It’s been a hot minute since I’ve posted a blog, but first I just wanted to give a quick fundraising update that I’m only $892 away from meeting my April 19th deadline! Thank you so so much to everyone who has given and has continued to give!!! This wouldn’t be possible without you, and I’m so appreciative! Whether you’ve given $1 or $100, you’re playing such a significant part in helping me impact people in need around the world!
But anyways, I’m sure the title of this blog has you confused because there’s still snow outside, and no I have not been swimming in Lake Ontario. When God was first calling me to do The World Race, He told me I would be “swimming against the current.” Man, I didn’t know how true that would be. I’m doing the exact opposite of what society is telling me to do. I’m a graduating senior, and I haven’t had time to do a single internship to help me get a “real job” because I’ve been working so much trying to save every penny for this mission trip.
I’ve had people straight up tell me they don’t believe in what I’m doing. Others simply assume this is some kind of glorified vacation, even though I’ll be volunteering around the world for a year while living in a tent, taking cold showers using a bucket, on a food budget of $5 a day (including when I’m stuck in an airport). Any fun thing I want to do on our one off day a week comes out of my own personal bank account, not my fundraising account.
What I’m doing is so radical because it’s not mainstream. I’m “supposed” to be going to grad school or getting a full-time job right after graduation, but I’m not. I’m “supposed” to be thinking only about myself, but I’m not. The current keeps coming at me; it never stops. People ask me my plans for after The World Race, and I don’t have an answer for them yet. Even though I’m “supposed” to have my whole life planned out right now at 22.
With such a strong current, sometimes it’s too difficult for me to keep swimming. I slow down or stop, giving people the answers they want to hear so I can catch my breath. But I know I need to keep going, because it’ll be so so worth it when I reach the other side.
I’ve come so far, not only in terms of preparing for my trip, but as a person, in the last year. It blows my mind. Last night I gave the message at my BASIC (Brothers and Sisters in Christ) club meeting, and I wasn’t even nervous at all. What? I used to be terrified of public speaking, but this time I was confident and barely looked at my notes. I’m changed and changing still, y’all!
Once again, thank you for all your prayers and support! It means so much to me, you have no idea!
-Catherine Choquette 🙂
