Hey everyone!
I thought I should share with y’all how I came to the World Race and all the events that lead up to me applying for it. So here we go!
Back in February of this year I was working at the Bass Pro Shops in my town. The job was good, but I had been there for a year and half already and I tend to get bored pretty quick. One evening, a friend and I drove down to the REI just to have a look around. It had been a while since I had visited the store, but I always enjoyed it there. When we walked into the front doors they had put a sign up that said, “Now Hiring!” At first I dismissed since I wasn’t really looking for a new job. In a joking manner, my friend egged me on to apply, but I didn’t gave it a second thought. We had been in the store for about 45 minutes when we decided we had seen everything there was to see and started towards the front door. As we were walking something inside me urged me to just apply. The feeling didn’t go away by the time we reached the front of the store, so I stopped and decided to ask a manager about the sign. Within a minute of asking for a manager, I found myself in the back office taking part in a mini-interview. At the end of the interview the manager said he would love for me to join in on a group interview they were doing the very next day. Long story short, I took part in the group interview and it went well. While I was working, still at Bass Pro, I got a call from the same manager I had my initial interview with and he offered me the job. Without even thinking about it I said yes. So there I was, standing in the warehouse at my soon-to-be old job, and I had just accepted a job offer from another company. I thought to myself, “What I am doing!?” All this happened within a few weeks time and I was feeling a little overwhelmed. A few days after accepted the job offer, I turned in my two weeks notice to Bass Pro and began training at REI shortly after.
There were about eleven or twelve us that were hired at the same time and we were all trained together as well. Although there wasn’t much time for side conversations or personal talk, the small amount of conversation I had with two other new employees, Katelyn and Jake, revealed something. There was something much different about them from everyone else that got hired. We quickly became friends and got to know each other a little bit better. At this point, we had already shared that the three of us were all Christians and had that in common. Katelyn began to share with me an experience she had a while before we met. It was called the World Race. The more she told me about it the more intrigued I became. She made it sound like this amazing adventure that was completely life changing. After Katelyn began talking to me about the Race, there was at least one customer a week coming in to REI to get geared up for the very same thing! I thought, “There is no way this is a coincidence.” I told Katelyn about what had been happening and that I had this excitement about the Race inside of me. Katelyn told me to just go watch some videos they had on their website and to read a few blogs from the Racers, so I did. The next time I saw Katelyn at work I stopped her and said, “You knew what was going to happen when you told me to go watch those videos and read those blogs didn’t you? Now there is no way I can’t go!”
Those videos opened my eyes to some of the wonderful people in this world who were so willing to give up there lives for a year to go be the hands and feet of Jesus. I had never experienced anything that moving, than what I had seen in the video, “More than a mission”. The desire to be apart of that kept growing stronger every day, so I began to pray about it. “Lord, why are you sending all these people into work that are doing the Race and why am I always here when they come in? Why do I have the desire to be a part of this thing?” Those are just a few of the questions I was asking. My prayers started to include asking God to open up the door and lead me through it if I was meant to go on the World Race. but if that wasn’t His intentions to close the door for me. I prayed these things for weeks. Finally, I decided to fill out an application for one of the August routes. I filled everything out, but I hesitated to submit it. The page was left open on my computer for about a week. I was too scared to submit it. This would be the biggest, craziest thing I have ever done. One evening, I opened my computer and there sat on the screen was my World Race application. I felt prompted to pray, so I did. Again, I prayed for God to lead me down the path He had set before me and if that meant going on the World Race, then I would do it. But if that wasn’t His plans for me, then I would forget all about it and move on. I began to ramble on, repeating myself and battling with myself and with God whether or not I should submit my application. Then, in the middle of my rambling, God silenced me. I was physically unable to speak or think. I could only listen. He said to me, “Stop talking. Go and do it.” It is near impossible for me to describe how I felt in this moment. I had never experienced such a divine intervention like this before. I immediately opened my eyes and hit the “submit” button.
Shortly after this happened, I began to question whether that was really God or if all that was made up in my head. It all seemed too surreal. After talking to some family members and Katelyn, I began to realize that it did come from God. I began to think, “There is no way that I would have made this decision on my own, so God must have been the one in control. Satan would want me to think it was all in my head and to completely dismiss the Race all together. Besides, the moment when God spoke to me was so undeniable and powerful that it is not possible it could have come from anyone or anything else. I will follow God’s calling and if by chance it was not from Him, then he will redirect me.”
Since I came to this realization, I have tweaked my way of thinking towards the WR. From here on out, I am all in! I prayed long and hard for God to change me from the inside out, to use me for His glory and for His Kingdom, to have eyes to see the world more like He does, and to be the hands and feet of Jesus. I’ve also been praying that I would fully and completely trust in Him, that I could fully surrender myself and my life for Him, and that I could be able to just say, “Yes!” I prayed for the better life that He has for me, that He would tear me out of my comfort zone, and that I would overcome my fears. I believe He is doing that exactly through the Race. Now, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous or scared. In fact, I have never been more scared or nervous in my entire life, but I trust in the Father. He has everything under control.
All my family and friends who know about this decision have been incredibly supportive especially Katelyn and Dustin. Dustin has also recently been hired at REI, about five months after me and Katelyn. Like Katelyn, he too has done the World Race and returned to lead a squad on their own Race! Those two people have been a tremendous help to me. Their encouragement has lead me to a place that would’ve been much harder to reach otherwise. Their friendships are invaluable to me and I’m not sure if they understand how thankful I am for all that they’ve done for me.
That is how I have been lead to the World Race. I know that was extremely lengthy, so thank you for taking your time to read my story! All of your support and prayers are much appreciated and look out for more updates in the future.
