Two years ago, right in the middle of my semi-hectic life and my semi-hectic marriage, my ex-husband and I got a divorce. It wasn’t something that happened overnight and it wasn’t something neither of us really ever imagined would happen to us, but it did.
Four months later, as I am grieving the loss of my marriage and the one person I loved so much and thought would never leave my side, I got an invitation to attend a women’s retreat called Tres Dias by one of my sweet childhood friends, Lucy. I call her Lucy Lu! Her father actually married my ex-husband and I. She is also a divorcée and she knew, probably better than anyone at the time what I was going through. She said “Ana, I think you should go to this retreat, it will be good for you.” Much to my stubbornness however, I kinda shrugged off the idea, because to be honest, I was a little upset with God for my broken marriage. Finally after my many attempted efforts not to attend this retreat, I went and it was life changing to say the least. That is also when I learned about The World Race.
Darlin Ventura, my sweet sister in Christ and I attended the retreat together, both of us against our own will, but not against God’s will. He purposely made sure that we were in this together. That same sweet friend that invited me, invited her too. This was when Darlin and I first met and left that retreat being united by Christ alone. I was newly divorced and she was just coming out of a 10 year relationship. She was on the fence about whether or not she was going to go on The World Race and God confirmed what her next steps needed to be in that weekend. God was calling her to The World Race. As for me, that weekend was one of healing and reconciliation. God held me and helped me. He made sure to let me know that I was NOT alone and that He was going to keep me broken, but not because He didn’t love me, in fact it was because He loved me so much that He needed to make me new again. This is how this journey started for me.
So as time goes on and I am settling into my new found singleness, I start to pray about an opportunity to move out of Dallas. I have always had to desire to live in another city. I was born and raised in Dallas and in my mind I thought “What better time than now to explore living elsewhere? I am single, no kids, and I am never going to be in this exact place in my life again.” So, I began my search to find a new home. I scouted jobs in Austin, California, New York City…any place that seemed desirable to me. I got several job leads, interviews and offers, but nothing that really tugged at my heartstrings and I certainly didn’t hear the Holy Spirit say “Go!”.
So I kept praying “God, you know the desires of my heart. You know I want to move out of Dallas, present me with an opportunity to make this happen.”
Well, just like that not long after that prayer, I was online, reading Darlin’s blog. Then I heard the whisper of the Holy Spirit “Why don’t you apply to do the World Race?” I let that simmer for a minute, and I tried to ignore it. Then “You’ve always wanted to do a mission trip…apply…” And on a whim, I did it and I was even like “Dang! I have to pay to apply?!?! What the heck…?” So I got online and did the World Race “Do you have what it takes?” quiz. Sure enough, I did. I have what it takes to be a World Racer!
So I did it. I applied and soon after that, I had an interview. Then I got a call and they told me that because I had been in therapy post-divorce, I needed to have a release from my counselor. In my mind I thought it was no big deal. My therapist was awesome, she was always very responsive. I could text her and she always responded right away, however, this time that was not the case. I couldn’t get ahold of her, they couldn’t get ahold of her and then I got discouraged. They contacted me again and said they needed to speak to their executives to make a decision because they needed to be sure that I was in a good state of mind to embark on this life-changing journey.
Time went on. I applied in May and by June, I was in limbo waiting to hear back from the Adventure in Missions team to confirm whether or not I would be accepted. July came. By this time, I just thought I was not going to make the cut. Then, I got the call! “We’ve spoken to our executives and we’ve been praying about this decision. You’ve been chosen to participate in the World Race!”
“SAYYYYY WHAT????? OMG! OMG! OMG!”
That was all I could think of….internally, I was screaming!!!! They told me I had a week to make the decision and commit to my decision. I began to pray.
“God, are you forreal? Is this really what you want me to do?” He answered, “You wanted to move away from Dallas, I am giving that opportunity you prayed about. Are you going to go where I call you?”
Still, I kept praying for clarity. Then, everything just started falling into place. I am going on The World Race! It is happening y’all!
Some days, I honestly can’t even believe it, but God has continually showed me that this is what He has for me. He has given me such a peace about my decision. He is proving to me day by day, that when we follow God’s plan for our lives, He provides.
The best part about all of this though, is that I get to spend an entire year, learning more about myself and growing my faith, but most importantly, I get to be the hands and feet of Jesus himself and live my life for 11 months, in 11 different countries, living like Jesus did, serving others!
