I love you”, but love that is a verb, an action.  

A Moment of Impact

 Today's blog will be a bit different than most monthly blogs. . . Most months I tell you about the ministry, or what we were able to do in the area we're in, I share the adventures we go on, the lives we touch, and the lives that touch us. . . 

 Today I just want to express how grateful I am for life.
A couple of days ago I found myself more thankful to be alive than ever before. . . 

As you may have seen on the news Narobi's West Gate mall has been under siege from Al-Quada terrorist. This is still going on today. . Many have died, many injured. . .  lives forever changed. 

What's crazy is that if this attack would've happened one week later that could have been us in that mall. See, we fly out from Narobi to get to our next country (Nepal), and we were destined to stop there on the way out being westerners an all. . we love our malls ya know?  Just one week , and things could have looked a lot differently. These attacks sadden me for those involved. The lives lost, the families in pain, the injured receiving aid. . . the families still in waiting to see if their loved one's come out of this chaos. 

As I was finding all this out I became extremely thankful for life right now. I am so grateful for my life, and the way I have been able to truly live it. Jesus says that when you choose life "I will give you life, life more abundantly" - LIFE more abundantly - without lack, full of hope, adventure, and joy. 

There are moments in history that stop you in your tracks. . . moments of sobriety where you are forced to take a look at your life, and see where it's been, and often times where it's going. . . 

For me, this is one of those moments. . .

Think back to 9/11. Where you were? what you thought? And how fast your your mind & heart  raced to those you love. Where all you wanted to do was call a family member or friend to say you love them, you miss them, your thankful for them. . .

In moments like these your forgive trespasses, and you forgive those who have had hurt you. .
 These moments come and interrupt the busyness of our day to day lives, they interrupt our schedules, deadlines, and push back things that truly aren't that important. 

Moments like these those of us who are lucky are the one's who get to see the gift of life, how precious it really is. We get to learn how to cherish & treasure it a little bit better one day longer. 

In this moment of processing my thoughts went to you. . . my family, my friends. 
You are more than just a support system for me on the World Race. You are family. You are the one's that if my life ended tomorrow it's your faces that would flash in front of my eyes as I breathed my last. 

My thoughts also were directed towards those right in front of me. The gift they are, and how I get to truly love those right in front of me a little bit better today because of a painful lesson learned from yesterday. . . 

Grieve with me the loss of these last few days

Pray with me for rescue, that God would be so gracious to come & comfort all those who mourn. 

I'm thankful for the sobriety of this moment. 

Not in that this had to happen, but in what I have chosen to see it as

I'm thankful for what it taught me, and what I was able to learn from this moment in history. . .

I'm thankful for each one of you, and your contributions to my life, and not just my Race. . . 

And finally, I'm thankful for life and today. 
 I'm thankful for the gift of life and the joy to be able to live it more abundantly. . . 

With a grateful heart, Love you all

Dev

NILE SPECIAL

So I find myself at such peace here at debrief. These times in between 3 months of ministry are so welcomed, and so deserved. We rest, we relax. We enjoy each others company, and pour into one another by speaking life into each others hearts at where we're at on our journey. We also have the privilege of catching up with our squad leaders, and squad coaches during this time. 

Like this purdy lady here! Me & Stacy (Alumni Squad Leader) catching up after she has been leading Q squad for the last 3 months- she got to come back for our month 8 debrief. 

This season and this time is so big, so important. So crucial on the Race. You can feel it in the air. You can see it in every Racer's eyes, hear it in their voices as they speak. It became really real to us when Hope (our squad coordinator) gave us re-entry packets to start looking at last night. 

We're down to the last trek of this journey. Here we are at the last 3 months of the Race, and I could fill this screen with stories & testimonies of what the Lord has been teaching me & speaking, but here is what I really want to share with you today. . .

 There are moments here on the Race, opportunities that  I have missed because of my attitude - last month was an example of that. Apathy struck me down this past month, and I had to battle the worst attitude I've had on the Race. I was always irritable, always frustrated. This frustration had little to do with our contacts or even our ministry. For some reason I just couldn't shake this month 8 funk. 

 We've been out here on the Nile for a few days now, and I have been searching my heart, listening intently to the Lord, and pondering my walk with Him, where I'm at, where I'm going. . why I came, what this has all been for. . 

In past blogs I have referenced this as my "walkabout". It has been that for sure, and yet so much more. 

These past few days I have learned something about myself that is simply beautiful. One of the main reasons I had been in this month 8 funk was not because of the contacts, the ministry, or even my team. The reason my heart was under such distress was because I did not have the right amount of intimacy my heart needed with the Lord. I was not able to get the amount of time with the Lord that my heart craved.  

I discovered these past few days how much of a dependency I have upon the Lord, and how beautiful that really is. When I haven't spent time with Him or in His presence I become irritable, I become frustrated, I become scattered and unsure of many things around me and about myself. 

To me this is a beautiful discovery that is a rag to riches story to my own heart. A "beauty found from beneath the ashes" . . 

