I am so overjoyed to announce that I will be launching for the World Race in September of this year!! How awesome is that? If you don’t know, the world race is a 9 month mission trip where you spend 3 months in 3 different countries. For me, these countries will be Thailand, India, and Guatemala. Most of you are probably wondering why I want to go or how God has called me to go. (Just keep reading and those questions will be answered). The reason I want to go is firstly because I believe that I am being obedient to the Lord in going because I believe that He has called me to this for the next season of my life. How do I know this? Well, it all started when I was a lot younger. I have always wanted to travel and go on mission trips (even before I was a Christian) and it only increased after I became a follower of Jesus. The first time I really heard of an opportunity to go on a mission trip was in 2016 and at the time I was 15 years old and a new Christian (I got saved in 2015 so if you would like to hear about that, stay tuned to these blogs and I will post it in a couple of weeks!). The trip was to Otavalo Ecuador and when I heard that the youth were going, I was so excited! As I heard more about the trip, my heart yearned to go even more. Long story short, I could not go because I was a grade too young. Upon hearing this, my heart was broken so I began begging God to let me go. I prayed and prayed and prayed some more that God would call me to something like this. The next summer, the church announced that the youth were going back to Ecuador to serve alongside the same little church of Tangalí and again, I was overjoyed. This time, I prayed the Lord would confirm that I was supposed to go and he did! So I went to Ecuador that summer in 2017 and it was the most amazing trip I had ever been on. I fell in love with the people of Ecuador – so much that I went back the summer of 2018. This past trip was even better and even sweeter. I made relationships with the worship leader of the church and his wife. He became like a father to me in that short week and I became his daughter from the United States. This year, I believe that God has called me to something that will be even better and that is the World Race Gap Year. On December 23rd, I received a book that talks about hearing God’s voice and how to do that better. The first night of reading it, my mind was blown when I began hearing God speak to me about His perfect plans for me. The reason my mind was blown was not because I was hearing God’s voice, (although, it still blows my mind that He even speaks to us!!), it was because God was telling me I was going to be doing something different than I thought. Fast forward to day five of reading the book (it’s like a devotional) and I heard God saying to get down beside my bed and listen to what He has for me so I did this. I got down and waited for a couple of minutes and I heard a voice saying, “get up and go”. My response was, “go where, God?” and I did not get a response right away. A couple days passed and I heard the Lord say “the World Race”. My next question was, “which route am I supposed to do” and I heard him say Guatemala. This peaked my interest so I continued praying and God said that I would also be going to Thailand. As I pushed further, I heard, India. This is a very short version of the story and I would love to tell you more if you want to hear. Mostly though, I want to go because Jesus carried my pain and suffering on his back because he believed in my redemption. He ran His race fully invested in MY victory and in YOUR victory, and He won. He carried our pain, our faults, He carried everything for us. As I am entering this journey of learning how to trust God more, I am learning that He is faithful to provide and to redeem me. He has healed me of things I never thought I could see a light from. God is good and I want to praise him and serve him because of that. I am in awe of the unfathomable love of Jesus Christ and I want to share that with others.
I believe that we are all called to go but it’s just a matter of how. I encourage you to ask God today how He wants you to go. This does not mean leaving the country for nine months or even at all. It could mean showing His love in your own home or workplace.
