A Little About Sean

Traveling abroad for the first time in my life and doing it solo...that's where I found myself in May of 2012 during my first missions trip to Bolivia. Back then, I knew little about this big world in which we live. I knew little about Bolivia and hardly anything about the people of Bolivia. I knew I served a great God, but I did not quite understand how great and good and beautiful and perfect He and His eternal purposes were.

Fast forward two years, and I am writing a blog post less than 10 days away from my THIRD trip to Bolivia! Through missions trips to Bolivia in 2012 and 2013, not only have I learned a great deal about the culture and land of Bolivia and South America, but I have developed a great love for the people of this nation and continent. The words and stories of many South American brothers and sisters in Christ have challenged and encouraged me in my walk with the Lord, and the beautiful thing is that the sharpening is mutual. My perspective of God's mission among the nations has grown wider and higher than I ever imagined two years ago, and I find myself praying often about what burdens God has placed on my heart for global missions and how I can be a part of His purposes across the world.

As this summer approached, my initial plans were not necessarily to return to Bolivia. I had been praying about going on another missions trip - perhaps to Asia or Africa - so that I could get a glimpse of what God was doing there and prayerfully consider how He might be calling me among the people of those nations. But, as with everyone on this year's team, God had other plans. If you ask anyone on our team about how they got to the point of committing to follow God to Bolivia this summer, you'll hear the same story: "I had planned I would likely be doing something else, but certain things happened, and God put this trip on my heart." I do not know what God is wanting to do through each of us, individually and collectively, but I do know that He has wonderful plans and that He is able to do immeasurably more than all that we can even ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20-21).  

As I embark upon my third trip to Bolivia on the Fourth of July, 2014, your prayers would be incredibly appreciated. Please pray that our group would experience a level of boldness, love and unity that can only be explained by the Holy Spirit's working among us. Please pray that all barriers (whether language, age, culture, etc.) that exist between the tutors (the North Americans) and the students (the South Americans) would be destroyed in Jesus's Name! Please pray that EVERY. SINGLE. PERSON. at English Village would be granted eyes to see others the way that He sees them and that our hearts would beat for the same burdens that God's heart beats for. Please pray that every person would return home shining brighter, having encountered God in a clear and personal way during the trip - that truly we would return with a loftier perspective and purer vision of God and His eternal purposes. 

Personally, please pray that I would gain further clarity of how God has formed me and that I would more fully surrender to His will in all areas of life...I want more than anything in life to be a vessel, willing to be molded by the perfect hands of an all-knowing, all-loving, all-powerful God. Please pray that all distractions of things back home would fade to the wayside...I want to see Jesus and the clear ways He answers prayers. We serve a mighty God, and it is a joy to come alongside you all in prayer for what He would have us to learn and pass on!