Before I officially signed up for the World Race I watched an informational video about it. The girl in the video would be discussing everything that it takes to be apart of this great adventure with other like minded, passionate young people. Basically, she broke it down into three simple steps:
1. Apply
2. Prepare
3. Go
Step 1. Apply: That was the easy part. I filled out an essay style application, submitted my application fee, and completed a one hour phone interview with one of the admissions advisors. Just two days later, I received a call stating I was accepted to join the route of my choice on the World Race! Hooray!!
Little did I know that the next step would prove to be the most challenging…
Step 2. Prepare: The definition of prepare means, “to make (something) ready for use or consideration.” That (something) is me and everything that pertains to me getting ready for this new journey God has for me.
So what does it look like to get ready for a year long trip doing missions work overseas? Well, I made a list. The categories include:
Housing
This involves things like organizing and starting to get rid of stuff I don’t need so I can begin to downsize like a true missionary. This is something that is very hard for me as I am somewhat of a hoarder by nature and find sentimental value in everything that I own. Below, you will read more about how God has been working on me in this area of my life, but for now, I have been doing my best to “let go”. I will be putting the remainder of my things in a storage unit for a year. I even had to plan for my sweet kitty Carly to be relocated to my parents house while I am away. Yes, the term “get your house in order” has now taken on a whole new meaning for me.
Occupation
As a physician, there are so many more things I have to consider before taking a “sabbatical” from practicing medicine for a year versus if I were to just leave a regular job. The most important thing would be keeping up with my continuing education to obtain a current medical license. This is also a reason why I actually had to push back my World Race plans to January 2019 as my previous trip dates, (August 2018) interfered with my medical license renewal period. Keeping up to date with all of the new prescribing laws and licensing requirements is something no medical school or residency could prepare me for and it continues to require much sacrifice and lifelong learning.
Financial
My trip on the World Race is going to cost $18,800. This amount covers most of my airfare, visas for certain countries, housing, and food while on the trip. I have to come up with additional finances for my travel supplies/backpacking gear, moving expenses, storage expenses, and still come up with some savings. My savings would serve as bumper money for when I return and transition back into real life after the World Race. This can feel a bit overwhelming, especially when you think about not having an income for an entire year. Even though I get paid well as a doctor, the majority of my money has gone toward paying back over $200,000 in debt and medical loans I have accumulated. That being said, my main goal is to raise support through donations by friends and family, my church, but also through blog posting and sharing on my Instagram ministry page @lettersof.hope. So, if anyone reading this blog feels led to offer a donation it would truly be a blessing to me as I am still in need of much fundraising at this time.
Aside from many other logistical preparations such as canceling bills/subscriptions, keeping up with insurances, forwarding my mailing address, and filing taxes prior to my trip, the most intricate work has been what God has been doing to prepare my heart both spiritually and emotionally for not only the World Race, but for my purpose in God’s Kingdom and my God given destiny ahead.
Looking back and even now, I am reminded of a series of tests God has been using in my life to prepare me for such a time as this. To my surprise, these “tests” have started long before I even knew of or began consciously preparing to be a long term missionary for the World Race.
In March 2015, I was one stressed out resident physician. At the time, I was working my usual 80 hours a week at the hospital on top of studying for my Family Medicine boards. I came home late one evening to learn of an unfortunate series of events regarding my house and belongings. Was it a burglary? No. Natural disaster? Sort of. When I came home that night, my house felt like a sauna. I took one look across the room and found out that somehow, my house was completely taken over by fuzzy white, and dark grey mold. It was all over the floor, the walls, the furniture, even my clothes. In a panic, I started clearing out everything that was most affected in the worst room of the house. The next day, I found out the mold had resulted from a broken pipe under the house leaking out 13,000 gallons of water over a months time. Living in Florida, and because it was the first hot day in Spring, it created enough humidity to cause the mold growth to virtually explode overnight. A few days later, after meeting with the plumber, the contractor, and the mold inspectors I found out that the mold spore count was highly toxic, which meant I had to emergently evacuate. In that moment, I found myself homeless. Family lived far away and I was too prideful to ask for help from others. I didn’t want to bother them with my problem and such a disgusting microbial one at that. I had no one to help me clean or move any of my belongings and I lost pretty much everything. The worst part was, I had no time to deal with any of this given my rigorous work and study schedule. I didn’t want anything to stand in the way of me passing my final boards. I had worked too hard to lose it all now. It would be two weeks before I could move into a new apartment and my board exam was shortly after that. I really didn’t need this, but I had to make do. For those two weeks, I stayed at the hospital resident lounge. I would wake up, go to work all day, study all evening, then drive to my house to move and clean until the wee hours of the morning, drive back to the hospital, sleep for a few hours, then do it all over again. I was completely and utterly exhausted, and the toxic effects from the mold were starting to get to me as well. I remember falling to the ground one night in the midst of all of my moldy things in a daze, and I just began to weep. Weep for the loss. Weep for the difficulty I was going through, how I had no one to help me through this. How was it all going to turn out? Would it cause me to fail the most important board exam of my career???
I mention all of this to say, this was one of the biggest adversities I have had to overcome in my life. How ironic was it that I was studying SO HARD to prepare for my boards test, to be the doctor I had always planned on being; all the while God was allowing this other “test” to start to prepare me for His calling on my life. This was one test in which I honestly didn’t think I would survive. It was a very humbling experience that left me completely reliant on God. You see, when you are down to nothing, God is up to something. I wasn’t just being stripped of all of my now toxic belongings, I was being stripped of all the idols and toxic hoarding behaviors in my life as well. He was teaching me the lesson of “letting go”.
A season of preparation. It’s hard, but it is also a season meant to build your faith. For me, building my faith has come with much loss and pain from the lessons of learning complete surrender and letting go in other areas of my life. In the past several months to a year I have also experienced close family of friends and family who have faced major illnesses and even death. I’ve experienced devastating heartbreak as well. I am convinced there is no greater pain than losing someone you love. Nothing can really prepare you for grief. It’s something you just have to go through, but on the other side you come out a little stronger and with more faith to face the unknown. It is in these moments of the most difficult season of my life that I am reminded of God’s promises.
Romans 8:28
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
God has been preparing me all along. He is the potter and I am the clay. No matter what you are going through. No matter what you are preparing for, or being prepared for, just know that God has His hand on your life. He is perfectly orchestrating all of your life events because he has a plan for your purpose and your destiny. God is sovereign and we can trust Him even in the trials and the storms.
And don’t forget. There is more to come. 🙂
Step 3. Go: It’s going to be exciting. Stay tuned…
