Hello friends!
My name is Maci New and I am 22 years old (soon to be 23). I am a VERY recent graduate of Berea College in central Kentucky with a degree in Agriculture and Natural Resources. I am from Somerset, Kentucky and a firm supporter of the Big Blue Nation! I have awesome parents and three younger brothers, all of whom are currently killing it in baseball. I’m very close to all of them and wouldn’t be where I am without them. Needless to say, I have the best family in the world!
I am a lover of all things food and outdoors, the latter of which I am particularly passionate about. I’m typically more of a reserved kind of person but I’m also witty and clever once I get to know you. New places, cultures, and people excite me, but more than anything I just like to serve and help people.
How did I get here?
That’s an excellent question. Of course I’ve been praying for God to lead me and show me what He wants me to do after graduation since my freshman year of college (because I had no idea), and although different opportunities and paths opened up for me throughout my college career, none of them seemed like the right one. At the beginning of this year I started feeling really displaced and unsettled, like I was supposed to be somewhere else doing something more than what I was doing at that time (in terms of involvement in and service to my community). Then, this past March, I finally received word that I did not get a single position at any of the jobs that I had applied to in December. This really confused me because I knew I was qualified for each one so I went back to square one- “God, I know you have something in mind for me so can you please tell me what it is?”
A few weeks later I had a passing thought about maybe doing some mission work over the summer but then I didn’t think anything else about it. Then, about a week later, at my weekly bible study, we had a lady from the church come and speak to us about a mission trip to Kenya for 2019. This got me thinking more about missions but the trip to Kenya still didn’t really seem like it was the right fit. The next day on Facebook I saw a post about some kind of International Missions from an acquaintance from high school. I read her blog and found out she was completing a three-month mission in Guatemala! I immediately called my mom to see if she knew anything else about what Andrea was doing. She didn’t know but she encouraged me to reach out to Andrea. What is so significant about all of these tiny events is that: 1. I don’t get on social media very much, especially during school, 2. Andrea was a girl from the rival high school back in Somerset, who I competed against in several sports but never really became friends with, and 3. what are the odds of all of these things happening when I just began thinking about mission work?? Furthermore, my youngest brother got sick the same day I read the Facebook post and so my mom took him to the urgent care clinic where the doctor on call was none other than Andrea’s dad! Really, what are the odds?! After all of this I was like, “Okay, God, you’ve got my attention.”
I found out about Adventures in Missions and the World Race and was really intrigued so I applied. I didn’t really contemplate everything that went along with applying (i.e. the cost of the trip, how long I would be away from home, the fact that I would be living out of a BACKPACK), but I knew that if God wanted me to do this then He would work everything out. I finally had a sense of peace that I hadn’t felt for a long time!
Ultimately I got accepted to the World Race about three weeks before I graduated from college and now here I am.
So why am I going?
There have been a lot of changes in my life within the past year but the biggest is my craving for a deeper, more meaningful relationship with my Lord and Savior. I have realized that I already have everything I could ever need and all the wants I have for material things are just a symptom of the first-world society I live in. I long to get away from this lifestyle and I want to have NOTHING; I want to be His hands and feet and have nothing so that there is nothing to distract me from serving. We are all called to spread the Word unto the ends of the earth and I am so grateful for the opportunity to do so! January 1st through November 30th of next year I will be traveling to 11 countries across four continents. That’s right, FOUR.
South America: Colombia, Ecuador, Peru
Africa: Rwanda, Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya
Asia: India, Nepal
Europe: Romania, Ukraine
So be unified with me on my journey! My team and I need prayer, starting like last year probably. The Lord is about to change not only my life, but also my heart. I will be physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually challenged so please be my support!!
And of course there is the monetary need. If you feel called to support me through donations, please do! But I challenge you to first pray about it and study what the scripture has to say about missionaries and the church supporting missions. My overall goal is $18,700. This can seem like an overwhelming amount but I know He always provides. There is a button at the top of my blog page where you can click to donate just once, or even monthly up until April of next year (the trip must be paid in full by this point)!
Ultimately God will use us both. I am going wherever He leads and, through your support, you will go with me. I will be posting to my blog periodically so feel free to share this or any of my future blogs. You can also subscribe to my page to keep up-to-date on me and my adventure!
God bless <3
