"However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me - the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace" Acts 20:24.
If you asked me this time last year whether or not I would ever consider being a full time missionary, whether God was my everything or if an internship with my church was a step I was willing to take in order to pursue God's calling for my life, I would simply laugh at your ignorance. But that's the beauty of grace - it restores, transforms and flourishes the faint and weak at heart. This entry serves as evidence of my change of heart; it serves as proof that, as with all things, change comes with only a matter of time. Comfort can be found, though, in the consistency of God. He never alters who He is, His love for us or the intricately designed plan He has established for each and everyone of us. Thus, as the varying seasons of our lives come with all their raging force and leave in seemingly the blink of an eye, He remains present through it all. Through the victories and hardships, God's footprints can be found all around us as He works in our hearts and transforms us to be more like His image. My heart behind starting this page is that I can share with others the journey I embark on as I seek to know Christ more intimately and, I pray, that the Holy Spirit use my words to bring about change in your own life.
Within the past week I have gone from being a Sophomore in college, living in Jacksonville and working as an RA (Resident Assistant) to now a Junior in college who is stationed at home until the start of my mission trip to the Dominican Republic and serving as a missionary. Needless to say, life has a way of changing quite quickly. Claiming the title of a missionary is still fairly odd to me. Growing up I had only heard of the term when being applied to one who shares the Gospel over seas and that the need of a missionary in the United States is senseless - surely everyone here has had the opportunity to hear the Gospel at one point or another. This false logic was (and is) one of the contributing factors as to why thinking of myself as a missionary seems a bit unrealistic. But the reality is is that there are lost and broken people with every corner that we turn and that while sharing the Gospel in another country may be the calling of one, the calling of another may be to share the Gospel with their neighbor. Both are the same, we just choose not to see it that way. My desire to minister to college students came from the opportunity I had to move to Orlando last summer and help strengthen a church plant there. Every day we would go out and share the Gospel, whether that be on UCF's campus or at FunSpot. It was there that God gave me the strength to share the Gospel with complete strangers; it was there that God first gave me the faintest whisper of what seemed to be Him telling me to intern with my church and make it a career. After the completion of my time in Orlando last summer, I returned to UNF where I was employed as an RA to fifty residents. This job served as the reassurance I needed to commit to interning with my church and to focus on reaching college students. Being an RA was such a rewarding experience and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know each and everyone of my residents; I got to be a part of one of the biggest transitions of their lives. I was able to celebrate with them as they joined their first club, entered into new relationships and got their first 100 on their test. I was also there to grieve with them as they lost a family member, dropped a class, faced the pain of their past and endured their first heart break. I was able to experience first hand just how broken many students are and how disregarded by society they seem to be. Being a student myself, I want to be able to come along students and show them their worth, their purpose and that there is a God who loves them beyond what they can fathom.
I explain all of this to say, that this year I have an exciting opportunity to work as as ministry intern with Reliant (an organization that mobilizes missionaries). As an intern I will be working directly with AwakenChurch's college ministry, "the awakening." I will be focusing on outreach, leading a Life Group, discipling women and planning events. As for this summer, I will be kicking it off in the Dominican Republic for about a month and then returning to the summer program in Orlando that I attended last summer, LiNC, as an intern. I am SUPER excited about these mission opportunities and the growth I know they will provide not only in my life but in the lives of those we encounter. Of course, in order to make this possible I need to cultivate a group of men and women who are passionate about reaching the lost and the work that God is doing in my life. I need those who are willing to partner with Reliant to meet my greatest needs: prayer and financial support. I am currently at 70% of my support goal for this summer and trust that God will provide me with partners who would like to make monthly investments or special one time gifts. If you feel as if God is calling you to partner with me and give financially towards these mission opportunities, the giving process can easily be done online at www.reliant.org/morgan.cline.
Regardless of whether you are able to give financially or not, your prayers are greatly appreciated. I ask that you join me in praying over the hearts of the people we encounter this summer in Orlando and in San Pedro and that we see big things happen in their lives as well as our own. I also ask that you pray over me and the other three interns (pictured in the top left image) as we seek to further God's kingdom and pursue ministry as a career. They are all very dear to me and their hearts for the Lord inspire me more and more with each opportunity I have to be with them. Serving Christ alongside of them has been such a blessing in my life and I am convinced that there is nothing better than serving Christ alongside of your closest friends. I want to thank you for taking the time to read this and hope that you find encouragement through what God is doing in my life. I also want to invite you to send me any prayer requests that you may have; we know that the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective! If you need to contact me for any reason: be that to send me a prayer request, ask questions about my mission work or seek guidance on the giving process, you can easily send me a message via my contact page. Thank you for taking the time to invest in my life and I look forward to updating you in a few weeks - coming at you live from the DR!!!
Thank you,
Morgan Cline