When I first heard Susan Perry speak about the World Race at my college last spring, I knew that this is something I wanted to do. Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve wanted to do missionary work. When visiting missionaries came to my church when I was younger, they talked about traveling the world and helping people. This seemed like the coolest job ever to me and I thought to myself, “I want to do that someday when I’m older.” As I got older however, I forgot about my dream and started thinking of a career I wanted to pursue. I started out wanting to be a writer and editor, then changed my mind to settle on becoming a marine biologist or conservationist so I could work with animals, researching them and helping to save their habitats and populations someday. If it hadn’t been for Stockton Christian Fellowship (SCF), Cru, Newman Club, and Passion (a Christian winter conference), missionary work wouldn’t have been something I could really picture myself doing at this point in my life. But with all these experiences and with my newfound relationship with Jesus, as soon as I heard Susan speak, my heart started pounding and I knew this was something God was calling me to do. Going to 11 countries in 11 months, living out of a backpack for a year, and leaving the comforts of home behind to serve God might seem crazy or extreme to some, but to me it seems like the perfect way to allow God to drastically change me to help change others’ hearts to be open to God.
I told several of my close friends last spring that I was going on the World Race. They would say, “Wow, that’s crazy! In a good way, but that’s still crazy! When are you going?” to which I would respond, “I haven’t applied, I haven’t gotten accepted, but I know I’m going someday.” When I prayed about it, God told me, “Not now, but soon.” I wasn’t sure exactly when “soon” meant, but I knew I wanted to apply for sometime after I graduated college. I heard from the recruiter I was talking to that the summer routes would appear in August. So I prayed and waited for those routes to show up. When they did, I was confused. I thought a certain route would hit me right away and I would feel compelled to apply. Instead, I heard God keep nudging me “Just jump.”
My recruiter Austin was the first to say to me “Just jump,” as he urged me to apply since I could always change routes when I felt called to a particular one. So I started my application, but still wasn’t convinced I should apply if my route wasn’t confirmed to me by God. A few days later, someone posted a Christian quote on Facebook with the words “Just jump” and “trust in the Lord” in it. So I prayed and sent in my application. A day later, the online interview questions appeared on my World Race portal and again I started dragging my feet, thinking maybe it was too soon to commit to this. A few days later, one of my best friends, Amanda, sent me an unexpected package in the mail. In it was a letter encouraging me to apply and a ring that said, “Geronimo.” She told me she bought us matching best friend rings with the sayings, “Geronimo” for me and “Alons-y” for her as a reference to our favorite doctors from Doctor Who and a reminder to “Just jump” at whatever God throws at us in life and to just trust in Him. It was just what I needed. Twice might be a coincidence, but three times? God was trying to tell me something. So I submitted my online interview questions and God revealed to me that He wanted me to serve Him on Route 3 of the World Race (Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Burkina Faso, India, Nepal, Cambodia, Thailand, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, and Belize). I emailed my new recruiter Lindsey and asked to switch routes. She switched me to the route I’m on now, and I prayed and waited for the most challenging aspect of applying so far, my phone interview.
I tried to prepare what I would say or guess at what questions I would be asked, but when the time came, I was consumed with nervousness and just prayed to God for 20 minutes before the phone rang. When the time came, I calmly and honestly answered the questions the best I knew how, baring my soul when I answered questions about my past and who I am now, explaining how I planned to overcome the challenges I would encounter on the World Race. Breathing a sigh of relief after it was all over, I knew all I could do now was pray, wait, hope, and fill out the last set of paperwork needed before I would hear my decision. After I submitted the paperwork, two days later I received a phone call from Lindsey saying I was accepted on the World Race!! I couldn’t believe it! I was so excited and in disbelief that this was finally happening. Right now, I am still excited and I’m overjoyed to be able to share this experience with all of you! I am a World Racer. This is God’s calling on my life for the 11 months I will be away starting next August.
“Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.'” Matthew 19:26 (NIV)
I have started fundraising, and there is no doubt in my mind that God will provide for me all that I need for the trip, both spiritually building me up and the financial support I will need to raise. But in order to make this dream of serving God’s kingdom a reality, I need your help! Would you prayerfully consider supporting me, praying for my squad and I, or contacting me with names of people in your life that you would ask if you were starting to raise funds for ministry? With your help, my squad and I will be trained and sent to 11 different countries for 11 months to spread the Gospel to those who have never heard it before, partner with local ministries to do service projects for their communities, build up those who already know the Gospel, and teach them how to disciple their fellow community members so it will have a lasting ripple effect on their community and culture. Part of every Christian’s mission is to make Christ fully known wherever they are so that ultimately the whole world will hear of Christ’s unconditional, never-ending love for us. Would you like to be a part of this movement?
