Next Chapter.

Hey Yall!

I’m sorry it’s been so long since my last update, but after much deliberation, prayer, stress, and time, I finally have news.

First, I want to talk about what God has been doing since my last post. When I first came back to the US, I was processing & grieving a lot of things, including what in the world I wanted to do with my life. The Lord told me shortly after returning home to visit Denver, Colorado for a bit without giving timelines, a job, or any details. I questioned that for about a month; while also trying to figure out timing. After hearing confirmation after confirmation, I decided to go. I was expectant that the Lord was going to move in BIG ways. I went and stayed with my good friend and former Team Leader, while also having other friends and former leadership here in Denver. After a few weeks, I began to question why God had even called me here. I felt lost, pressure to make decisions, And ”settle down.” 

That’s when God began to show me different reasons He called out here. He’s asked me to have hard conversations. He’s asked me to stop and pray with people outside Walmart or the Dollar Store and chase sunsets while shouting worShip songs and interceding over the city. He has asked me to sit in inner-chaos and trust Him in everything. He’s asked me to look deep inside at who I am. He’s asked me to dream, to figure out what I want to accomplish in life, and who I want to be in His Kingdom. And He’s asked me to reexamine what I believe, what I like, dislike, where I stand on certain topics and issues, and line it ALL up with the Word.

He’s taken me out of the influence of voices that I have unconsciously given more power to than His to bring me to a place where I make decisions with just Him (not completely without counsel); which at first, filled me with so much anxiety, hesitation, and stress until I began to realize just how deeply I was allowing the opinions of others to affect my life…If you know me very much at all, you’re probably thinking, ‘you’re just now figuring that out??’ But, honestly, I’ve known for a LONG time that the opinions, thoughts, words and actions of the people in my life were influencing my decisions, passions and thoughts. I just didn’t know how to change and was terrified to try, fail or be rejected (especially by those super close to me), but now, I’m learning how to truly get out of my head, and the heads of others (for good), and tune in to the heart and voice of the only One that matters: The God who created me and loves me more than anyone else ever could.

I’m learning that boundaries are necessary for every relationship (even if those boundaries are hard to stick to at first). I’m learning that some people will see me as my past self for the rest of my life and there’s nothing I can do to change their minds but that it is possible to NOT see myself through the lens they’ve created for me. I’m learning that I do not have to explain every thought and action to everyone in my life and that by doing so, I am giving whoever it is the microphone and power to speak into an area that they may not have business in.

While all of this work has been going on in my heart, I’ve procrastinated…A LOT. It’s not easy to tear open every fiber of who I’ve been the last 20+ years (those patterns developed when I was little, not when I was born). It’s hard and it takes a lot of time. But God has been so sweet to continue to send reminders of desires He gave me as a child, new friends (including 2 sweet roommates and their doggos) and continued community with family, friends in OK, and with Z. He’s also given me a job here with bosses that are Christ followers and understand what I mean when I talk missions and Christianity.

Another thing that happened around the time of my relocation to Denver; we got our potential next steps.

We were told upon arrival to the States to give Adventures in Missions 90 days to come up with a plan, in the meantime, our leadership team had 1:1s with us, prayed and interceded with/over us, had Zoom calls to worship and process as a Squad. A lot of us figured they would give us options and tell us to pray and choose; well, 90 days later, we had a list…a very long list with very little certainty or information about what those options would look like. I love that the staff at Adventures gave us so many good opportunities and ideas, and I don’t blame them for lack of details; no one knew anything at that point! But I was very overwhelmed. The answer didn’t become apparent until a couple months later when I needed to make a decision between staying domestic or launching internationally (with even that potentially becoming domestic). I prayed, I verbally processed, I journaled, I panicked, and I made a decision…

In January, I will be traveling back to Gainesville, Georgia, the place where this whole journey became real, to participate in a program called CGA. CGA stands for Center for Global Action and is a 6 month long discipleship & leadership program ran by the organization I’ve come to know and love: Adventures in Missions.

Know yourself. Lead yourself. Lead Others.

Mission: “The Center for Global Action exists to mobilize a generation to be passionate followers of Jesus who live out their faith whether at home, professionally, or church planting overseas.”

The World Race focused on 3 aspects: Intimacy with God, Community with fellow believers, and living a life on Mission.

CGA will focus on Intimacy and Community while also diving deep into leadership training and discipleship. This lines up so perfectly with things that I learned on the field and where God has me right now and I’m looking forward to being challenged and growing in this next season. I’m a little sad to not being going back out internationally, but I also know that part of my life isn’t completely over yet and there are times and seasons for everything. I’m truly just excited to be walking with and following Him wherever He leads.

I’ll be posting more about this exciting next chapter soon, including more details, prayer requests and support updates!

THANK YOU TO EVERY SINGLE FOLLOWER, SUPPORTER, FRIEND, PRAYER PARTNER. YOU GUYS ARE SO INCREDIBLE AND I LOVE EACH OF YOU.

Songs the Lord is using to speak into my heart right now:

Breakthrough – Red Rocks Worship

Signal Fire – Chris Renzema

 

Forever growing in Him,

 

Niecey