the next chapter.

As many of you know, my internship at Kingsland Baptist Church ends the last day of May. That means I have been praying and thinking through what my next step is.

And the Lord has opened every door and made it clear to what is next. I am excited to say that…

I WILL BE MOVING TO CAMBODIA FOR 10 MONTHS!!

I am just a little excited, if you can’t tell! It has been so neat to look back and see how God has orchestrated things to get me to this point and how He has slowly allowed me to fall in love with Cambodia since DAY 1 of my internship.

I am in awe of God and who He is, and the way He has a perfect plan and unique plan for each of us. He is good. There’s no arguing that. I can’t believe my Heavenly Father is giving me the opportunity to go on this journey. I’m just blown away.

You might be thinking (well at least this is what I think you’re thinking…aka lies from the enemy), “Kelsey, you’re almost 25, you were just an intern, and now you’re going over seas? I thought you wanted to go to grad school? When are you going to start your career?” Now, I know most of you are probably not thinking that, but that’s what the enemy is telling me, so I’m going to go ahead and address it.

Let me start by saying, grad school is still on the table. I am studying for my GRE currently and plan on applying for the next cycle. Next, I am NEVER going to get this time back in my life. I am single, I haven’t officially started my career, and there is nothing holding me back. Why wouldn’t I jump at this opportunity? It will never come again.

Every door is wide open for me to jump on this opportunity, and I couldn’t be more excited. I am in love with the nations, and I can’t wait to go serve one of them for 10 months. God has made this so clear and evident for me. I almost feel that I don’t deserve this opportunity, but I’m thankful to God that He is allowing me to follow the passions that He has given me.

Yes, it’s going to be hard. I am going to be away from my family, I will have to learn a new language and a new city, and I will have to start over finding a new and different kind of community. Yet, God is going to be with me. He has never left me, and He never will. He will give me the strength to get through the days that I miss my family and friends. But I think of all that I am going to learn, and I’m ready to grow in the ways He has planned.

So I ask for prayer. I ask that you please be in prayer for me as I prep for this next chapter of my life. I ask that you pray for my heart and for my families, as well. And I ask that you pray against the enemy and the lies he will be throwing my way. His lies are not welcomed. Jesus has already overcome.

Matthew 28:19 tells us, “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” That’s what I want to do. That’s what God has called me to do. He is calling me to the nation of Cambodia, and I know growth and lessons await me there.

[Just a few of the faces I fell in love with while in Cambodia]