In five months, I’m going to be a college graduate. It’s a day I always knew would come. It’s just crazy that it’s so close. My friends and I talk about our impending graduation, and the future in general, quite often. Sometimes we use our short time left together to guilt each other into getting what we want, but it usually gets brought up when we’re in the middle of of our time together to remind us that we need to appreciate what we have in each other. We’ve all tried to be really intentional about making the most of this year, and it’s worked. This past semester, we made some of our best memories together, which has made the thought of graduating and going our separate ways that much harder.
It’s been really difficult thinking about leaving this stage of life, and up until just a couple of months ago it was the last thing I wanted to do (probably because I have no idea what I want to do when I “grow up”). I eventually realized how special this next phase of life is. Life post-graduation will be difficult, but it’ll be an incredible time of growth. The decisions I make in the near future will have a huge impact on the path of my life and the person I become.
So, throughout my last year of college, I have kept the Andrew I hope to be in the future in mind. I came up with countless plans of what I’m going to do after graduation. Those plans ranged anywhere from taking time off to travel to going to law school. Each new idea came with its own set of obstacles and uncertainties, and eventually the plan would fade because I realized my heart wasn’t in it or it wasn’t reasonable. That remained true until I considered the possibility of going on the World Race. The first time I heard about the Race was when I heard my friend Autumn Harper (who is currently on the Race) was going. At that time, the possibility of going didn’t even cross my mind.
Sometime in mid October, I found myself on the World Race website. I’m not sure how I got there, but I spent hours on the site the next few days. I read blog posts from dozens of people, flipped through hundreds of pictures, and watched several videos. Seeing what God was doing in and through people’s lives on the Race was incredible, and it was something I knew I wanted to be a part of. I knew that my experiences on the Race would have a large impact on my life, especially my walk with God.
So, in September of 2014 I will begin my journey on the World Race. My journey will take me to 11 countries on 4 continents. I’ll be serving in:
Thailand
Cambodia
Vietnam
Botswana
Swaziland
South Africa
Turkey
Albania
Honduras
Nicaragua
Costa Rica
To say the least, I’m incredibly excited about what God has in store for me on the Race. Even though some days the thought of sleeping in a tent, eating weird food, and not seeing my family for eleven months is daunting, I can’t wait.
I have a ton of preparing and fundraising to do before September gets here, and I’m going to try my hardest to keep everyone updated on it all through this blog. If you feel called to support me financially for the Race, you can donate by clicking the “Support Me!” link at the top or to the left of the page. Whether you donate or not, please keep my preparations and my trip in your prayers! Any support (financial or otherwise) is appreciated more than I could ever express (even though I’ll try really hard in a thank you card).
Thanks for visiting my blog, and I hope you continue to check in throughout my journey!
