This past summer, in June, I was on my way to St. Louis Missouri as part of a late birthday present with my family to watch the Cardinals vs. Angels baseball series. In the long car ride, (12ish hours) I was texting with my friend, Ava, who had come down to Louisiana to go to camp with our church after moving away a couple years ago. We were talking about having crazy futures and traveling the United States and the world and how much fun it would be to not do something normal. Which, if you know me, something normal is all I ever want to do. I am not really the type that enjoys abnormality, but not this time. Ava then asked if I had ever heard of the World Race. I told her no and she proceeded to send me the link and give me a brief description of it. I did some research and thought it was super cool, but I didn’t apply or anything right then. Because I thought it was cool, I left the tab open in my safari on my phone. Praise God I happened to scroll passed it a couple months later in August 2019.
For fun, I filled out the application and later got Mom’s permission. I thought it would be interesting and smart to see if The Race was a possible option and if the Lord would open that door. He did. I went through my phone interview, paid the deposit, and picked my route. It all happened so fast!
The World Race has many programs. I will be attending the Gap Year program, a 9-month mission trip to three countries around the world. They also have another program that goes to 11 countries in eleven months and another that is for college students that lasts for a semester.
My route is to Romania, India, and Costa Rica. There were five routes to choose from, but before they were even released I knew which one I wanted. I was telling all my friends that any route with India on it would be first on my list. My grandparents served as missionaries in India for four years with the IMB. My mom also went to India, attending a short-term mission trip. It is exciting to possibly be a third generation missionary in India. I was praying for my route and was getting over-the-top excited the week before they released. When I saw that the last route had India on it, it was one of the best answered prayers ever. My team and I will be doing church planting, Bible distribution, kids’ ministry, and much more! I am beyond excited to go on this trip and cannot wait to continue to share how God is going to use me to further His kingdom.
