Hello Friends! Welcome to my new CGA blog!
A few notes and updates:
-This is now the site that I will be blogging on (replacing my world race blog site)!
-If you were subscribed to my world race blog, you have been automatically subscribed to this blog and that is why you received this email!
-The following blog is one that I already posted on my world race blog but am re-posting so that it will be available on my CGA blog, so feel free to read it again or not, but I will be updating with a new blog very soon!
Thank you for all the support and I can’t wait to continue sharing what the Lord is doing in my life and what He is teaching me on this next journey!
The past year of my life on the World Race was so many things. It was difficult, growing, uncomfortable, intimate, beautiful, hilarious, fruitful, abundant and so much more. Simply put: it was life changing.
The Lord showed me brokenness and beauty in people and places all over the world. He gave me deep and meaningful relationships with the people I was traveling with and the people I met along the way. He walked me through hard things and drew me closer in those times. He showed me my gifts and gave me authority to walk in them with confidence. He taught me how to live with a Kingdom mindset and how life is ministry. He brought me into an intimate relationship with Him and showed me His faithfulness, provision, goodness, and more. And He revealed to me what the ultimate purpose of my life is: to glorify Him!
I am so incredibly thankful for this experience and I couldn’t imagine it any better; it was amazing. But now the question is: what’s next? After lots of prayer, I have found the best way for me to use what I learned on the race and the best way for me to glorify God and partner with Him in this next year. For this next season of my life and ministry I will be moving to Gainesville, Georgia for eight months to attend the Center for Global Action (CGA), a leadership and discipleship program!
How did I decide on CGA?
There comes a point in the race where you have to start thinking about what the next season is going to look like. As I started praying about it and looking into all the different options, the only thing I was sure about was that I wanted whatever was next to be what God wanted me to do. I wanted to make sure that I was following what God’s plan was for my life. After a while, I found myself frustrated because God wasn’t giving me any clear directions. I was waiting to hear a clear “yes” or “no” from Him regarding any of the options.
After a lot of frustration on my part, He kindly spoke to me. He said “Carly, I trust you to make a decision. I trust that whatever path you choose, that you will continue running towards me. Whatever you decide to do, I am going to bless it.”
I had been allowing God’s will to constrain me when it actually liberates and frees me. I was sitting at a red light waiting for the green light when in reality, He already gave me the green light and trusts me enough to go until He gives me a red. He told me that He is going to honor whatever decision I make because we have built this trust and relationship. As long as I love Him and love people, He is going to bless whatever I choose to do. He trusts me and He wants to see what I do with that trust.
These words shifted my focus from “what’s right and what’s wrong for this next season?” to “what are my desires for this next season and how can God and I make that happen together?”
Then the Lord showed me what I desired for the season after the race. I want authentic Christian community. People to call me higher into who Christ made me to be and into my relationship with Him. I want discipleship. A mentor to pour into me and learning how to better disciple others. And more than anything I desire to grow in closer intimacy with the Lord. And as I looked into all my desires for this next season, applying to CGA became the obvious choice!
What exactly is CGA?
CGA is a second-year program through Adventures in Missions designed for World Race alumni to follow their calling, bringing the Kingdom of God all over the world. It exists to mobilize a generation to be passionate followers of Jesus who live out their faith whether at home, professionally, or overseas.
There are five key components that are involved in CGA: Discipleship, Community, Inner Transformation, Outreach, and Scripture. I’m expected to memorize scripture, actively make disciples in the surrounding community, attend classes, work a part time job, meet with my mentor, and more. I also had to pick a specific track (like a major) and I applied and was accepted to the Field Leadership track. That means my focus will be on developing my leadership skills in various settings.
I am extremely excited to move to Georgia and start this program. I truly believe that going to CGA is going to prepare me for whatever the Lord has next for me, whether that be serving oversees, going into the corporate workplace, or something else. It has become abundantly clear that God is going to use this program to help me pursue my calling and He is going to bless me in it.
How can you support me?
Prayer is by far the most important form of support! Please pray for me in this next season of life. Pray that the Lord uses this program to prepare me for my calling, whatever that may look like.
I also need financial support. In total, I need to raise $8,650. This financial support covers all the program costs, housing costs for all 8 months, and a capstone mission trip at the end of the program. The income from my part-time job will cover my food, gas, entertainment, and any extra costs.
If I am being honest I am very hesitant to go into another season of fundraising. It was not easy the first time around and I really had to trust that the Lord was going to provide. I am also under no impression that it it’s going to be easy for me, but I do know that it’s easy for God. The Lord told me that He was going to bless me in whatever I decide to do, and I do believe that He will provide the financial support! I am also choosing to ignore the lies from the enemy telling me that no one will want to support me again or that I will never raise this amount of money. I believe that $8,650 is just a drop in the bucket to God and He will provide just like He did for the race.
I know a lot of you supported me financially for the World Race and I can’t even express my gratitude. If you choose to support me in the next session as well, I can promise you that it is furthering your investment in God’s Kingdom! You are investing in the ministry God has called me to in this season, and this time it is in America.
Would you please prayerfully consider partnering with me in this next season? Whether you are able to donate monthly, donate one time, or support me in prayer, it means so much to me to have you on this journey with me. I can’t even express how grateful I am!
Thank you for all of the love!
God Bless,
Carly
If you feel led to financially support me, just click the “Donate!” button at the top of the page. My first financial deadline is coming up and I need to have $3000 in my account by September 16th.
