We were asked to write a blog about how we were called to this mission trip. Here is my story…
I’ve never thought of myself as a missionary. To be honest, I still don’t. I don’t know why I struggle with that term. I guess I don’t feel worthy of being God’s messenger, but I know He has called us all as Christians to go and make disciples.
I’ve gone on short-term mission trips since I was in high school. My youth group from church would go on a mission trip each year. One year, we went to Juarez, Mexico, to build houses. That was my first international mission trip, and I was heartbroken to see the poverty the people there lived in. It definitely made me thankful for what I had.
In college, I gained a love for travel. I enjoyed going to new places and seeing new things. I would have loved to go live in another country after I graduated, but it just wasn’t feasible at that time. I needed a job and money. So, I moved to Amarillo, Texas, where I started as a marketing intern for the American Quarter Horse Association. After only a short time there, a job opened up and I was able to stay as a full-time employee. I searched for churches in Amarillo and eventually found Paramount Baptist where I currently go. This church has a love for missions, and through them I’ve had the opportunity of going to Tokyo, Japan, and Campinas, Brazil for mission trips. 
Through these experiences, God really stretched me and taught me what it is to step out in faith and trust for Him to provide and use me. The trip to Brazil was truly beneficial as I was trained in evangelism and able to really put it into practice. I was able to lead several people to the Lord on that trip and that is a feeling like I had never experienced before.
Both of these trips opened my eyes a little more to the world around me. I know God can use us wherever we are, but I just felt a restlessness, like I needed to be somewhere else, somewhere overseas. I prayed for more than a year, that God would open the door for me to live in another country or be able to travel internationally. I just had this burning desire to go. I really felt I needed to take advantage of this time while I’m single and have the freedom to do that.
So, I prayed and I searched and I waited. I knew I would go somewhere soon, I just didn’t know where or how. Then one Sunday afternoon in February, I just started looking up mission trips online. I came to the Adventures in Missions Web site and saw the World Race. I had actually heard of this before through a Relevant magazine article I read last summer. I thought it sounded really neat but didn’t think I could get that much money to do it. However, when I looked at the Web site and started reading the experiences people were having, I was amazed. Then I looked at the upcoming trips. When I clicked on January 2010 and saw the places they were going, I knew this was for me! There are so many places I want to go, but Australia and Africa were definitely on the top. So, when I saw that both of those places were included, I was so excited! I just felt this overwhelming assurance that this is what I needed to do and that this was God’s answer to my prayers. I knew too that God would provide the money if this was what He was telling me to do.
I still didn’t want to jump in too quickly, just in case I was letting emotion carry me away, so I continued to pray and seek advice from my family and strong Christian mentors. As the days went by I just continued to feel like this was it, the World Race was what I should do. So, I eventually filled out the application and here I am!
I still can’t believe that I will be going on this journey next year. My prayer is that God will really show me what full surrender is and that He will open my eyes to more of this world around me. I am so excited that we get to see so many different places and experience different types of ministry. I think that is the main thing that draws me to this adventure is that we will go so many places. I’m praying that through this trip God will show me somewhere or some way I can continue to serve Him. But, if full-time missions isn’t my future, I know this will still be an amazing time to grow in my relationship with Christ and to be a witness for Him.
I am always amazed at how God directs our paths and how He always does things according to His timing. He knew I needed time here in Amarillo to grow spiritually and gain more international mission trip experience. He provided a wonderful church where I was able to do that and where I have had the opportunity to be involved in other ministries. I’ve truly enjoyed working here too, as working for AQHA has been a dream job as well. It does make me sad to leave, but at the same time, I’m so excited to take this next step in life to see where God takes me.
Another mentor from my church shared about Esther and how God had placed her in a royal position for such a time as this (Esther 4:14). I’m definitely not in a position of royalty, but God has provided this opportunity of the World Race at this time, and I know there is a reason and a purpose for it. I just pray I will be His disciple and follow where He leads.
