When I thought about going on the World Race I thought about sharing the gospel around the world to people who may have never heard the name of Jesus. I thought about opening my eyes to new cultures and ways of life and growing my faith in Christ. I thought about being immersed in Spanish speaking culture for four of the eleven months. I knew the Holy Spirit would reveal himself in new ways and that He’d break through language barriers. I thought about praising the Lord and growing friendships.
But one thing I didn’t think about as much was how deep a connection I would have to the people on this journey with me. I knew my whole squad was placed together for a purpose and that God orchestrated putting us together very purposefully. But I didn’t think much about all the in between time where we’d be shoulder to shoulder listening to music in the airport or checking each other’s heads for lice. I didn’t think about sitting around the dinner table each night eating pb & j or rice and beans with six other human beings equally hungry for the more that Jesus has in store for us on this race. I didn’t think about sharing a bathroom with 6 people. I didn’t think about the dance parties while purifying water or brushing our teeth in the kitchen. I didn’t think about wearing headlamps outside as we try to hang dry our laundry in 95% humidity. We signed up for this journey because at some point in our lives someone cared about us enough to share the gospel with us and it transformed our hearts. We want to be that person for others. We signed up for the race to give the gift of life to those we encounter. It’s funny how after just one week on the field, it has given so much life to me.
In my head, going on the World Race was going to be a sacrifice. A sacrifice of comfort, familiarity, independence, etc. I thought about the sacrifice it would be to leave the people I love most and not see my precious dog for eleven months. I thought it would be a sacrifice of alone time, air conditioning, that fresh post-shower feeling, my closet full of clothes, or the occasional Starbucks drink. To me it was easy because Jesus is greater than all of those comforts. I knew I needed to do it because he was calling me to go. While all of that is true, its humbling to realize that this journey is more of a gift on God’s part than it is a sacrifice on my part.
He made this dream come to fruition with me and for me. As much as He loves that we are going out to share the good news to his lost children, He also loves that He’ll get to renew our hearts and minds along the way. He gets to show us beautiful creations in the world that he designed and watch us delight in those with him. He gets to help build our hearts back up when they’re crushed by the weight of seeing how some cultures live. He gets to edify us in ways we didn’t know we could grow. And he’s placed us in this incredible community of fellow believers that are willing to fight for us and call us out even when its hard.
I’m thankful for my squad and my team and the ways we’ll get to love one another this year. Please pray for unity and growth! Pray that we will speak into one another and call each other higher in the gifts the Lord has given us.