I have grown up so independent, so self reliant, and here I am 24 years old and I find myself truly leaning upon my beloved. . dependent solely upon Him & Him alone. 

Today my heart is full & happy, and there is no place I'd rather be. 

We had the joy of taking a boat ride on the Nile today where most of us found ourselves having one on one's catching up and speaking into one another's lives's Soon after we had the pleasure of being able to celebrate in one of our dear friends baptism in the Nile. Moments like these I look around at these faces, and I see Him. I see Him in them, and all around them. I feel Him all around me. . . 

These moments they come & go so fast, and I intend to cherish each & every one. . 

From a heart that is full & happy today I just want to say I love you all. All my supporters, all the people following my blogs. . friends & family whom I can't wait to see. . You made this community possible for me. These people have poured in so much and continue to do so daily. I've poured out, and I have the privilege to continue doing so today. 

Many options are on the horizon for me & there are a few different things I am taking to the Lord to see where my next steps will be.  I can't give details just yet, because it's simply not all hashed out yet, but be on the lookout for updates! There are some really exciting things the Lord is speaking to me and showing me for this next season of my life. . for the next part of this journey and life of adventure. . 

I love you all 

Dev

Uganda - Month 8 WR

The rain beading down the widow seal. . The cool breeze blowing in just cool enough to make you bundle up in a hoodie & want a hot cup of coffee in hand. . A warm living room that has this down home country glow to it, couches & chairs that swallow you whole, furniture in general is a rare find here on the Race.

Here I found myself thoroughly enjoying our first few days here in Uganda. My team & I arrived at our ministry site, and were introduced & welcomed into a family so loving & so appreciative of us we already can tell we were going to love this place. Sure of one thing . . . this was gonna be a big month.

Our Pastor, and main contact Pastor Ntege Alozious greeted us & welcomed us into his home & family today. You can tell even in the way he prays we are family. This particular family has a wonderful sense of humor which has been quite enjoyable to my team & I. They have a puppy named shaggy! Oh, and a goat we named pooter! Pictures will come soon.

We spent our first day here settling in. We ventured into town (about a 2mi walk with shortcut included) with one of our contacts son's Steven. We went to get water for our team, and of course we picked up some snacks for ourselves & for our contact just to bless him. We spent the rest of our day enjoying reading books from the library he has in his living room. We were all given the opportunity for a little R&R time which on the Race this time can turn into some of your sweetest & most intimate moments between you & the Lord, or you & your team.

. . . You could look around the house at any moment and find one or two napping, resting their physical bodies, or recovering from the mental exhaustion traveling around the world gives you. . Look further and you may find one or two of us reading, searching for a story to plug ourselves into maybe a fiction book that throws us into another world and journey altogether or take a look outside & you may find a teammate in a hammock spending time with the Lord.

So here I am. . . Month 8 of the World Race. I find myself not knowing what to look for, or what to expect. I can only look at where I've been, and what I've experienced. Starting out I want to honestly say this month has been hard for me. I can't even really tell you why. I think it's partially because it IS MONTH 8. It's hard to believe where I'm at on this journey. How far I've come, where I've been. What I've seen & had the joy of experiencing.

Pray for me friends, family. . I'm tired. I'm burnt out & feeling apathetic, it's hard to shake these feelings some days, but I am trusting in the Lord. I'm trusting that He is always speaking to my heart, and is always doing something behind the scenes.

I am determined to enjoy this season. I am determined to enjoy every second.

I know that I've been given such a beautiful opportunity & privilege to do what I'm doing.

I love each & every precious moment, every team member I have the opportunity to “do life” with. Every person I get to share Jesus with, and see Jesus in as we minister His love, His grace, and His teachings. . .

Our ministry this month has consisted of a lot of door to door ministry, spending time in schools teaching & preaching, & Hospital healings. . . we do A LOT of preaching. We sometimes preach at two different churches which usually run into 2 to 4 hour services. I get tired from that because I have the attention span of like a 5 yr. Old haha but we really are seeing lives changed & hearts moved.

More to come guys – next blog I will try an include pics as well. I am online once a week on my Sabbath days – Saturday's. So if you are ever free & want to catch up or you have questions about the Race, you want to pray with me, talk to me . . talk about the past, present, or future I'm open to it.

Love you guys,

Dev

The Beginning Of The End. . .

Rwanda . . .

A country war torn, and effected by genocide, hospital healing, prodigals coming back to know their Father, church services filled with anointed worship and messages. .

Joy & laughter that fills a small village home. . .dance & song to a simple rhythm of a drum. .  Radio preaching, bus rides with 20+ people. 8 ½ mi hikes to and from church. .

Evening runs on African country side watching beautiful sunsets as kids run along side you. .

 Spending time with Widow's & University students encouraging them to shoot for the stars. .

Speaking of stars. . . stars in an African sky compares to no other. . .

All of these things are Rwanda for me. . .

