I’ve written and re-written this post at least 8 times. I have so many thoughts and feelings and I simply don’t know how to put them in words.
I guess I should start by saying, I’m no longer going on the World Race in October, I’ll now be going in January of 2019, meaning that I’m pushing it back three months.
It’s a long story, so I’ll try to make it short. Essentially when I started praying through and planning about the World Race my parents mentioned me going in January, rather than October. It would give me to only more time to raise funds but would allow for some more “breathing” room. It would mean I would not have to graduate, move to DC, go straight from DC, to Atlanta, and come home with only a few weeks before leaving for the World Race. I, however, didn’t like that plan as much and went ahead and went with October. Looking back, I don’t think this was wrong, but it just wasn’t what was best for me.
I spent a lot of time thinking through how I could make everything work time wise. I had a lot to do and a lot of places to be and hardly any time. I had timed it where I could work 40 hours a week at my DC internship and make it work – but I couldn’t get sick or miss a single day. There was no room for error. The more, I thought about it, the more my parent’s words made sense. I made a lot of excuses for myself and why I should stick with October, like “Lauren, God was clear route 3 was what you were called to go on” and “you can’t just up and change” and so on and so forth.
I could go into greater detail about how it all went down and the many conversations the Lord and I had together, but essentially He made it clear he wanted me to go in January not because it worked better in my favor but because that was His plan! #AlwaysListenToYourParents! So, I decided I’d go in January, on the 3rd route – not even knowing where that route was going to take me, because that’s what He’s called me to do – which was scary and oddly comforting placing that in His hands.
Switching has been hard. Harder than I thought it would be. I had gotten to know some of the people who were on the October route and they were all really cool people who were so passionate about Jesus, His Kingdom, and His calling on their lives. At the same time, it kind of feels like a failure and in other ways, it feels like destiny. Yet, through it, all the Lord has revealed so much to be about His heart & my heart. I’ve been reminded that trusting God on my own terms, is not really trusting God at all. I’ve learned that it’s okay not to know the “plan”. If I’m being honest and totally vulnerable with you, I have a deep fear of the unknown but the Lord is reminding me that it’s my job to be obedient to Him and He will work everything else out. By changing my World Race plans, it changed some of my plans for the summer and fall & I don’t exactly know what I’m gonna be doing. But He’s teaching me yet again, that I don’t have to always know what the plan is. & finally, He’s yet again reminded me that His ways are always better. Always! Always! Always!
So, with that being said, I’m SO pumped for January. I have SO much peace about this decision and I’ve loved how the Lord just worked it all out so well. As I said, I decided on route 3 before I even knew what it was and it’s crazy how the Lord knows what His children need. By moving to this route I’ll be spending more time in East Africa, still in Uganda and Rwanda (insert all the heart eyes!) and I’ll be in India, which is cool because at the beginning of the semester the Lord laid India on my heart. I thought about studying abroad there again and it didn’t work out, so I began to pray for India. & now, He’s opened the doors for me to go to India for a month!
The countries I’ll be in are Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, India, Nepal, Rwanda, Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya, Romania, and Ukraine.
I’ve already shared this with some people and they’ve had some questions. The most frequent question is what does this mean financially for you? The great thing is that it doesn’t change anything in terms of finances. All the money I’ve been able to raise (from incredibly generous people like you!) will just transfer to this route, dollar for dollar! Secondly, I’ve been asked if this changes what I’ll be doing in each of the countries, and obviously, it will a little bit because the countries change, but we’ll still be serving those in need and ministering to people alongside of missionaries and NGO’s already on the ground – just like before. Working alongside people who have been deeply invested in the community we’re in! The heart behind what we do is certainly still the same! & finally, I’ve been asked what I’ll be doing this summer and fall since I’ll be out of school and won’t be on the race yet…. and that my friends is still uncertain!
All in all, I’m grateful for all the Lord is teaching me in the midst of this journey. I’m SO grateful to everyone who has partnered with me in this and invested in me and what the Lord is doing in my life. I’m forever grateful, overwhelmed, and blown away by the reality that He entrusted us with the message of the Gospel. Who am I that He would call me to be a tool in His hand to bring hope to people. He’s crazy good and insanely gracious!
If you have any further questions about why I switched or what means or if you’re intrigued by His crazy goodness and insanely gracious heart and want to know more, feel free to shoot me an email! I’d be happy to answer any questions. If you’d like to partner with me and support me financially as I follow the Lord and His heart, you can click HERE or shoot me a message and we can talk further! All financial support goes 100% to my trip and is tax-deductible!
If you made it through this whole post, I’m super impressed! You deserve a gold star! 🙂
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
Proverbs 3:5-6
Much love & Many blessings, Lauren
