I heard about the World Race from a friend of mine roughly 3 years ago. When she told me about travelling for 9-11 months, sharing Jesus with others, and living out of a backpack, a lightbulb went off in my mind and I knew I had to do it. Very few days went by where I did not pray about this life-altering decision, and many afternoons were filled with watching videos, reading blogs, and stalking the Instagram’s of World Racers, past and present. I followed close to a dozen racers on every social media platform I had, and read their monthly blogs as soon as they were posted. I have followed one particular racer for about a year now, and I even donated to him earlier this year. Well, this alumni racer was at my training camp, working with some of my sqaudmates to help prepare them for the race.
A few days into training camp, he can up to me and said he recognized my name and remembered that I had donated to his trip several months before! How crazy is that?! He thanked me face to face for giving to his trip, and I got to speak to someone I have virtually followed and looked up to for the past year.
I got to have several more conversations with him throughout the week, and he even shared a prophetic word that Jesus gave him for me!
At the end of training camp, as I was saying goodbye to him, he said, “Now the roles are reversed. Now I’m following your story!” I’ve thought about this several times since it was said, and it’s even caused me to tear up a bit. (That was probably mostly due to complete exhaustion, but still.)
I have been pursuing World Race for three years now. I have spent countless hours reading blogs, watching videos, and learning all there is to know about this trip. And then, at Training Camp for World Race, I got to meet one of the racers I have looked up to the most. I got to have conversations with him, and then he told me he was following my story now! World Race has felt like a far-off dream for so long, but over the past couple of weeks, it has become real to me. I am moving from being a blog-stalker, to being one who writes the blogs.
I feel so crazy privileged that God is letting me be a World Racer. He could have chosen anyone, and yet He is letting me be a part of this story! Jesus has watched me pursue this dream of mine for years, and has even let me meet some of the people I have followed, face to face!
I haven’t even gone on the race yet, and its already been a crazy journey. Jesus has taught me so much, and gifted me so many times that it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by just looking back on the fundraising and training camp process. I have so many new friends, and so many people I get to walk alongside. I can’t wait to go on the Race, because I haven’t even left yet and it has been quite the journey.
