Gap Year Racer Grace Alguire didn’t realize she was made for more, that is, until she heard God’s call in her life.
Grace Alguire of World Race Gap Year A Squad felt like she had to be strong.
With her family battling multiple medical issues to her father losing his job, money was tight. They were constantly relying on God’s provision for what they needed. However, Grace’s need to feel “strong” and in control ultimately left her with a feeling of lack, and when she started at her private Catholic high school, she struggled with the fear of missing out.
So she dove into the party scene, giving herself an escape from keeping up her strong facade.
“I felt freedom,” she says, “and I loved what that felt like.”
The party lifestyle, led her to poor decisions, unhealthy relationships, and a cycle of shame she couldn’t escape. Grace was living a double life.
She didn’t realize she was made for more.
During her senior year of high school, Grace attended a summer conference for young women. It was then everything changed: “I was surrounded by the most genuine, selfless, motivated, and hilarious girls, and I was no longer okay with the life I was choosing to live.
“The Lord used this week to point out all of the things I was capable of. I didn’t want to settle anymore.”
After returning home, Grace began to make choices that would set her on a path for success, both practically and spiritually. As she began to make her post high school plans, she found the World Race Gap Year. After praying about it and asking her mother for advice, she applied, was accepted, and jumped into the adventure.
For Grace, the World Race has been about learning to live in community and walk in the authority God has given her. “I’m living amongst 42 other young adults who have the same heart, drive, and passion, and it’s been a breath of fresh air for me. These are the best people I’ve ever known. They encourage my walk with the way they choose to walk.”
This isn’t to say she hasn’t been challenged. During her time in Thailand, her team was placed in a remote area of Thailand to work on a farm. Grace felt like she wasn’t doing anything of much consequence:
“This probably would have been fine for a month, but I was there for three. I felt useless out on the farm. I came on the trip to bring kingdom in radical ways and I felt like I wasn’t doing that in the least. I was also trying to lead my team of seven out of this place of brokenness and I had no idea how to do that.”
When Christmas hit, Grace was at her lowest. She got food poisoning and spent the day sick. But even in her state of brokenness and confusion, she was not alone. That day she got real with her team.
It was in admitting and embracing her brokenness that she was able to find her strength:
“I’m the type of person who doesn’t want to admit I need help. I often feel selfish when I bring my own pain to others. The Lord broke that and stripped me of those feelings. He forced me to be real, raw, and vulnerable with my team. He showed me how he uses others for his good, and in turn, for my own good.
This was probably my hardest month, but also the month full of so much growth and building of character.
I learned a lot about what I call ‘necessary dependence.’ I don’t just simply need Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I have to have them. I don’t have what it takes to get through the days and walk as Jesus did, but he does. I can only pour out what I have, so I have to receive from Him before I can do anything of value.”
Ultimately, Grace says going on the World Race was the best decision of her life, second only to committing her life to Christ. “I have to remember why I came: to bring kingdom and allow him to do a work in and through me. I have to remind myself of that every day. We can’t just settle for an experience; we have to make it our lives.
Surrendering my life to God is the best decision I’ve ever made.”
Interested in learning how to walk in what God has for you? Learn how you can have your own experience on the World Race.
