Before committing to the World Race, I had my fears and anxieties. Fears of being gone almost a year and missing out on memories with family and friends. Fears of not getting fully funded. Fears of getting hurt both emotionally and physically. I am fearful of becoming broken. Broken for myself and for the Lord.
I am currently reading a book called Wrecked, by Jeff Goins, who works for Adventures in Missions. (A must read for past, present and future racers). Jeff talks about becoming wrecked in every possible way when you allow yourself to be out of your comfort zone and into a world of pain and suffering. Some people experience life changing moments but do not know how to use those experiences to grow and change. Becoming wrecked through hardships is how God shapes us and moves us into the people He wants us to be. He shows us pain and suffering for us to do something about it, for it becomes apart of us.
“Some people say that a good reason to help the less fortunate is so you can feel better about yourself. Those people obviously have never lived among the poor, the destitute, the heartbroken. This idea that philanthropy is self-medication is not true. If you’re really helping someone in pain- of you’re really experiencing compassion- you can’t help but hurt, too”
– Excerpt from Wrecked
Jeff’s book really put into perspective the reasons why I applied to World Race in the first place. We must let go of our fear of the unknown so that we can make way for newer and greater things.
I studied abroad in Ghana and talk about it all the time. In Ghana I had experiences of being wrecked. But thinking back to my life in Ghana, specifically when we lived in a small rural village, that was when I felt the most alive. I remember walking home one night in the village after dropping off Asante, (a six year old boy who I now sponsor- we’ll get to him later) I had just spent a day farming and playing an all-village soccer game with the children and in that moment I felt an incredible sense of purpose and meaning. A sense of happiness. We search all our lives for meaning and purpose but to experience it at age 20 is something absolutely beautiful. It’s hard to know what to do with opportunities like the World Race. Do you take a hold of them or simply let them pass? For me, not a whole lot is holding me back. Yes there is fear and anxiety, but those are feelings that can be dismissed because God can dismiss them. 11 countries in 11 months huh? Now that is something that gives you meaning.
