If you know me well enough then you know I always have big dreams running wild in my mind whether it be things I want to do or experience, places I want to go, or history that I want to touch. I have talked to friends about going on mission trips before but I never put forth the effort to make it happen. As far as I got was only thinking about it. When I would mention doing mission work to friends they all had just about the same answer, “I can totally see you doing that, and I doubt you would want to come home if you did go.” I would always laugh at their responses because I know deep down; I might not want to come back.
I have lived in this city (Columbus, GA) my whole life. Twenty eight years of it not feeling like home. I can’t explain it, but this place has never felt like home to me. I guess that is why I travel so much…I am just trying to find where I belong. Then again maybe I was born to wander. I have a house, but it isn’t home. The only things that have kept me here are my amazing family, my wonderful friends, and a great job. It was hard to imagine packing up and leaving all that behind.
Back in early February I was coming home from Atlanta on a Sunday with my aunt after the Winter Jam Concert (I wasn’t kidding when I said I have a tight knit family). Somehow during the ride home we got on the subject of mission work and I was telling her how I always wanted to go on a mission trip but never went through with it. We talked about it for awhile and she even said she could see that being my calling. I always knew it would be something I would be happy doing but I guess I was always waiting for the perfect opportunity to land in my lap, and by all means, that is exactly what happened.
I am sure many of you know about Instagram. If you don’t know about Instagram, it is a social media site used for sharing photos and videos. I had posted a photo on there that said “I want to see the world. Follow a map to its edges, and keep going. Forgo the plans. Trust my instincts. Let curiosity be my guide. I want to change hemispheres. Sleep with unfamiliar stars and let the journey unfold before me.” I posted the photo maybe a day before the concert I went to with my aunt. Keep in mind I was talking to her about the mission trip on a Sunday, the concert was on Saturday, I want to say I posted the photo on a Friday.
Monday morning I woke up bright and early as usual. The first thing I do is roll over and grab my phone. I had a new notification on there that said theworldrace liked one of my photos, the photo about traveling the world. I am curious by nature, so I was wondering what this “theworldrace” was. I was thinking it was some kind of running adventure marathon type deal. I am all about some adventure running so I had to check it out. I clicked the link to check out the Instagram profile for theworldrace and I read that it was a mission trip that goes to 11 countries in 11 months. All I could think was that was all the sign I needed. I call it Gods sense of humor or divine intervention. I knew it was a sign.
That Monday I started doing some research about The World Race and after plenty of reading I decided to apply. I even took the quiz to see if I had what it takes to be a world racer. My results said I had exactly what it takes. After that I told myself that if it was God’s will then I would get accepted and I left it at that. Well, after feeling like I was waiting forever, and after two interviews…here I am, an official worldracer in the making!
