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Ok so now we arrive at August 28 2019 or 8:28 which is even significant, because one of my favorite verses in the Bible is Romans 8:28. Which says “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”
I check my email and there is one from my friend Steven ( who has also been a very strong spiritual mentor for me & I also got connected to him through my friend Ray that I mentioned back at the very whining) that says “ I’m going to Africa!” as the subject line. I knew immediately this was the trip I was supposed to go on. The email went on to describe how he was going back to Nigeria with a small group for 2 weeks. I reach out to him and tell him what God had been speaking to me about Africa and my call there. He says sure I can come along and this is the start of my first experience in Africa. (I believe it all begin with this one specific step in a new direction, just like the journal entry had said)
On October 10 ( or 10/10 which I believe refers to the verse John 10:10 that says “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” Or in the Passion translation it says “A thief has only one thing in mind—he wants to steal, slaughter, and destroy. But I have come to give you everything in abundance, more than you expect —life in its fullness until you overflow!”
On Oct 10 2019 I officially got my Nigerian Visa. The next month on Nov 5 2019 I met up with friends at the airport to fly to Abuja Nigeria. This was my first time stepping foot on African soil, but it clearly would not be my last! I spent two weeks there and visited 4 cities ( Abuja [ the capital of Nigeria], Lagos [the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city of Africa], Port Harcourt [where I met an official real life king named Sonny ]and Owerri [where our Nigerian travel ended). It was an amazing time of experiencing new culture and people. I made so many connections with people I still keep in contact with today. I returned home to the US on Nov 22 2019.
After returning home I was like ok now what? That was only 2 weeks & did not led to relocation and rebuilding my life as the 2017 word prophesied about. I felt a little discouraged honestly as I was expecting a major life shift to take place as result of going to Africa. Little did I know that it was only the start!
Over a year goes by and I had just gone back to regular life and my normal routine. In August of 2020 a significant moment did occur. I felt strongly I was being asked by God to sell my screen printing equipment. This was my business and what I had been focused on since the end of 2011. I didn’t know what else I would do if I sold my printing equipment, because I still had dreams of launching the Eternal Crown Clothing line at some point. Which you have heard some about and will learn more about in the future. I decided to put it up for sale and in less than a week it sold so on Aug 2 2020 my equipment was officially gone! It was really a tough decision, but I believe this act of obedience to God was what opened up the door for the next part of this African adventure to begin!
Seemingly out of nowhere on Jan 22 2021 my friend Scott ( the one with the vision and the son Named Jordan) calls me up and tells me this dream he had. He says in the dream we were both together on a missions trip in Tanzania. I was shocked to also learn that when he had the dream he did not know his church was going to Tanzania for a missions trip later that year. He found that out after he told one of the pastors at the church about his dream. I told him about my Journal entry from August 11 2018 where I was told I would be going to Tanzania. This is when he first told me that August 11 was his son Jordans birthday! We were both amazed by all of this!
He invites me to the missions meeting his church is having that Sunday and for some reason I felt maybe it was important for me to go! So on Jan 24 2021 I attend City Reach churches missions meeting where I learn all about the Tanzania missions too they are planning for later that year. I immediately know I am going on this trip! Want to know what the name of the missions organization is that is hosting the trip? SOS Adventure ( I told you we would come back to that word adventure again!)
Originally the day for our missions trip was supposed to be June 12 -22 2021, but due to the circumstances in the world with Covid and such the trip was changed to the end of July. ( this will be an important time shift as you will discover) So I left the US on July 30th and landed in Dar Salem Tanzania on July 31st. Then took a 7 hour bus ride to get to Tanga Tanzania. During the ride there was a small stretch of the road probably less than 2 miles where there were baboons on both sides of the road. ( remember the journal entry from August 8 2019 that talked about where the baboons lives and a monkey marking the start of of the path of your new adventure. Well here I am in Tanzania with SOS Adventure).
We get to Tanga and it’s an amazing experience! I got to street preach for the first time in my life. I witnessed lots of Muslims come to Christ. Festivals of thousands of people coming to Christ in the middle of a field over the course of a few days. A total of 20,000+ Salvations
250+ Deliverances, Multiple healings of all types ( both physical and mental)
Numerous baptisims in the Holy Spirit. It was an absolutely life changing experience. The people of Tanzania were so friendly and welcoming. I even got to speak in a Tanzania church on August 8 ( wouldn’t you know it 8/8 again double new beginnings) and I wore one of my Nigerian outfits that I had made while I was in Nigeria , but never got to wear because a sizing issue caused me to not receive it until right before we were headed home. In my message to the Tanzania church titled God knows where you are going and how to get you there. I told a lot of this story including about the Nigerian outfit I was wearing that day in front of them!
