My name is Hannah Hastings, but a lot of my friends call me Han. I am 19 years old and I have a passion for missions. I’ve grown up living in a christian family with my mom, dad, and sister. My sister’s name is Hunter and she is two years older than me. Hunter and I both attend Appalachian State University together. We are very alike in many ways, but mostly because we have the same sense of humor and are short, in height. I also have two dogs named Buster and Andy.
My entire life I have played sports. I started with tennis and then went to basketball and then came soccer, softball, volleyball, track, and once my senior year of high school rolled around I tried swimming (tried). I love being active.
When I started middle school I also started youth group at my church. My youth group has influenced me tremendously. I kept up with youth group all through middle school and then all the way up through my senior year. I went on my first mission trip with my youth group, flew in my first plane, went out of the country, gained a mentor, and learned what it felt like to be loved. Yes, my parents are very loving, but now I had friends who I knew truly loved me as well.
A little less than two years ago I found out about The World Race and I couldn’t shake it from my mind, so I finally researched it. In the corner of the page there was a contact tab. I decided to click on it and just write my information down and write a short paragraph about myself, not thinking anyone would ever contact me. About 3 days later I got a phone call from them asking me if I was interested in the race. Since then I have stayed in contact with WR, not weekly, but I will sometimes get random phone calls or text updates from them just to check in on me. In the back of my mind I knew I had to go. Then this passed winter break I finally let go of any fears I had and applied and got in!
Doing mission work and spreading the love of Christ is my passion. If I were to be able to choose to do anything in the world I would do mission work. The love and joy that comes from the work gives you a feeling that is indescribable. God is doing work in people’s lives and you are able to witness it daily. Yes, you may not shower for weeks and you feel so disgusting, but God’s love is churning inside of you that you don’t care. There’s something amazing about just letting go of life and giving your heart to God and saying “lead me and I will follow.”