I am heading into month 8 of the World Race now. . . leaving behind yet another family that has worked it's way into my heart. More faces that no matter how many countries are in between us my heart can't forget.

This month has been nothing short of amazing! I stand in awe of where I came from, sit in wonder at where I am, and I am captivated by where I am going. . .

This journey has taken so many turns towards beauty. . there are so many beautiful moments I try an capture by blinking my eyes and taking mental photographs that end up forever ingrained on my heart. Moments written upon a canvas that make me a new man. A more refined man. A wiser man. . . A man with a better understanding of the world around him, and the people in it. A man with stories to tell, and faces to share. .

I have become and currently becoming a better man than the days before, and a happier man for the days that lie ahead. . .

Thank you for “doing life” with me during this journey. . .

Thank you for pouring into me, and knowing this was good soil the Lord could grow up a mature man out of. It's to you I owe my gratitude and my “a million thanks” to being able to see this journey to completion.

I pray for you & think of you often

I miss you all & love you dearly

My family, my friends, my supporters & biggest fans! You are all so great!

Rwanda Part III Heart to Heart: Me to You

It all started with this video. I remember staying up many late nights in my apartment watching this video over and over again.

I wondered, could this be what the Lord is calling me to?

The World Race is a really long time, and lot can change in eleven months. I kept trying to picture who I would be. What would look like? How would I be different? What would life be like afterwards?

A lot of those questions I could honestly still ask myself. Yet here I am as a month seven World Racer. I said yes to this crazy adventure. I heard that crazy rumor. I listened to the whisper. I answered the call to come out into the wild with God. I have experienced this journey with Him, releasing His Kingdom on the earth. 

I have been to many places around the world and have seen many different faces. I have had the privilege and honor to be able to experience so many different cultures. I have witnessed Jesus do miraculous things, and have seen Him move in the small and quiet ways.

I have made some of the most beautiful and amazing friends that I could ever ask for, and have submitted and served under some of the wisest and most humble leaders.

For seven months I have been away from home, outside the States, and away from my safe harbor. I have learned more lessons than I could share in just one blog. I have more stories than you have time for. But when I make my way around your town or when you’re in mine, feel free to stop and talk with me. Let's have coffee. I will listen to your great adventures and tales from your life, and I will share mine. 

One thing that is certain, when I return home, I will experience community shock. I'm sure there will also be a measure of culture shock. Simply stated, the real, raw, and deep community we live in out here . . . there is nothing like it. It's something that happens because of our experiences together. The Lord leads us into a place of abandonment and transforms our lives because of it. I plan to not just learn from this culture I plan to own it, create it, live it where ever I go. I will change the very atmosphere of the place I inhabit. 

The Lord has been so good to me. I am so close to His heart, and He to mine. It took everything within me to come on the race and give up the life I had back home. Now that I'm here, there is no place I'd rather be. Do I miss home? Sure. Do I miss my family and my friends? Of course! But there is truly no place I have felt more in tune with God and more fulfilled. I have never felt that I could just pour out & still remain in such a place of rest. The Lord has made me a great leader because he taught me to become a great follower. It is because He is the "greater in me." 

I have had the joy and the privilege of being the leader of two different teams so far here on the World Race. It's because of these people that I am who I am today.

                

These lovely faces, and so many more among my squad have invested in me, my heart, and into my journey with the Lord. While I have been away, many of you have done the same.

Ahhh … I wish I could get you to meet every last one of these beautiful people, hear their stories, and "do life with them," as I have. 

You probably won't meet most of them. You may not ever hear any of their stories. But there is one thing I know . . . your life will be impacted because their words and lives will resound in my heart. I will live my life with them in my heart and mind.  

This journey is not over yet, and I'm very happy for that. I have much more to learn, to listen, and to hear. 

The Lord has given me some beautiful things, and has put some things on my heart that I'd like to share with you..

I have no idea how things will look when I return home. I don’t know where I will live, or where I will work. I will start planning all that fairly soon, but it is not the time yet. 

I feel very strongly that I will only be home for a short while. The Lord has given me a passion to raise up young people like myself to become Son's & Daughters. I want to help raise them up to become leaders of their generation. OUR generation! I want to live a life like chivalry really isn't dead. I want to teach young boys how to be great men, and young girls how to see themselves as lovely women, and daughters of a King -worthy of adoration. 

If an opportunity presents itself, and Adventures & Missions would have me, I will be looking into Squad Leading or leading a Passport team shortly after retuning home. Either option would take me far from home once again, but not for nearly as long.

I tell you this so that you can pray with me. I have no idea what's to come of this, but I am leaning into His leading. This would require me to fund raise all over again, and we all know how fun that is … psych! But seriously, if there is one thing I have learned it's this- If the Lord has called you to something, He is more than capable and willing to provide for your every need. 

I am very confident in the fact that He will lead me and guide me and provide for my next Kingdom Journey with Him. 

Please continue to pray for me as I embrace the beauty of this season, and also look forward to the glory of the next season. 

Love you all dearly. 

I love knowing you, and love being known by you.

Dev