In Spanish, "ven conmigo" means "come with me." When I was taking Spanish classes in high school, it was the name of the textbook series we used for all four years.
This last season, Jesus has beckoned me to come with Him many different places;
to New York City for the summer, to singleness after a two-year relationship, to a new job, a new school, and now a new country.
Ever since my best friend, Steven Rozzi, did YWAM my freshman year of college, I have longed to do the same. The timing had always deterred me, however, because I didn't want to take off school.
I found a YWAM base in San Jose, Costa Rica. After three months of intensive discipleship training, the team is sent on a backpacking trip through South America to minister to other travelers and other backpackers via intentional acts of kindness and hospitality. Much like my discovery of NYCUP, I just sort of stumbled upon this particular YWAM base. And of all the bases in the world, this one just sounded right. Still, however, the timing of the trip was less than ideal.
Earlier this fall, something very interesting occurred to me: I only have two more GE's to fulfill before I can transfer to a university. What if, I thought, I could finish those GE's at Foothill College, which is on the quarter system? That would mean I could finish my general education in March, go to YWAM in April, and come back right in time to transfer to a University. How perfect of a situation is that?
I prayed a lot about it, and Jesus confirmed it again and again and again. Nearly everyone I talked to about it - whether a Christian or not - agreed that it would be a spectacular opportunity. Even my protective mother, who is always worrying about me, said that it sounded like an incredible idea. The one person who objected was met with a storm of bird feces falling from the sky all over his truck. Now, I'm not sure if that was from the Lord or not, but I like to think that it was.
One of the most striking things was that a classmate of mine from high school, who I would probably only call an acquaintance, met my friend Spencer Ryan (who is currently doing YWAM) while studying abroad in Australia. She reconnected with me through Facebook and preceded to tell me that I should do YWAM. Even though she wasn't a Christ-follower, she thought it was an amazing program. So much so, that she felt compelled to encourage my participation.
From this point, my prayer was simply this: "Lord, if you want me to go, let this work out."
