At 27 my life already feels like an epic adventure. The first question you might ask is “How did I end up joining the World Race?!” Each season of my life feels like it’s been leading up to this. Here is the lengthy backstory on why I’m choosing the World Race.
I’ve always been an adventurous travel enthusiast with a zeal for novelty and culture. As I finished my collegiate years in a major I was only settling for, I was determined that my next step would be to spend a year in Sweden. With Scandinavian heritage, I’d always been obsessed with all things Sweden and enthralled with the idea of living there. My relationship with Jesus until that point was a bit surface level; yes, He was my Lord and Savior but He wasn’t near the focus I needed Him to be. Finally as an au pair in the dark, frigid Swedish winter, I found myself bewildered, totally outside my comfort zone and alone. I had no other busyness or excuses to put off centering Christ as my absolute focus! During my rekindling of my passionate love and devotion to Jesus, I felt God calling me to serve specifically “the afflicted and neglected”. I applied for an international field relief internship with Samaritan’s Purse, but was not accepted. However, I accepted a job with a Christian organization, Camfel Productions, driving around the United States in a van giving presentations to K-12 students about being resilient during hard circumstances, working hard for your dreams and not bullying. But after two years of traveling around the US and Europe, I found myself back at home. Yes, literally my childhood home with my father. I was ready for my next adventure and applied for everything in sight! I spent nights researching non-profits, Christian organizations, anything related to travel and ministry. Surely this is what God had for me, so where was I going next?
In the mean time I began working at a residential treatment center called Calo for kids with early developmental trauma and reactive attachment disorder. (This happened to be right in my hometown). Calo is nationally known for its specialization with adopted kids and its relational approach to healing trauma rather than most behaviorally focused programs. Like the gospel, Calo focuses on healing the root of the problems in the heart rather than just changing students’ outward behavior. Here I was serving the epitome of the afflicted and neglected (with the intense behaviors some of these kids have, they can become quite literally unlovable). But this is NOT what I had in mind and surely not what God did either. I refused to put down any roots. I stayed living with my dad, didn’t work to make friends, wouldn’t get involved in church. What’s the point when I would be leaving soon? As time went on and on with door after door being shut in my face, it looked like I would be staying longer than planned. I LOVED my job, but couldn’t it be anywhere but here? Resigned to life here, I got an apartment, joined a different church closer to my work and began serving and getting involved. During this season God revealed to me how I had put traveling and adventure before Him, creating quite the idol. While those things were great, they were never to be put above my Heavenly Father. As another position fell through with a sister organization to Calo in North Carolina, I was utterly ‘stuck’ here. I was certain God had called me to work with these kids at Calo and they were certainly the afflicted and neglected.
So this is where I would be for the next foreseeable future and that was going to be okay. I put my faith completely in Jesus, knowing His plans were better than mine. In full force I began serving whole-heartedly with the youth and children’s ministry at church. I worked to cultivate friendships and began to engage in my local community like I had totally avoided before. If God has called me here in Lake of the Ozarks, then here I shall be. The whole process of getting to this point took me exactly two years. Ironically as I had begun settling in for the potential long haul, I received a letter from an old friend’s little sister. She was writing to tell me about the World Race and requesting support. As I googled the World Race, I was in awe with what I found. What an amazing opportunity! I’ve always found traveling and experiencing different culture an opportunity to learn new facets of Christ. Jesus is not just for Americans! The potential of serving the least of these, the prostitutes, the widows, the sick and lame and the orphans!—oh my heart leapt and longed to be a part of this experience. All these countries listed represent countries from where kids I’ve worked with have been adopted. I know the deep trauma they’ve endured and heard stories and seen pictures of their orphanage experience. Now I could play a small part in preventing that trauma and revealing the love of Christ to these kids? It was overwhelming!! But I had my guard up. Don’t get too excited, Cass, this probably isn’t for you. You’re here. You couldn’t do that… could you? As I spent time poring over the website, I felt God nudge me saying, “it’s time”. Feeling things align and fall into place, it feels like God has led me to such a time as this and such a mission as this. I’m ready to serve the afflicted and neglected with World Race and deepen my relationship with Christ.
