People always ask me how I got into going on this mission trip. So here is the story for anyone who is curious.
I first heard about the organization Adventures in Missions on twitter (crazy I know) in the spring time last year. I was somehow ‘following’ this girl on twitter that I didn’t know but she happened to be on the World Race mission trip. I started reading her blogs and then moved on to looking at the website and everyone else’s blogs. I dreamed about how awesome it would be to go on that and how much I wanted to be a part of that. I brought it up to people but I don’t think much people took it very seriously. They knew I wanted to go on a mission trip but didn’t think I’d actually be crazy enough to actually go. This whole thing is far out of my comfort zone- ya know the whole ‘traveling the world with 50 strangers to 3 unknown countries’ really isn’t something that normally appeals to me. And then I saw the price tag attached to the World Race Gap Year and knew I really didn’t want to do it. They want me to fundraise $12,487.50??? Impossible.
It took me about a year of stalking everyone’s blogs (I swear I read every single blog that was posted) and reading about the World Race Gap Year before I finally decided to seriously bring it up to my parents as an option. They were open to the idea, and of course they had questions, but were really accepting. One day I just finally decided that if I didn’t apply for the World Race Gap Year I would forever regret it and know that it was something I was supposed to do but didn’t even give it a shot. So I applied and signed up for the hour long phone interview. Then comes the day of my phone interview- that morning I decided I just wouldn’t answer my phone when they called for the interview, pretend I forgot about it, never return any of Adventures in Missions calls/emails so they would get the hint that I wasn’t interested & then I would tell everyone that I wasn’t accepted onto this mission trip. It was going to be such an easy way out and I would know that I at least ‘tried’ and applied for the mission trip without actually having to do any work. But all throughout this process there was something/someone (GOD) that kept nudging me along and washing all my doubts away. So obviously I did end up answering that phone call for the interview and after the interview I felt pretty good and thought it went well but I was secretly hoping the lady I talked to just decided that I wasn’t right for this trip so I wouldn’t get accepted. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to go, I just felt so inadequate and wondered why God would choose me to go on this mission trip. Isn’t there someone else out there that’s more godly and qualified to go? Me hoping to not get accepted was yet another easy way out- I would know I made it through the interview but it just wasn’t the right timing or right trip for me. A couple weeks later I got a call that I was accepted. It was exciting and terrifying all at once. Now it was really my choice whether I went or not. I couldn’t use the excuse that I wasn’t accepted or that it just wasn’t working out because everything was falling together so perfectly. All the signs were there that this trip was what I was supposed to do & I kept seeing all the signs, but I also chose to ignore them. From the time I was accepted, I was given two weeks to either commit to the trip or decide not to do it. I waited until the very last day of the two weeks to commit.
- What has God been trying to tell you lately that you’ve brushed off or decided to do your own thing?
- Where is God leading you next?
- Are you willing to take that leap of faith even though there may be worries or doubts?
