The Disciple:
My name is Keeley Jackson, and I am going on 20 at the moment. Some might believe I’m a little young for the World Race, but God has been preparing me for this journey for a while now. I do have to say that I am a strong independent person. I started living on my own, and had a full-time job throughout High School. It wasn't easy, but I grew in intimacy with the Lord as I leaned on His Spirit. I became a Christian two years ago, and I couldn't be more satisfied with my life. God captured me by His grace and hasn’t let me go. I went to a nine month discipleship program after high school called South Carolina School of Leadership, which was an intense, powerful, stretching, and filled completely with the presence of God. Throughout the course of the program God had the power to birth inside of me many dreams and visions for my life. The World Race is definitely one of them. I'm excited to see what God has in store for me, and for those who I am going to be able to impact by the power of His love.
The Calling:
About a year ago, I picked up a book called Wild at Heart. There was a line in the book that read, “Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive”. I ended up taking this advice, which cracked open a deep calling of adventure that was filled with simplicity, passion, recklessness, and abandonment of the life I knew. I began researching about a 2,180 mile journey from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine called the Appalachian Trail. To say the least, this so called hike would last at least 4 months, and take every ounce of faith that I had. Yet, in the mist of formulating all my plans to hike this trail, God was setting His own plan in motion. While I was asking people about the Appalachian Trail, God began bringing more and more people into my life who were associated with the World Race. I was meeting people in sporting stores, Starbucks, in ministry, on the street, and even in job interviews who would take the time to talk to me about the World Race. Their stories captivated my heart, and God would not relent His spirit ushering me into this missionary opportunity. After months of prayer and advice from pastors, counselors, and mentors, I decided to serve as a missionary through this organization called, Adventures in Missions, in their World Race program.
The Mission:
The World Race is an 11-month Christian mission trip to 11 different countries around the world. If all goes as planned, my team and I will be going to Haiti, Dominican Republic, Romania, Moldova, South Africa, Swaziland, Mozambique, Nepal, India, China, and The Philippines. Flexibility is a key role for every World Racer. In each country ministry will look different because we will serve the community based on their most crucial need. We will partner with churches and ministries in local communities to preach the Gospel, plant churches, work in orphanages, minister to women and children who have been through human trafficking, and mainly bring the restoration and hope of the Father’s love to many tribes and nations. As my squad and I head out we will hold tightly onto Matthew 10: 7-8,
“And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.”
