And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28
This verse has become my mantra lately, I have been repeating it to myself through SO MANY frustrating moments; as MY plans crumble around me and I reluctantly allow GOD’S plan to take over. Here’s the thing, I have made tons of plans for myself over my last 23 years of life. I have imagined elaborate futures and Pinterested what my next 20 years should look like. Fun Fact: NONE OF THESE PLANS INCLUDED THE WORLD RACE, up until early this year.
God has a way of ripping my plans out from under me and then securing me in the beauty of His path for me, he did this when he lead me to the World Race and he has done it again with a new journey on the race. So, without further suspense I want to let you all know, I will no longer be leaving in January 2019 instead I will be taking off in June 2019. And with a new launch date comes a new route for my year!
I will now be heading to:
Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica,
Morocco, Ethiopia, Djibouti, India, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, and Indonesia.
There are so many things that I am excited about on this new route and I will share some of these things but first, I am assuming most of you are probably wondering why this change has come about. Before I answer that I want to be very clear that I did not make this decision spontaneously, tons of prayer, contemplation, and absolutely NO pinteresting have gone into this final decision.
Something that I am incredibly open about in my life is my struggle with anxiety, it is something that I have been wrestling with since I was twelve and has only gotten worse as I have gotten older. As a kid I used coping mechanisms and breathing exercises to deal with and control my anxiety and this alone worked all the way up until I was in my twenties. Around this time I could just tell that it was different so I began taking medication to keep my anxiety under control, at the time this was the best decision I could have made for myself and I am so thankful I chose to do it. After a few years of being on the same medication I began to experience side effects and chose to switch what I was taking. Several months and a few failed medications later I made the decision to go off of all anxiety medication and attempt to treat it naturally, this was around the same time I began the process to apply for The World Race.
As a result of my anxiety and a few life events I am required to be seeing a counselor in the time that I have leading up to my Launch, this is to make sure that I am mentally okay to be put out into the mission field and all of the stressors that come with it. I was seeing a counselor prior to this and am so thankful that this organization cares about my mental health as much as I do and that they want to make sure I am covered while I am gone.
Through my counseling, it was made very clear to me that what I am doing right now is not working. My anxiety has been through the roof and I feel like I am constantly jumping into the deep end; nothing that I have been doing lately has been glorifying God’s love and grace and I do not want to keep that up. So, through crazy amounts of prayer, a few therapy sessions, and lots of hard conversations I decided I needed to wait to go.
I have no idea why I now feel called to this route and its many possibilities when at one point I wouldn’t even consider it but I am completely at peace with this decision and feel that God’s hand is in this. I hope you will join me in continuing to pray for my old squad and route and embracing my new squad, both contain some pretty great people and I can’t wait to see what God does for us over the next few years.
Things I am excited about on this new route!!
Nicaragua!!
It has been my dream to go here since I did a project on it my sophomore year of high school and now, if our route stays the same, that is likely to happen.
I get to keep Thailand as one of my countries!
I really felt a connection with the country of Thailand and for the ministry that I will have the potential to be doing there so, I am thrilled to still be getting to do ministry here!
THE 10/40 WINDOW
The 10/40 window is approximately located between 10 degrees north and 40 degrees north latitude, spans parts of Africa, The Middle East, and Asia, and is home to some of the most unreached people groups in the world. According to The Joshua Project,
”Approximately 5.04 billion individuals residing in approximately 8,641 distinct people groups are in the revised 10/40 Window. 5,933 (68.7%) of these people groups are considered unreached and have a population of 3.05 billion. This means approximately
61% of the individuals in the 10/40 Window live in an unreached people group.”
This is an astonishing amount of people and leaves so much room for kingdom growth, and I am thrilled to be a part of that! My last route spent 4 out of 11 months in this area, my new route spends 8 stinking months within this region, and I absolutely can’t wait!
I actually know someone on this route!
I know someone!
The sister of one of my very best friends is planning to launch in this same squad and I am so excited that we get to do this together!
God has already done such unexpected, crazy, and radical things through this process; he has, wrecked me, chipped away at me, and restored me so many times already and I can’t wait to see what else he has in store. Thank you guys for making it through this incredibly long blog and for your crazy, amazing love and support!
To my family and friends who deal with all of my breakdowns, temper tantrums, and complete lack of communication and social skills; you guys are the bomb and I am so thankful God has provided me with all of you to help hold me together when I feel like all hope is lost. Thank you for loving me and always pointing me to God and the plans he has for me, the sanctification you provide in my life is not always wanted and well received but it is definitely appreciated! You guys are the best!!!
