It was about this time last year when I found out about the world race. I was on the phone with a good friend from home, and she asked if I had ever heard of the race. I had not, but I remember thinking that it sounded awesome, and I wanted to look into it more. At that time, I still had a year of school left, and I knew the world race was not really an option for me yet…
However, as time progressed and I continued to pray about where the Lord wanted me to be after I graduated, the desire to do missions was always present and strong. I considered looking in to an internship with FCA, going on a few short-term mission trips, but I never had a peace about any of those options. I wanted something more, I wanted to GO and SERVE and Love people…I just didn’t know where that would be or what it would look like.
Last fall, I constantly found myself praying that the Lord would give me clarity and peace about where He wanted me to be after graduation. I knew the “logical” decision would be to teach, considering I had spent the past 5 years working on my Math Education degree (actually 3 years when I finally decided what I wanted to major in)! As I begin my student teaching in the spring, I loved it! I loved the kids, the other teachers and student teachers, and I really enjoyed teaching Math.
One afternoon while all of my students were testing, I remember walking around the room and thinking about all of the relationships I had built with these kids in such a short amount of time. I knew them all pretty well, so I began to pray for them. As I was praying it was all I could do to keep from breaking down and crying in the middle of the class because I couldn’t help but think about how badly many of them needed Jesus! I just wanted to stand up there and teach them about Him. This was one of several instances during the past year when I felt the Holy Spirit telling me He had another plan for me in this next chapter of my life. I also had the feeling it was not going to take place in a math classroom, but at the time, I just needed to WAIT on the Lord.
After having several conversations with various friends about the world race, hearing numerous sermons about missions, serving, loving, and living a life that represents Christ and glorifies Him, and truly feeling led by the Holy Spirit to sacrifice my comfortable lifestyle and go to places where Jesus went, I sat down Easter weekend and looked up the world race. I read blog after blog about how God was working and changing lives around the world. Within just a few minutes I decided to fill out an application. After another month or so of prayer and conversations with my parents, I submitted my application, interviewed, and was accepted!
And here I am…more excited than ever but a little nervous at the same time! I cant wait to see what God is going to do, how He will use my team, and what I will learn from my brothers and sisters in Christ around the world!
