Hey friends! It’s been a little bit since I last posted. A lot has happened in the last few months, and a lot of plans have changed. My senior year has been crazy, with cancelled dances and trips and lost jobs and trying to figure out how to throw a grad party safely. I know this has been a chaotic time for everyone, and I’m sure all of you have stories of your own of things you were counting on or looking forward to being cancelled, delayed, or changed. If you would have told me when I applied to the World Race last year that a global pandemic would threaten my ability to go, I would have thought you were crazy. We are a few months into this world crisis and I’m still struggling to wrap my mind around it.
I wrote my last blog when current world race teams were being sent home due to the pandemic. I talked about the fear surrounding the likeliness of my own trip and how important it was that I trust God in all of this. When I wrote that blog, my trip still seemed so far away, and my fears didn’t seem too real. But now my launch date is very close, and the issues Covid-19 has created for my trip are very real. When I wrote my last blog, we were still planning on launching in September like originally planned. As of this past week, the leaders at Adventures in Missions decided that was no longer possible.
AIM’s contingency plan is for our squad to come to Georgia on the original launch date (sep. 3) and spend 3 months at their headquarters in Gainesville, Georgia building leadership skills, growing in intimacy with God, and building community. We will come home over the holidays and spend the second half of the year on the field like originally planned. We were also given the option of a 6 month “semester trip” leaving in January if staying in Georgia wasn’t something we wanted to do (This would be an entirely different trip with a new squad). We could also defer to a trip leaving a later year or withdraw completely.
After a lot prayer, I’ve decided to take the opportunity to spend the first half of my gap year living in intentional community with my squad in Georgia. While I cannot say that I’m not disappointed that I won’t be traveling overseas this September, I am grateful for the opportunity to grow in my faith, live in a strong Christian community, and build stronger leadership and storytelling skills, so that I will be more prepared and capable when I get on the field in 2021.
Since the price of living in the US is actually much more expensive than any of the countries I would’ve been living in, my fundraising goal will stay the same. I have a little less than $3,000 left to raise. I am extremely grateful for all the support I have received so far. If you would like to help me reach my final goal, I do have a great opportunity for you to do so. I will be selling T-shirts again through Fund the Nations (picture below). The t-shirts are $20 each and come in sizes adult S-3XL. If you’re interested, comment below, e-mail me, or contact me any other way you like.
Again, I am so grateful for the constant support and prayers. Through all this uncertainty, I believe that God has my future in His hands, and that fear and doubt have no place in His presence. Hopefully, I will get back to posting more regularly, so stay tuned for more updates!
God Bless,
Mackenzie Tkach
