Hey!
My name is Raelynn and I will be going to the United Kingdom for the next two years to work on a storying outreach team! I graduated from Azusa Pacific University in 2017 with a Bachelor’s degree in English and an emphasis in creative writing. I am very passionate about writing, music, and photography--these all seem to stem from my love of capturing the beauty of life, whether it is through, sight, sound, or written words.
I am truly excited to see what God has in store for me the next few years because the journey of just getting to where I am now--sitting in a classroom at GoWeek--has been so obviously full of him. This time last year, I probably would have laughed in your face if you told me I would be preparing to fundraise for a two year mission in the United Kingdom. That being said, it is clear this is not at all where I thought I’d be. In fact, I thought I would be preparing for grad school and finding a job, but God has graciously put me on a path that has, so far, been so much better than my plans could have ever been. Let me tell you a little bit about how God brought me here:
I have always had a strong desire in my heart to travel the world, but I never knew what context I would be able to do it in. At the same time, I have also always felt a strong calling on my life to give hope to the hopeless--to bring people home to Christ so they can live their lives as they were meant to. It was not until the beginning of this last school year--my senior year--that I started to see how both of these desires could work together. The moment I first felt God calling me to serve abroad after graduation, I was in chapel at APU and All Sons and Daughters’ song “All the Poor and Powerless” was playing. The bridge of that song says the words: “shout it, go on and scream it from the mountains, go on and tell it to the masses, that he is God.” During this part of the song, I felt the presence of God so strongly, and just overwhelmingly felt like he was reminding me of my desire to travel and telling me to go and spread his name. Through GoCorp, I was connected with the storying outreach team in the United Kingdom.
In my own life, God has used people to reach me through words. I think that both reflects the giftings that God placed in those people, but also the specific ways in which God has equipped me. I connect with words, whether it is verbal or written, and I connect with others with words. When I envision my own personal ministry over the next two years, I see myself using my love of stories, writing, and just simply fellowshipping with others to reach people for God’s kingdom.
I am so beyond excited to begin this journey and continue to update this blog on all the trials and joys that are up ahead. Thanks for reading and learning more about me and how I got here!
-Raelynn
P.s. I have included a picture I took during GoWeek because it reminds me of the bigness of God. He who created the Earth in all of its breathtaking beauty, decided to create each and every one of us too--he thought the world was not complete until it had you and me on it. That is something I have really been sitting in and thinking through lately because it helps me remember that God has a plan for me--all I need to do is trust him.