My life has been filled with countless changes the past few years. Some have been made clear and easy, while others foggy and rocky. God has blessed me so much through it all, whether I believed it in the moment or not. He’s had a plan for me, one that I couldn’t have even imagined on my own. I’ve always had engraved in my brain that you go from high school, to a university, to a job. And that’s just life. Little did I know, that’s not what God had planned for me. But if you know me, you know I always tend to do things my own way. When I was given the chance this year to complete my high school career at Austin Community College, I did not hesitate. I thought that this would be a great opportunity to get a head start on college. But the more and more that I thought about next year, the more unsure I became of everything. Even though college is what I’m “supposed to do” and what I’ve been so set on, it just wasn’t feeling right anymore. I remembered hearing about this thing called The World Race. I didn’t know exactly what it was other than the fact that it was a gap year option. So, one night while I was babysitting (don’t worry, the kids were asleep), I pulled up their website and did some research of my own. Next thing I know, I was filling out an application. The first question they asked me was why I wanted to do “The Race”. I remember writing about how I was in a place where I didn’t even know what I wanted to do with my life anymore. While everyone else was posting about their college acceptances for all the world to see, I couldn’t help but feel like there’s something else that I was meant to do. A few questions later, they gave me five different lists of countries. It was almost as if everything went blurry but one country: South Asia. I clicked on it to read more – Route Five: Romania, South Asia, and Costa Rica. I couldn’t think of anything more diverse and perfect. I went home that night and told my dad that I just applied for a nine month long mission trip and that I had an interview in two days. By his reaction, you would’ve thought that I told him I was leaving the country and never coming back.A couple of days go by and I have my interview. It went great and they told me they would get back to me most likely by the end of the week. Two weeks go by and at this point I was thinking that there was no way that got a spot. All of a sudden, I got a phone call welcoming me to the squad. I’m not one to cry, but praise the Lord that I was at home because I was ugly crying. At that moment, I knew without a doubt that this is what I’m meant to do next year. This all still feels so unreal to me. It’s crazy to think that by this time next year I will be in Costa Rica sharing the good news with my new family. I am so excited to begin this journey. While I know God is going to use me in incredible ways, it is a big change. I need prayers that my heart will be prepared for the places I enter, along with the hearts of the people we encounter. I can already tell you now that God is going to shine brighter than ever and I am so pumped for this next chapter in my life.
