What does someone want to know about me? What are the basics needed?
Writing a profile is new to me, I generally leave profile sections blank. I guess I should start with:
Hello!! Welcome to the About Me section of my blog.
Steven is fun.
If we were meeting in person I would probably catch you off guard by diving into conversation and asking you about your life – I am masterful in 20 questions and feel it’s a wonderful ice-breaker. Chances are I would start by asking you what your favorite type of food is? If you prefer mayo or mustard? What excites you? …
However
since this is the About ME section, I should probably start telling you something useful about myself.
The Facts:
My name is Caroline Player
I am 24 yrs old and was born and raised in the beautiful Williamsburg, VA.
I graduated in 2010 with a degree in Sociology from Christopher Newport University.
My favorite color is green
I have wonderful friends that will be missed, an older sister, 92 yr old grandfather, and a dog I consider my child.
I have AMAZING parents who are the occupants of the most tender and full place in my heart. They are amazing models of faith, marriage, patience, integrity, humility, and, unconditional love. The Holy Spirit has used them to show me what it is to let the Lord live through you.
My Walk:
Having been raised in a Christian home, I can not remember a time when I did not have the Lord in my life; That doesn’t mean I have always trusted in the Lord, had a personal relationship with Christ, or listened for the Holy Spirit to work in my heart 
Trusting the Lord with my struggles, and turning my burdens over to God was something I first experienced during a week long bible camp when I was 13yrs old. At that point in my life I was living with a heart poisoned with anger. I had allowed a personal anger to fester, and it was consuming and breaking down the person I was. The last night’s speaker talked about his experience with anger and how it that had spread like cancer in his life, he then talked of the way that the Lord took it off his heart, at that moment I knew there was hope and ached to experience the Lords grace. That night The Holy Spirit worked through my counselor, she showed me my now bible verse (2 Corinthians 12:9-11) and spoke truths about the Lords love. I was broken to a point of wanting/needing to experience a living faith. Prior to that moment I had loved God, but never trusted that if I reached out to him with an open heart he would fill me so completely with his love and grace. It was this night that I understood what is meant when people talk of the “living God”, in that moment I know that I was touched by The Holy Spirit, in that moment he took the hate that had been eating away at me off my heart.
Between my junior and senior year of high school I partook in missions trips to Washington, DC, Toronto, the highlands of Virginia and Nicaragua. The trips help me discover a passion for missions work and ignited a desire to pursue it full time. After each trip my passion grew, no longer was I slipping back into a “lazy Christian life”, I had found something that strengthened my faith. I considered taking a year or two for missions work between high school and college; In the end I decided to obtain a degree before going onto the missions field.
spiritually speaking, college was started in a good place, I had an interactive relationship with the Spirit and looked for His will in my life. However, it was a season of change and I was stepping away from the spiritual community I knew. During this time Christians have a choice of how they will plant themselves into their new environment, either go at faith alone, or move into a new faith community; I looked around for a new community and decided to go-at-it alone, this was NOT a good choice. Before long I was pretty immersed in a secular life and while I was still in fellowship with God, I was no longer looking for His will. I was living my-will-be-done.
After college I took several jobs in the area that were either temporary or left me unfulfilled, 8 months after graduating I decided to move to Northern Virginia to pursue a career working for a cause. While there I continued the secular walk I had perfected in college. In my secular-party community I was considered “the good girl”, this helped me justify not seeking a deeper faith, it helped me justify going through the bare necessities of Christian motions when around people I thought might worry about my walk.
It is funny that the wisdom 
for how to act can come so easy; it’s the living it out that’s hard, we become so hypocritical and at times ignorant to 
At any point during the 6.5 years I was seeking my-will-be-done in a secular setting I still knew what I would need to find complete fulfillment, I just wasn’t ready to sacrifice for it until I had tried out what the world said was a better option. The things people want were within my grasp and I didn’t have the control to say no, I wasn’t ready to “miss out” on the fun stuff. I wasn’t willing to let go of the things media places as achievement or desirable in order to find and feel the fulfillment that only comes from living within the community that Christ gave us, living and seeking out His will.
While living in Northern, VA. The passion to travel was stirred. I had nothing on my heart that was holding me to the States and I knew if I did not act now, It wouldn’t be long before I had things in my life that I wouldn’t want to leave.
Now or never
While looking into what I might want to do, the passion to spend a season in missions work was re-awakened. I went home for father’s day 2011 and told my parents of my plan to leave in the next 6 months for 1-2 years of missions work and they were beyond encouraging. I told them that I was going to take the next week to find an organization and start whatever process was needed to become mobilized. Throughout the day the World Race was mentioned more than once, each time I replied that I knew a little about the race, but didn’t run and the cost of 13+k would take too long to fundraise. Late Sunday night I was searching different options and after no luck I decided to Google “the World Race”, within 15 minutes I was explaining to my mother that I had just started the application process to leave for a year-long trip in less than 3 months.
Less than 24hrs after announcing the thought of traveling for missions, my life and heart were drastically changed, clearly not my own doing.
Timeline Starting Father’s Day
Sunday – First discussed going away for missions, first visited the website, started application.
Monday – Decided to take off a few days and stay in Williamsburg to figure things out, finished the application and set my interview for Wen.
Tuesday – Placed my lease on craigslist, started making a list of all that needed to happen before leaving in Sept.
Wednesday – Drove back to Northern VA., Had first interview for the race.
Thursday – Told work I was leaving at the end of the week, signed over my lease, started packing.
Friday – Waited impatiently to hear if I was accepted, prayed harder than I can ever remember, finished packing, had a second interview and found out I was accepted.
Saturday – With the help of my parents, moved back to Williamsburg, VA for the 2 months before leaving for THE WORLD RACE
The following Friday, June 30th I left for – World Race Training Camp
Ever since applying the Lord has placed person-after-person in front of me to provide affirmation that this is the calling for this season of my life. It’s been amazing how clearly the Lord has been in speaking to me about this. It is time to submit to Him and trust Him more, knowing that His will for my life is far greater than anything I could plan on my own.
I am ready to follow the desires of my heart (to do missions work) that He set so long ago. I am no longer afraid to miss-out on secular goals and desires. I have tried it my way, yes, It was tantalizing and seductive, however the fulfillment was fleeting and hollow. I am so excited to be reminded that I can’t do it alone. That simply going through the motions are not enough, it is time to let the Holy Spirit rock-on within me.
