The decision to leave my family, my friends, and everything that gave me comfort for nine months did not come easily to me. For some background, however, World Race wasn’t something that would have been completely out of the ordinary for me. I was a missionary kid. I was born in Thailand, and lived in China for the first nine years of my life, until my family moved to Tennessee in 2011. My future from that point was kind of a gray area at the time, me being a happy go lucky kid with no concept of growing up, and having to make life changing decisions in just a few short years. I lived my life year to year, with my only plan being to go to college after high school.
The summer after my freshman year, I went to Guatemala with my youth group, and it changed my life. The most significant moment for me was handing out food to families in need, and watching them be moved to tears for the love that we showed them. It was in that moment that I realized my life would be so fulfilled if I could make people feel like that for the rest of my life. That missions was my calling. That feeling has always been something I’ve held on to. But, as time goes on, naturally that mission trip high started to fade, and while I still remembered that significant moment, the fire and intensity for it was burning out. So I moved on. I thought about college, and what I was going to study that would give me a stable life. But it was never something I was able to take concrete action on. There’s always those kids that have applied to a ton of colleges before senior year even starts, but for some reason I never felt motivated to do it. I blamed it on myself, believing it to be caused by a bad work ethic. Then my friend, Makayla Boyd, told me about World Race and how she was doing it, and thought that it would be cool for me to do it as well. Unfortunately, as soon as she told me the cost, and just how much work it was going to be, I shrank back into my comfort zone. My friends and family encouraged me to do it, but I wanted to focus on a career. I kept seeing hints and signs throughout my life that pointed in the direction of World Race, but I ignored them. I wasn’t willing to put in the work for God’s plan for my life.
Every time I looked at college applications, and looked into careers, it didn’t feel right. Like something was missing. I was sitting with my small group one Sunday morning, and for some reason we got on the topic of seeking God’s purpose for us, which I was clearly struggling with. I mentioned that World Race interested me, but I wasn’t sure. My youth pastor kept saying things that directly applied to me, almost coincidentally. Hope Boyd was sitting next to me that day, the sister of who I mentioned earlier, Makayla, and she kept pushing me. Saying things like “you’re clearly ignoring what God is telling you, Emma.” Hope if you’re reading this, that was hard to hear, but I believe God spoke through you in that moment. Everything lined up that day. This wasn’t a coincidence. I’ve been told before that once you find your purpose, it’s undeniable. I applied for World Race later that same day, and cried. I decided I was going to trust God and let him work through me, no matter what doubts or fears I had. In all this self conflict, I found my purpose. And that’s why I’m doing World Race. I was undoubtedly created for it.
Hebrews 12:1
