Five years ago I attended my first Secret Church simulcast by David Platt. I had read his book, Radical, and was excited to be part of the 6-hour fire hose cram session that is Secret Church. As Platt was talking, he began sharing his heart for the nations and I could hear the plea in his voice for believers to stop being complacent and start sharing the Gospel. He spoke with such urgency, and in that moment it was as if God spoke to me and placed a burning desire in my heart to take His name to the nations. I had grown up learning about missions and even wanted to be a missionary, but this moment in time catapulted me into giving my life to Jesus that He would use me for the nations to know Him.
Four years ago I began researching different mission organizations; one day I came across something called the World Race. It looked intriguing, but I was 19 at the time, which meant that I was too young. I sort of pushed the thought aside and continued on with life. A year or two later, I saw something about how the World Race was beginning something called the World Race Expedition that goes specifically through the 10/40 window. This jumped out at me as I have a heart for working among unreached people groups. I had also already traveled to places like Central America and Africa—common destinations for other World Race routes. If I did the World Race, I wanted to go to places I had never been before.
Last year, I began seriously praying about what the Lord had ahead for me after completing college and my Dietetic Internship. I began thinking more about the World Race, specifically the Expedition route. I had recently learned the power of praying small, specific prayers. So, I decided to ask the Lord to confirm the World Race in my life if that was His desire for me.
Confirmation #1
One week last summer I prayed that if the Lord wanted me to apply for the World Race, then He would give me some kind of confirmation. A few days after that prayer, I was walking with a friend on a city trail here in Springfield. My friend happened to have an Africa shirt on (which happened to be a shirt she bought from me for my last trip to Africa) and this lady stopped us and asked if she had been to Africa. She replied that she hadn’t and then pointed to me and said that I had. The lady then asked if I had been to Lesotho and mentioned that she knew a girl who was there as part of her World Race trip. Through this encounter, I got to hear this lady talk about another racer’s experience. I believe God brought confirmation to me about the World Race through this encounter.
Confirmation #2
This might sound kind of obvious, but as I was going through the application process, I prayed that if the Lord really wanted me on the World Race, that He would allow me to be accepted. I’m not sure how hard it is to get accepted to the World Race, but I was told that it was even harder to get accepted to the Expedition route. One month after sending in my application, I received a phone call saying that I was officially accepted.
Confirmation #3
This whole fundraising thing has been a leap of faith. When I first told my parents that I needed to raise over $18,000, they looked at me with disbelief and essentially said, “Good luck with that.” But, here I am, 8 months out from launching with already 30% of my total funds. One day after I had sent out my support letters, I asked the Lord to put it in people’s hearts to give. I checked two weeks later and had seven donations come in on that specific day that I prayed. Here’s another cool story—I am getting ready to sell t-shirts and have been trying to find sponsors to cover the cost of the shirts. I woke up one morning and asked the Lord to help me find sponsors. I had no idea how to do it or where to even start. Within two hours of praying that prayer, I had $700 towards my total of $790 for the shirts. Time and again, God is faithful. And His faithfulness continues to confirm that the World Race is indeed His next step for me.
All this to say, I know without a doubt that God has brought me to the World Race and that He has amazing things ahead. I will be leaving in August to travel to some of the most unreached places in the world with the purpose of showing the love of Jesus Christ to the people around me. I would appreciate your prayers and support as I prepare for this journey and as I launch in August.
To those who have already given and are praying for me—thank you, thank you, thank you. I cannot put into words how much I appreciate all that you’ve done for me. I have been so humbled by the generosity of my family and friends. For those who are looking for ways to give, here are a few ways:
1) Come to my Chick-fil-A night on Tuesday, November 29th on Glenstone from 5-8 P.M. All you have to do is eat Chick-fil-A and place your receipt in the black box by the counter. 20% of the proceeds will go towards my World Race; tip jars will also be on the tables.
2) T-Shirts are coming soon! Stay tuned. 
3) Donate at the top of this blog where it says, “Donate.” You can do either a one-time gift or monthly gifts. Anything is so very appreciated.
Thank you for taking the time to hear my heart and read about what the Lord is doing in my life. I couldn’t do this without y’all!
