You know, it’s amazing how your wildest dreams can hatch in the most normal circumstances. The day I first heard about the World Race, I did not realize that the trajectory of my future had just been significantly altered. I was sipping some sort of specialty drink from our campus coffee shop, chatting away with a friend from the ministry I was involved with. I can’t remember why the conversation went in this direction, but suddenly my friend was telling me about this incredible opportunity a friend of hers was experiencing called “The World Race.” My ears instantly perked up. A mission trip where you travel to 11 countries in 11 months? Not only was that too good to be true – it was a crazy dream that I never imagined could actually happen to me.
Fast foward about eight months. This past summer, in any spare time I had during my summer tour with HeartSong (a traveling worship team from Cedarville), I found myself positively soaking up the website. I devoured countless blogs, stalked pictures and read tons of information about it. The more that time passed, the more serious I grew about actually going on this crazy, breathtaking adventure.
And then it hit me.
The World Race isn’t for people who want to sight-see around the world and have the time of their lives. Yes, my life would be changed. Yes, I would get to see the world. But if I wanted a carefree, 22-year old adventure, this was not the trip for me. No, this trip was not just about epic Instagram-worthy photos and fun times traveling the world. This would be a sacrifice.
It was this past September, I believe, when a blog was posted on the website about the myths people probably believe about the World Race. It was then that I began to get a taste for what this experience would actually involve: sacrifice. 11 months away from my family and friends; 11 months of no privacy and living with people 24/7; 11 months of the same limited wardrobe; 11 months of exhausting, daily ministry. At this point I had to ask myself, “Self, are you really willing to give up for 11 months the life you have known, and all the security and comforts therein?” I chewed on this. And I realized that going on the World Race has nothing to do with my willingness to step out of my comfort zone. Jesus didn’t have a comfort zone. He didn’t have anywhere to lay his head, and he purposely sought out those on the margins of society.
If I want to follow Jesus, I must follow Him on a journey where comfort zones are replaced by self-expenditure. This isn’t about me; this is about the King.
I knew that this was an opportunity I could not pass up. No, I do not believe that I have to go on the World Race, or even overseas at all, in order to do important work for God’s Kingdom. But I did know that if I didn’t apply for this unique chance to go throughout the world in obedience to God’s call, I would regret it for the rest of my life.
So, the minute the routes were announced for September 2015, I applied. Well, that was the original plan anyway. I spent about 3 weeks chewing my nails over which route to apply for. I wanted to go on them all! But I finally settled on one and applied.
And now here I am, typing my first blog and sending out support letters and feeling my head spin in the whirlwind. God is doing something here. I don’t know exactly what yet, but my eyes, ears and heart are waiting in eager anticipation.
I remember thinking, about a year ago, “Man, I have to wait two whole years before I could even leave on this trip! That is so far away!” And now here I am, about 10 months away from my launch date. I know the time will go by quickly. I know doubts will continue to surface, and that I will question what God is doing, and why this is the plan, and sometimes wonder “What in the world did I sign up for?” But I also know, in faith, that this journey I am embarking on will refine me.
As I continue to process everything and begin to take the first steps of this mind-blowing opportunity, words that I read recently seem to echo in my heart: “But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24). My prayer is that as God takes me on this journey, these words would become more genuine in my heart and on my lips.
