Hey y’all!
If you’re reading this, as the title implies, I’m going on the World Race starting January 2019! Some of you may ask, “What is the World Race?” Well, it’s a missions program where I will be going to 11 countries in 11 months. In each country we’ll be helping ministry organizations with the impact they’re having there in making Christ known.
For me wanting to do this, it goes back to this past October. I know people who have done the World Race and who are currently on it. So, I had heard of it before, but never put much thought into it. It wasn’t until I was scrolling through my phone one night and I saw an ad for their gap year program. It was 3 countries in 9 months, and what caught my attention was where the ad said, “Want to live out of a backpack?” This sounded amazing to me and exactly what I wanted to do. I love “roughing it” and making Christ known. My first concern however was money. I love to give to missions, but being a broke-college student, I can only give so much (which isn’t a bad thing). But it hit me: I don’t have a lot of money to give, but I do have me. After that, through much prayer, throught, and godly counsel, I applied. What really drove my thinking was the fact that if it’s any time to take this risk in my life, it’s now. And if I don’t, I might be burdened by the question of what if I did?
So I applied and got in! However, I found out that because I turn 21 this year, I won’t be eligible for their gap year program because it’s for 18-20 year olds. Yet, that’s when the curveball came: they said I was eligible for their regular program, 11 countries in 11 months. This is where even more prayer and thought came in. Could I still take a year off school without breaking enrollment? Well, I found out I could! With that, I didn’t want to say no and withdraw because things didn’t turn out how I expected. After all, my life hasn’t gone expected since I graduated high school. And that’s how I’ve reached this chapter of life.
With all of this, there are plenty of fears I have. Fear that I won’t be able to raise enough money (I need to raise at least $18,000), that I won’t be able to keep up with all I have to do, and that something will happen that will cause me to fall flat on my face in failure. But when it comes to fearing failure, one of my favorite quotes comes to mind: “There is no growth in Christ Jesus without some difficulty and fumbling. If we are going to keep on growing, we must keep on risking failure throughout our lives.” ~Brennan Manning. Point is, if I fail at this or if I don’t, either way, God will use it to grow me and make Himself known. So, let’s risk failure.
I realize this is a lot to read, but more blogs are to come! And it would mean so much if y’all could pray for my team and I, and give in whatever way you can! Giving is just as important of a role as going (I can’t go if people don’t give). I don’t really have a verse to sum up this experience, as this is all out of who Jesus is, not just one verse. But a verse I want to shape my perspective on this journey is Acts 20:24- “But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”
Thank you so much for reading my blog, for praying, and for giving. This is a scary, yet amazing journey and I can’t do it alone. I’ll be blogging as much as I can so you can be a part of this journey with me and be a part of what God is doing!
