The World Race, Eh? What could make you want to live in poverty for 11 months and travel to 11 developing countries, leaving behind everything you have ever known?
Well, about 9 months ago I experienced what I like to call my “quarter-life crisis”, funny thing is, I am not even 25 years old yet. I had just graduated college, and expected to slip right into my perfect career. I was hoping to utilize my Spanish skills and snag a salary that could pay off my student loans before a decade passed.
Needless to say, life doesn’t always go the way you expect it to.
Nearly 8 months ago, I began to look into the World Race. I became obsessed with videos and blogs from the website, pretty much glued to my computer screen on any down time that I had. I am definitely crowned a “World Race Creeper”, as I have several current bloggers added to my favorites toolbar.
Once I realized that there has to be more to the race than beautiful orphans and amazing countries, I really started looking into WHAT IS IT and WHY CHOOSE THE RACE
The connection that these individuals showed with God left me astonished. My heart would beat so fast, and many times I was left in tears. For days, I had no idea what these tears meant. Were they happy tears? Were they sad tears? Was I just overwhelmed?
Whatever they meant, I was hooked. I started imagining myself on the race. Of course there were obstacles in deciding if it was the right decision for me, but over and over again God was telling me that was there was no other path; this is my time, and I WILL travel the world, serving Gods people, and proving to myself that I, I made a mark in the lives of others. I WILL find direction through him, and I WILL be able to say that I WAS HERE.
A week before committing to the race, I met with my friend Sarah. She went on the race in 2010. She had so much passion and enthusiasm for the race. Her faith was contagious. I asked her several questions from packing to pooping in a hole. Before we left our coffee date, she prayed for me. She prayed that I would find the strength to make the right decision and fulfill God’s plan that he had for me. On the way home I bawled, and cried, and sobbed. I pulled the car over, and in that moment I knew I would be a WORLD RACER. The tears that had been accompanying me nearly everyday were preparing me to take on the biggest adventure of my life. I was scared, but I knew that in my heart, God had been guiding me towards this decision for many weeks now.
So, yes I choose to live in 11 different countries, leaving everything I know behind, to hold some beautiful orphan children or build a school…whatever I end up doing on the race, I know that I will be able to say, I WAS PRESENT. I was at the exact place he needed me to be, and through him and these experiences, I will find my purpose.
Please stay tuned for my next post! I will show you all the beautiful places I will be visiting 🙂