Well while I was there during those 10 days sometime in early August ( remember that time shift I mention where the trip date shifted from June to late July? Well here’s why that’s was so significant). I learned about an internship program called the Harvest Internship that SOS ADVENTURE had just started that year. In fact the first group of interns had only just come together and begun the program a few months prior. A few of us on the trip expressed interest in it and were told we could still join in progress, but had to make the decision very quickly and be back in Kenya before the end of August.
So here we go the door for this opportunity was presented to me in the month of August the 8th month , the month of new beginnings just like the prophecy from March 6 2017 said! So I return home to the us on August 11 with an immediate decision to make. ( interesting how I got back from Tanzania on August 11 2021 exactly 3 years from the day I journaled about being in Tanzania!) I begin to look up info on the Harvest Internship program and discover it’s a ( get ready for this) 10 month internship program ( remember Scott’s vision on August 6 2019 where he saw me on a 10 month missions trip). I now knew this was the opportunity the LORD had for me, but I was unsure the timing.
I began to pray about it and really seek the LORD. This was a huge life changing opportunity and I wanted to make the right choice. After taking as much time as I could before the approaching deadline arrived. I felt God say not to go with this group, but to join the next one. I had peace with that and knew the next Internship group would start sometime in mid 2022. I began to tell people about the opportunity and my call to participate. Over the course of the next several months I thought about the opportunity a lot, but did not feel ready to fully commit to this major life change!
The morning on Jan 28 2022 that all changed! I woke up early around 6am and began to spend time with the LORD in prayer. I felt something in my spirit telling me today I was supposed to take a huge leap of faith and submit my official application to be considered for the Harvest Internship. I asked God for a scripture confirmation form the Old Testament just to make sure, since this decision could change the whole course of my life! I was led to Exodus 4:12 which says “Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say.” This was God speaking to Moses. This was the last bit of confirmation I needed. I immediately began to fill out my application and around 9am I officially submitted my request! I had taken that Bold leap of faith that I knew would change everything for me!
On February ( can you guess what date I’m going to say?) 8th ( new beginnings ) I had my interview with Fernando the Internship director for the program. I had met him and worked along side him already during the Tanga Tanzania missions trip so he already knew me. The interview went great, I told him a lot of this story and why I was wanting to join the program. By the end of the video call he said “ I don’t want to delay any longer, som I’m just going to officially accept you into the program now, so we can begin moving forward with the preparation” I believe I was the first person accepted for the second internship group. I also learned that the program length had been extended and would now be a full year!
I was excited about what was a ahead! I began to tell my friends and family the good news. Over the course of the next few days I was really just in awe of what God had done over the period of 5 years to get me here; using prophesy, dreams, visions, numbers, scripture and so much more to confirm my direction. It was as though a puzzle with lots of pieces had finally come together to reveal my future and the call of God for my destiny. It was to me a real life fulfillment & testimony of Jeremiah 29:11. After the excitement of the news and sharing it with others wore off about 2 days later, I thought about all that had to get done in just over 3 months. It was at this point that the realization that I had just committed to living in Africa for a full year became real to me! It was at this moment I knew everything was about to change forever! It was at this moment I really knew God had been directing my steps from the very beginning! I don’t have the exact date for when I will land in Kenya yet, but I know it will be some time in May of this year!
This is the end of the pre-story of my call to Africa , but clearly it’s only the beginning of the adventure that lies ahead! I’m excited to share this journey with you & hope you will continue to follow along with me as I tell more of this amazing story that is still being written. I will continue to update through this podcast & on my other social media platforms. So to continue follow my journey please subscribe to this podcast, follow me on Instagram & Facebook ( EternalCrownLifestyle) , also I will be v-logging on YouTube and you can find my channel by searching EternalCrownLifestyle there as well.
This is going to be a wild ride and I look forward to sharing it with you all. My belief is my story will encourage & motivate you to keep going with yours. No matter how tough or difficult it is for you right now, no matter how far off your dreams and goals feel, you must keep going forward & trust the God knows where you are going and how to get you there! “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
Jeremiah 29:11 Thanks for listening I will talk to you in the next episode!
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