Hi friends!
To begin, I thought I would just start out by telling you a little bit about myself. My name is Arielle, and I am from Portland, Oregon. While Portland is well known for its city life I tend to be more of an adventurer in the wild outdoors. From hiking in the Columbia River Gorge, to climbing Mount Hood, or swimming in the Pacific Ocean (so cold!) I grew up with the Pacific Northwest as my playground. Some of my other hobbies aside from outdoor adventures include creating art/music, exercising, watching great movies, attempting to write a book, eating food, and reading the works of J.R.R Tolkien and C.S. Lewis.
I recently graduated from George Fox University with a degree in Interdisciplinary studies: disciplines in Health and Fitness, Art, and Psychology and hope to eventually become an Art Therapist for veterans with PTSD.
I come from a family of 5 with my Dad, Mom, older sister and younger sister. My father is a pastor and therefore I grew up in a Christian family and gave my life to Christ at a very young age. Over the years there have been plenty of ups and downs but the Lord has consistently shown me his love and encouragement through my strengths, and his grace and forgiveness through my weaknesses. I desire to follow him wholeheartedly and to run the race he has set before me with tenacity and courage.
Now I suppose I should talk a little bit about why I have decided to leave the country for 11 months. I have found that the Lord tends to call us to further his kingdom in the most unexpected ways. Two years ago I almost left George Fox because I felt a deep desire to pack up, leave everything, and pursue mission work. So, I got online and found The World Race but I could hear the Lord whisper “not yet” and therefore, I stayed. About a year and a half later, 6 months before graduation, I began to pray about what I was going to do afterwards and The World Race made its way back into my mind. After researching it a bit more and praying about it I had a sudden realization that God had been preparing me for this trip before I even realized I wanted to go.
It wasn’t long after I had that epiphany that I sent in my application and was accepted to the January 2018 Expedition Route. I am beyond excited to see where God leads me in this next chapter of life and cannot wait to begin this new adventure 🙂
More updates to come, and if you would like to know more about the World Race and the Expedition Route in particular feel free to contact me!
