I spoke at my church last Sunday, and I got so caught up in my excitement, that I never did actually read what I had written in preparation… So, here it is:
How do I know I am called to do the World Race?
I have had a few people request that I answer that question. I must confess, at first I didn’t know. It felt like the right thing, but how could I know? It’s the question that held me back from submitting an application for years. But looking back to all that has led up to my decision to go, and everything that has happened since I was accepted, I know that is was the right choice.
There have been a few times in my life where I felt like God was placing a choice before me. Both options sounded equally good, one maybe a bit more challenging than the other, but in the end either choice seemed like it would be acceptable to God. Like He wouldn’t be disappointed with either choice. Choices like whether to work at Lake Beauty Bible Camp or find a local job; whether or not to go to Bethany College of Missions; Guatemala or Slovenia or neither… But every time God puts these choices in front of me, there is one choice that I know will lead to having to rely more on Him. Most of the time I have picked that choice and have seen God do amazing things with it! I feel stretched, and my faith grows. I learn more about the awesome God we serve. But occasionally I have decided to pick the easy route, and while it wasn’t a bad choice, I feel like I didn’t grow spiritually during that time.
Over my twenty-six years of life, God has planted in me a passion for Him. A desire to know Him more. I want to see all that He has made. As a kid, that meant that Geography and Science were my favorite subjects in school. I love learning about far off places with landscapes so different than our own. I love learning about all the intricate details God put into forming each cell in every living creature. I am still fascinated with the enormous variety in everything God created. He could have made just one kind of apple, but there are over 7,000! And looking up at the night sky just leaves me in awe.
I got my first taste of world travel when I went to Columbia, South America to visit my aunt and uncle who were missionaries working in Bogota at the time. I don’t remember much about the trip, but have always wanted to go to more places and explore the world.
As I grew older this passion to learn more about Him grew into a fascination with missions stories. Hearing stories from missions speakers at camp, at church, and reading books about their incredible stories; I was hooked. They get to be out there on the front lines seeing God move! They rescue orphans, free slaves, drive out demons, heal sickness, they do dangerous things and God protects them!
Now, don’t get me wrong, I know that is not every day, and the other days can be filled with struggles and frustrations, when you speak and no one listens, or maybe no one shows up at all, or your plans are foiled by the enemy, even sickness and persecution. But somehow even that doesn’t tame this longing in my heart to go.
So that explains the desire to do missions, but I still haven’t answered why this particular trip. I first heard about The World Race at Lake Beauty Bible Camp where a friend of mine was preparing to go in the fall of that year. I followed her blogs online and loved hearing about all her adventures. I was jealous, but never really thought that could be me. Over the years since then I have felt an increasing desire to sign up, but always dismissed the thought as a selfish dream. Why would I do that when God was using me right here in the USA? But even when I ignored the website for a year at a time, advertisements for vacations would always remind me of that dream of world travel. I waited for 5 years thinking it was my own desire to go, not God’s, but I have since realized that when you are doing God’s will your own desires often line up with His for your life. I spent a long time praying about it and asking if it truly was God’s plan for me, or if it was just my own dreams.
It all came down to choices. I felt like God was leaving it up to me. Either I could stay here and continue serving Him in my church and YFC, doing great things, but maybe not growing much, spiritually…or go on this crazy adventure, have to raise over $17,000, spend a month in 11 different countries where I will have to rely fully on God, (because there is no way I could do it on my own!!).
In the end I decided to go for it. I prayed one more time that if this really was okay with God that I go, that He would help me get there. And since then: between what I have already received, and what has been pledged, I only have about $4,000 left to raise!! I have most of my equipment, all of my required shots, and most of the recommended ones, I have been training physically for training camp (this June!) … and there is no doubt in my mind that God’s hand has been with me so far!
