5 W’s and an H – every kid is taught this when learning to writ anything bigger than a sentence. So, while I’ve spent the past two months agonizing over my 1st blog post, I forgot these key points of communication. Typical Kenzie…
So, that would be the WHO! Mackenzie Jo Shapiro, commonly known as Kenzie, was born April 24, 1999 in Phoenix, AZ to Leonard and Anita Shapiro. I am currently a senior high school student at Artios Academies of Sugar Hill. My favorite subjects are History and Costume Design. I live in Duluth, GA wit my parent, sister, and two dogs. I am planning on going into a career in Costume Design for Film and Television. I like to read, draw, watch Netflix, eat good food, learn random facts and I have a passion for people. I love learning about other peoples’ history, culture, food and beliefs. It’s this passion that is what has drawn me to the World Race.
WHAT will I be doing? Well, I have had the honor of being accepted into the World Race Gap Year Mission Program. This is a nine month gap year missions program for students age 18 – 20, run by Adventures in Missions (https://www.worldrace.org/?tab=about). This program takes racers to three different continents in those nine months hitting three to five countries. Racers, like me, will be living out of a backpack, traveling, and serving as many people in as many was as needed, all while being immersed in their cultures and lives. How awesome is that?!? Some days I will be doing construction, others VBS or praying over the sickly. Thinking and preparing for this journey, both spiritual and physical, I find myself both a little overwhelmed and very excited.
WHEN am I going? I will be taking this gap year program next September 2018 through May 2019.
WHERE will I be going? I will be on “Route One”, starting in Costa Rica, then crossing the ocean to South Africa, where I will then travel to Southeast Asia in Thailand then Myanmar (Burma). Many of these places have a reputation for being a paradise on the outside, but a closer look reveals a great deal of underlying problems. The more I research these countries, the more I yearn to go there and help in any way I can.
WHY am I going? Why choose to live out of a backpack for the better part of a year? Why sleep on floors, walk for miles with said backpack, deal with homesickness, and experience culture shock? Because I strongly believe that this is what I have been called to do. I first discovered this program several years ago due to a friend posting her journey on the World Race. I was instantly curious and immediately began researching the program. Although I didn’t tell anyone, it was only a week later when I decided that I was going to be a racer as well. Every bit of me was telling me that is what I was commanded to do. Six months later, when talking to my mom about “post high school plans”, I broached the prospect to her, not expecting the amount of surprise and support I would receive. Over a year has passed since I made that first decision and after much thought, research, “what ifs”, and praying, I am so glad that I made that choice. (I’m also glad that the anxiety of being accepted has passed!) I get to be a part of something greater, to improve both someone else’s life and my own. Proverbs 3:5-6: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
So, HOW am I going to do this? Let’s be real – I won’t be able to do this alone. It’s a journey and journeys aren’t meant to be taken alone. Not only will I be joining with fifty other racers on my travels, I need people who are willing to join me on this journey in other ways. You can be a part of this chapter by helping in any way that you can and feel comfortable. You can donate (click on the link above), share my story, pray for me, or just shoot me a message of encouragement. Everything makes a difference!
