Why I left my salaried desk job to wait tables in a tourist town.

I turned 25 this year. I was doing all the right things. I had a great job, amazing friends, a great church, a paid off car, money in my savings account, a 401(k). I was on track for the typical American dream. Life was perfect!

But there was an appetite that wasn't quite satiated and I didn't know what it was. Until a little voice popped into my head.

Let's rewind a bit.

In college, I became best friends with two girls. After graduation we went our separate ways but remained super close. One of my girlfriends had moved to Central Oregon, just a couple hours away. I LOVED visiting the area but even when my ex-boyfriend mentioned moving there, I always said that I could never live in the desert. It was a beautiful place to visit, but not necessarily my scene. Not enough greenery, and it was a small town. Didn't he know I was a city girl now?! Duh, obviously!

Well, funny thing about when you say never…

In January, the three of us girls united in Bend, OR for a weekend of sledding and girl time. It had been ages. We were having a blast giggling, catching up and adventuring together. As we were driving through the mountains on our way to go sledding, a little voice in the back of my head said, "You are going to move to Bend."

"Nope," I thought in response to this voice that was very clearly not my own, "I am definitely not moving here. There's lots of snow and it's a desert! A high desert but still...I can't live in the desert!"

As quickly as the conversation began, my internal dialogue with this voice was over. But how did I think of this?! Like I mentioned, this was clearly not my idea. For those that know me, my faith is a HUGE part of my life, and for those that don't know me... well… now you know. As corny and cliche as it might sound, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Lord was speaking to me; calling me to Bend. And I wasn't down to go.

The next day, as we ventured back to Portland, I thought about that commanding little voice in the back of my head. There was so much power to that one little statement. And SO many questions that accompanied it. We arrived back in Portland just in time for me to make it to the evening service at my home church. As I was standing there worshipping, I couldn't get the thought of how wonderful of a time I'd had in Bend that weekend. One of the associate pastors said the announcements and then our lead pastor took the stage for his message. This message was a little unique. Being the first sermon of the new year, he was speaking of the upcoming plans our church had for 2016, some of which included two new church plants that we were a part of in Vancouver, WA and …. wait for it … in Bend, OR. My heart was beating out of my chest and my eyes got all teary like they oftentimes do. If we're being honest, I don't even really remember what he was talking about in regards to the plant, but I remember distinctly saying in my head, "Okay Lord… I'm listening. I heard you yesterday and I hear you today."

 'What's a church plant?' you may be asking. Well, to put it simply, it is a group of people starting a new church. I went home and kept turning over these two experiences again and again. I had no idea what to do with these pieces, but I wanted to know more.

The next evening, I was on the phone with my mom while driving home from work, discussing the amazingly fun weekend I'd had in Bend and all of the cool people I had met. Without telling Mom about the super cool Jesus-moments I'd had, she says to me, "I don't know why, but I kept thinking over and over again about how well you would do in Bend." That was the straw that broke the camel's back. I started crying.

"Mom, I think the Lord is calling me to Bend."

***

Six months later, there was a Uhaul parked in my apartment complex's parking lot. I had quit my job, found a minimum wage serving job at a chain restaurant that I had worked for in Portland, been offered a room in my best friend's apartment with her and her boyfriend, and was packing to leave a city that had taught me more than I could have ever anticipated. My Portland family helped me load up and I was on the road.

The tears started flowing about 10 miles away from my apartment… probably not the safest thing to happen when you're driving a 15' Uhaul truck, but let's be real...they couldn't be stopped. I was doing one of the craziest things I'd ever done. I was taking a 50% pay cut. Literally. I was leaving a church family that had helped me grow in my faith ten-fold. I was saying goodbye to one of the best roommates I've ever had. I was leaving a job with some of the most inspirational and loving people I had ever met. And I was terrified.

If we're honest, I'm still a little terrified. It's been two weeks since I've moved to Bend. I had forgotten how HARD serving is. I am getting used to a new schedule. I am trying to maintain long-distance friendships while managing to grow and develop new friendships down here. It's hard. My equilibrium is off. No one likes change, and this experience has literally changed every single piece of my life. But the beauty of this crazy, terrifying, exciting, nerve-wracking, wonderful adventure is that I am following a God that loves me so much. He loves me so much that He has created a family in Bend that has made this transition SO much easier on me. He has called me to help with a church of genuine, loving, Godly people that inspire me with their faith on a daily basis without being judgmental bible-thumpers. He has used my act of faith to encourage and inspire other people to follow their adventures.

While I am terrified of this change, I'm also incredibly humbled by the support of those around me. If you have had any part in this crazy adventure I'm on, I want you to take a minute and wrap your arms around your shoulders and give yourself a big-fat-squeezey-Bueller hug. Thank you for giving me strength, for giving me words of affirmation, for giving me hugs and kleenex when I had my hot-mess moments (you know who you are…), for praying for me and this plant team and for holding my hand through a crazy new phase of my life.

God is so good you guys. He's got big plans for this church plant and I can't wait to share how He's going to use us in this city.

So today, I'll leave you with this...

"This is my command. Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord our God is with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9


XOXO Sarah