I made it home! I’ve been back in Colorado for a few days and one of the main questions I keep getting is, “what’s next?”…. One of the biggest things I’ve learned while being on the Race is life with Jesus is an adventure. When you’re willing to follow wherever He leads, it’s never boring. Since He likes to keep my life interesting, I have some news…..
I have been asked to return to the field this fall as an Alumni Team Leader!
What exactly does that mean??
Glad you asked!
I will be going to Swaziland, Africa with a new group of gap year racers. I will be leading and discipling a team of 6-8 girls. I will be with this team the first 3 months of their race. So from September- November I’ll be back out on the field!! WOOHOO!
After a lot of prayer and convincing from Jesus (I’m pretty stubborn) I know this is where the Lord wants me in this next season. It’s both exciting and scary.
I know the Lord has given me a passion to disciple highschool/college age girls. It’s something I did before the Race and I love practically living out Matthew 28:19-20. The World Race has been one heck of a journey. I HAVE LEARNED SO MUCH. I would love to share my wisdom and past experiences with people who are about to enter into the same journey. The beginning of the Race is a difficult time for everybody. Leaving everything familiar and comfortable about home, being surrounded by people you’ve never met and questioning your faith as you begin to truly make it your own. There’s a lot to handle. As an alumni team leader I hope to be a safe place for people, I want them to leave our conversations feeling full of peace and joy. I want to intentionally love them and pour into them! But most importantly, I want to always point them back to Jesus!!
I will be in Georgia most of July for leadership training and the new groups training camp. Which means I will only have about 7 weeks at home before I take-off again! The past 9 months I have walked through a lot of healing, a lot of growth, a lot of hard times and a lot of fun memories. I want to be able to fully process everything I’ve experienced the past 9 months but also be preparing for stepping into leadership. I’m very excited for all the Lord has in store!
After team leading I will be attending George Fox University in Oregon starting in the spring semester.
Thank you to everyone who has supported me financially, emotionally and prayerfully. God has used the World Race to change my life and I couldn’t be more grateful for every one of my supporters!!
Here are a few ways you can be praying:
- I have to raise $3,000, which includes everything for the entire 3 months except a plane ticket to launch in Georgia, and a plane ticket to and from training camp. (you can donate by hitting the orange “donate” button at the top of my blog!)
- For the new group of racers and specifically the team I’ll be leading, that they have open hearts and minds about the upcoming 9 months and the journey the Lord wants to take each of them on.
- That I can find a balance for my short time at home. I’ll need to process the last season, prepare for the next, spend time with friends and family that I’ve missed dearly and somehow find time to work and fundraise.
If you’d like to stay updated with my journey please stay subscribed to this blog! You can also friend me on Facebook (Grace Ooley) to see pictures!
P.S. I’d love to meet for coffee and share about my experiences and how the Lord changed my life. I have the same phone number or you can Facebook Message me.
Jesus loves you and so do I,
Grace Ooley
