(Cue the music – Sing with me)
How Did You Get Here?
Nobody’s supposed to be here
-Deborah Cox
.: I heard about it :.
I first heard of the World Race (WR) in 2013 when one of my sweet friends posted something on Facebook about going on an 11 month mission trip that will take her around the world and she needed support. At first, I was dumbfounded because going on this trip would require her quitting her well-paying job at a prestigious firm, a job typically coveted by many finance, accounting, business, etc… students. Then my shock quickly turned into admiration. Admiration turned into supporting and following her team and her journey religiously. And by “follow” I mean STALK…but stalk in a good way. Reading their adventures truly opened my eyes and made me realize that the miracles that happened in the Bible way back then, can and are still happening today. The proof was all over the blogs of the majority of the World Racers.
.: I started thinking about it :.
Next thing you know, I’m finding myself playfully talking to God about the race. It started off as:
“God, it would be so cool if I could do something like that for you.”
And soon enough, it transformed into something that I would regularly prayed about during my quiet time:
“God can I go? Please let me know!”
“I would go in a heartbeat! Send me.”
“I really would like to go. But do as you see fit.”
Fast-forward to mid-year 2014, God took away my job. As I was working towards getting another one, I felt the Holy Spirit pushing me to apply the January 2016 route. But, I politely declined:
- I felt like I was not spiritually ready and spiritually mature enough for it.
- Plus, I am not crazy
- How on earth would I be able to come up with the money?
- Lastly, just because that was someone else journey doesn’t mean that it’s mine.
So, I somewhat buried the WR in the back of my mind as soon as I got and accepted an offer from my current job and I was loving it. All was well until a year plus in, things started to take an interesting turn.
.: The turning point :.
You see, I am a consultant/ auditor by trade. I can honestly tell you that I love all things auditing and I actually don’t mind working in the public accounting world. The opportunities are endless and the people I’ve worked with so far have been all amazing, nice and brilliant!
So when things started to feel a little “off” for me at work, it concerned me a lot. And by “off” I mean I felt and knew something was missing, yet I couldn’t put my fingers on what it was. I love my job. I really do. But, I was starting to feel like I should be doing something else. Something more. It was not as fulfilling as it was before. So, indifference towards my work started to kick in a bit. And let’s just say, I started to fight really hard to keep giving my best at work. And going the extra mile like I used to…well, the struggle was real! This whole situation was bothersome to my spirit because I believe that in all that a Christian does, he/she must do it as unto the Lord (Colossians 3:23). So working at my job really means working for the God, the Lord of lords. And if I’m working for the Lord of lords, I must do so with all my heart and give Him my best. So I held an internal meeting with my flesh, my soul and my spirit to figure out what exactly what was going on. Tons of explanations came to mind, but the one I reluctantly settled on was that I was having a lazy moment (I mean who hasn’t?) and needed to get it together and continue to work my butt off like I am accustomed to. But deep down, I had a feeling that it was because God was possibly calling me to press pause on my career for a minute and do something else. And that something else, as much as I didn’t want it to be, and believe me, I tried to not let it be that, but that something else might be the World Race.
.: I prayerfully considered it :.
So I prayed. I told God that I would fast and pray for 11 days; and if at the end of the fast, all 3 ½ signs that I asked for come to past, it’d be my cue to do the WR. At the end of the fast, nothing! Mind you that throughout the fasting period, I would feel led to do random stuff here and there. I’d listen and obey some times. When I didn’t, I’d feel guilty and bothered in my spirit. I didn’t even realize it was a big deal until the night of the 11th day of my fast. So when around 10:30 PM or so on the 11th day, I saw that none of the signs I asked for came to pass, I thought I was off the hook. Until I got in bed and was watching a worship session on periscope and I heard a voice telling me to shut it down because we need to talk. “In a minute. It’s almost over.” As soon as the periscope was over, I heard an audible voice says: “When I speak to you, you need to obey (because you have not done so consistently all week). Apply for the World Race.” [Then I realize some of the stuff I felt pushed to do throughout the week, was in fact from the Holy Spirit.] Back to the voice though. Usually when the Holy Spirit speaks, it’s more a gentle, sweet whisper. That voice was nothing but. It was like a father reprimanding his child in a way that the child will listen and do as he says. It was the “I-mean-business type” of voice tone. I got so afraid because I knew right then and there I MUST apply otherwise, I’m in trouble with God. So, I went straight to bed hoping and thinking that these past few minutes were a dream and that feeling “if I don’t do as I was told, I’m doomed” would go away the next morning.
.: I applied for it :.
I woke the next morning and felt like I was going to have a full fledged panic attack because I couldn’t believe that I needed to apply for the WR. I was panicking even more because I was feeling led to apply for the April 2016 Expedition window. And it was the end of January already. As I spent time in worship, I calmed down and then applied. The deadline for April 2016 Route came and went, but I didn’t hear anything. Now, I really thought I was off the hook. Maybe it was just a routine obedience test from God… Until, I receive a note from an AIM staff asking me to consider other routes since for a reason or another, she didn’t receive my application on time for April 2016. After thinking about it for a week or so, I decided to sign up for the January 2017 Expedition Route.
Stay tuned to find out what happened when I got the acceptance call and why I chose Expedition among all routes.
You’re awesome for reading! Thanxies so much
!
A few things:
- You can read about my friend Tayo’s journey right here. She is now doing amazing work for The Aspen Institute and she models. Eek! I have cool friends!
- Please make sure to subscribe to my blog so that you can receive alerts when I post something new and to stay updated on my journey.
- Please be sure to keep myself, my team, the trip in general in prayer. We need prayers badly in this preparation season.
- Last but not least, please prayerfully consider supporting me financially. You can do so by clicking on the “Donate” button on the left to make a tax-deductible donation online. You will be directed through the process of making a one-time, monthly, or quarterly gift by credit card or bank transfer.
You can also write a check out to “Adventures in Missions” with “Stephanie St Cyr” in the memo line and mail it to:
Adventures in Missions
PO BOX 742570
Atlanta, GA 30353-4470
Or you can go to https://www.adventures.org/dynapay/ to fill out an online form for a monthly Electronic Funds Transfer from a checking account. No transaction fee will be charged for donations made through EFT.
