I found out about the World Race by accident. I just happened to be scrolling through Facebook and saw an ad that invited me to visit eleven countries in eleven months. I liked the sound of that, so I looked into it, not expecting to get anything out of it.
Before I even applied, I prayed hard about this opportunity. I wanted so badly to just get started as soon as I could, but I knew I needed confirmation first. This trip is literally a massive dream of mine. I have never wanted to stay in Orange County. I have never even really wanted to stay in America. After my first mission trip in Port au Prince, Haiti, I knew I needed more. I knew missions was going to be a huge part of who I am. Not only do I get to travel, but I get to help people. Everywhere. Doing everything. It sounds so cheesy and cliché, but helping people who need it most, the least of these, is something I want to do more than anything else. But I waited to apply. I prayed hard about it. Every time I thought about it, which was almost nonstop, I was praying about it. I knew God might tell me that there is something else out there for me, even though the World Race sounded perfect, so I prepared myself to hear “no”. I talked to my parents about it and asked them to pray as well. I talked to friends and mentors about it, and got them on the prayer chain, too. I was desperate for an answer, and I was desperate to hear “yes”, but I waited. I waited until I was sure.
The typical process for application to the World Race takes about three weeks. First you apply, and then you set up a phone interview in the next few days. After your phone interview, administrators and staff in the World Race program look over your application and your interview answers, and they pray about it, too. The process is kept before God and final answers are not given until everyone is on the same page. Applicants are told to wait about two weeks to hear about acceptance.
I finally decided to apply. If I wasn’t accepted, then I wasn’t supposed to do it and I would simply move on and wait for what God had in store. If I was accepted, then hot dog. I applied on a Thursday and set my phone interview for the next day. I was really happy I was getting it over with pretty quickly. The faster I did my part, the faster I got my answer. My interview came and went, and I thought it went pretty well, but I decided I wasn’t going to get my hopes up about anything. I’m a realist, after all. I got a call Saturday morning from Georgia, where Adventures in Missions (the parent organization) is located. I answered it, and the voice on the other end said they had a few more things to do regarding my application. I figured they had some more questions for me. He suddenly yelled “CONGRATULATIONS YOU’VE BEEN ACCEPTED INTO THE WORLD RACE” and started cheering into the phone. I was shocked. Had I really just been accepted two days after I applied? One day after my phone interview? The guy went on about what a great thing it was to be accepted and everything I needed to do next, and then asked me if I had any questions. I asked him why I was accepted so quickly, after I had been told I would probably wait around two weeks for an answer. “Well, sometimes we just know people need to go on the race, and you were one of those people.”
This all happened in May. Since then, I’ve had an uncomfortable number of people use the phrase, “If you go on this race”. Now, I understand the logic behind saying “if”. This trip is going to cost me $19,000 and I don’t have it. Not even close. I’m also leaving everything and everyone I know and love for an entire year to go live out of a backpack in foreign countries with people I haven’t met yet. (Except a few great ladies I had the pleasure of getting coffee with!) Of course, I’m a little freaked out and overwhelmed about all this (I mean, what if my dog doesn’t remember who I am when I get back?), but there is no “if”. I’m in this now. I’m committed. I became committed that Saturday morning when I got accepted. I have no doubts of my going on this trip. I have no doubts about being able to get enough money in time, I have no doubts about the dangers I will most likely encounter while I’m gone, I have no doubts about anything that could go wrong before, during, or after this trip. In fact, I’ve never been more sure of anything in my entire life. So, I’d like to pass on my assurance to anyone who does have those doubts.
I am not going on this trip because it sounds fun. I am not going on this trip because it would make a nice vacation. I am not going on this trip just because I feel like it. I do not work three jobs because I have nothing better to do, or because it’s fun. I work three jobs because I’m determined to pay for the majority of this trip myself. I do not go backpacking on the weekends because I have a ton of extra time or because it’s a fun thing to do (though I do enjoy it), I go because it’s training for how I’m going to be living for eleven months. My browsing history isn’t filled with endless camping supplies recommendations because I’m obsessed with living in the wilderness, but because 90% of my belongings are going to be your typical camping/hiking gear. I am not pulling a complete 180 on my life because I got bored or because I don’t know what I want to study in school, but because my entire application process and acceptance took 3 short days instead of three weeks and if that isn’t God shouting “GO” at me then I don’t know what it is. And if God told me to go, He’s not going to just let me fail in my preparation. He’s not going to sit there and let my fundraising goals wave at me as they pass me by unmet. He’s not going to just watch as I struggle to mentally prepare myself for everything I’m going to be missing here at home for an entire year. He’s not going to keep quiet as I, and so many others, keep praying about this trip and everything having to do with it. If He told me to go, then I’m going to go and nothing is going to stand in my way.
There is no “if you don’t meet your deadlines”. There is no “if you get fatally injured or sick”. There is no “if something comes up and you can’t go”. I leave for West Africa on January 4th, 2019. I will have the money to go. I will be physically and mentally prepared to be away from my comfortable home for a year. I will witness miracles and I will meet amazing people and I will have an amazing time and I will live the hardest year of my life. God never said “if”. He said “go”, so I’m going.
