I applied and was accepted to the World Race during a very, very large transition in my life. I had just withdrawn from my college courses for the semester, my fiance and I had just called off our wedding, and the new school year was officially in full swing. While juggling my personal ambition(s), the loss of my best friend since my freshman year of high school, and a new class of Preschoolers, tackling all of the emotions that came with the news of my acceptance was incredibly difficult!
So, here’s the blog I should have had the logic to write first and foremost! This is the story of how I first heard about the World Race, and how God used specific circumstances and people in my life to draw my heart towards himself and this specific ministry:
My mother remembers very well the first time I mentioned missions to her. I (a knee-high 3 year old) looked straight up into her face and said, “Mommy, when I am older I am going to be a missionary!”
Then, she cried.
She explained to me that a missionary lives very far away from their mommy and family. She told me she would be sad if I left to be a missionary!
Then, I cried.
We must have both looked very silly standing there crying at each other! Although it definitely took it’s toll on my sweet mom to hear that I am leaving for 11 months, I know in my heart that if the Lord had not prompted me to tell her at such a young age she would not have been able to take this news with such grace and encouragement! (But, Lord, help us both when the day comes for my departure!)
In my early teens, I was attending Henryville Community Church in Indiana. That is where I first heard about the World Race. Our worship leader was a young guy who had gone with me on my very first mission trip to a Native American reservation in South Dakota. I didn’t know then how much I looked up to him but, looking back, he really was an inspiration for my faith! I remember noticing on the reservation how genuine he was in each and every conversation he had about Jesus- whether it was a song with a child or a drawn out explanation with an adult. He announced to the church that he was going on the World Race and I got to hear all the stories of how he sold what he owned, packed up, and went. I remember reading the stories from his blog and thinking to myself, “How much faith does it take to follow Jesus’ call around the world? I want to do that for the Lord!”
8 years later I found myself in Rebecca’s Wedding Boutique trying on gowns with my sister. My mind was so far from missions that I had completely forgotten about the World Race and had blatantly refused opportunities to leave the comforts of a steady job for ministry. My fiance and I were struggling to discern what God desired from us as individuals and together as a future family. After a year of planning and re-planning, he came to me and started the conversation that would end our relationship. I was STUNNED. After working through my stubbornness and holding my hand as I grew into a bold faith, he gave me the freedom to follow that faith into the unknown, even though it meant he had to sacrifice his own desires. I was, and still am, completely blown away by the amount of love he must have had for me; to deny himself and allow me the opportunity to follow the prompting of the Spirit of God. My heart clung to the Scripture in Psalm 37, “If the Lord delights in a man’s way, he makes his steps firm.”
And he did.
It took me 3 days to finish the application, 2 days to complete the written interview, and 1 hour to interview over the phone with the staff from Adventures in Missions. A week later, I got the call I was hoping for! On the World Race, I pray that the Spirit of God would continue to lead me in each step. I am not only going in order to preach the Gospel to the lost, but also to discern where and how God would have me serve his kingdom on a more permanent scale. It’s incrdible to me that God has so obviously had an overarching plan for my life and I STILL managed to overlook it for so long! I am so unworthy of the Lord’s grace and still he relentlessly pursues me!
Please pray alongside me for discernment and clarity.
Lord, I know you have prepared these good works in advance for me to do. Through these trials and victories, please reveal your heart to me and continue to make my steps firm. Give me the strength and grace to take all of these changes in stride and keep my eyes focused on your coming kingdom.
