In exactly five sleeps, I will be boarding a flight to Atlanta where I will begin the launch process for what will probably be my craziest year yet. This year, I will be embarking on The World Race. The World Race is an eleven month volunteer missions trip where we will spend every month in a different country. The countries I will be living in this year are: Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, Nepal, India, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua. I will be traveling with a group of about 30 people, but will break down into groups of about 5-7 for the duration of each month. The ministry and volunteer work that we will do may look vastly different from one country to the next. For our first country, Cote d’Ivoire, my team of seven will be working with hospital and children’s outreach in Korhogo (stay tuned for more details on our ministry there–we are so pumped)!
The preparations for this trip actually began back in August. Since then, these past months have been filled with immunizations, visa applications, doing an embarrassing amount of research on local climates, spending an absurd amount of time at REI, tackling a two-week training camp in Georgia and obsessively reading the blogs of the alumni World Racers that have come before me. Oh, and also learning how to shove an entire year into one backpack. If you’re aware of how much I overpack, you understand how humorous the sight of me attempting this packing endeavor must be.
Now, why did I wait so long to post this news on social media? Truth be told, I wanted to share this news in person with a few close family members and did not get a chance to do so until the holidays. Since then, I’ve spent the last week trying to decide how to configure this first blog post as I have never had an official blog before (aside from the ever-so-popular xanga stints of 2003). I will be updating this about once/week throughout the duration of my trip. Some of these posts may chronicle the work we are doing, the people God puts in our path, the amazing folks hosting us, or even the hilarious logistical mishaps that come with traveling internationally with a large group. I may even be trying my hand at vlogging…we’ll see how that goes! Our leadership team asks that we disconnect from conventional social media for the first six weeks of our trip in order for us to fully immerse ourselves into this crazy awesome journey with God and and our newfound community. I will be blogging during that time, though! If you would like to be updated on my adventures, click subscribe above (I promise not to spam you or blow up your inbox 18 times every week).
I cannot thank you enough for all of your love and support as I prepare to embark on this incredible adventure. God put this trip on my heart back before I was even old enough to participate in the World Race. It has been on my mind ever since, and it still feels a bit surreal to know that it is actually happening. This year is going to be quite the wild ride, and I cannot wait to share it with all of you.
If you have any questions, comments, concerns, jokes of the day–let me know! I’d love to talk to you more about it (and hear your jokes).
With love from Wheaton,
Alexis
