Hey, what’s up?
As you have seen from the title of this blog, my name is Ruth. I’m currently 22, though I will be 23 by the time I leave for the World Race. I guess I should start with a bit of background on myself, huh?
I was born in Cincinnati and moved to the Pittsburgh area when I was almost twelve. I was homeschooled all the way through high school and, because of this (and the wonderful fact that my dad works at a college), I was able to begin taking college classes while still a Junior in high school. Other interesting facts – I am the only girl with four younger brothers, three of whom are triplets. I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Graphic & Communication Design. While in school, I did the study abroad program Semester at Sea and now have a bad case of the wanderlust.
A few more random things about me. I LOVE to travel! I enjoy doing missions work, I love singing and dancing, and I enjoy sports (kind of a given since I grew up with so many brothers and all my friends are guys). Frozen yogurt/ice cream and riding a horse make me smile. Oh, and Rita’s Italian Ice. I enjoy staying busy and working and have worked many different types of jobs over the past six or seven years including – waitressing, stable hand, secretary, construction worker, vet tech, freelance graphic designer, model, brand ambassador, and Hawaiian hula dancer.
Why did I decide to go on the World Race? Well, I had been trying to discover just what it was that God wanted me to do with my life. In November/December 2010, my spirit was not at peace; I had a strong urge to travel and do missions work and was generally discontented though not unhappy. That fateful morning, I prayed that God would just show me what I should be doing. Half an hour later, during a random internet search, I came across The World Race. Five minutes into reading about it, I knew this was what I was supposed to do.
I also knew that I was supposed to go on the August squad. However, I fought God on this. Most of you know that my boyfriend is in the military. Well, if I left on the August trip, he would deploy right before or right as I was returning and there was a good chance I wouldn’t see him before he left. My first reaction was to argue with Him and try to leave later, around when my b/f would deploy. Then I tried to join the July 2 squad because it had a route that I liked better. All of it was to no avail, though; God would not give me peace. I was spiritually in distress and He kept giving me dreams to show me that I needed to just fully trust Him to take care of my b/f and go on the August route. One night, after waking up in tears from a particularly vivid dream, I broke and was like, “Alright, God, FINE! I’ll go on the August squad.”
And that, my friends, is how I ended up going on The World Race as a member of the awesome family that is… Y SQUAD!!!!!
