Hi everyone! If you are reading this I want to say a quick thank you for your support. It means so much!! So the first thing I want to mention is the title of my blog. “2020 Vision”. The other day, my dorky father said a typical dad joke about the new year. It went something like “all of these people keep asking me what my plans are for next month… and all I can say is I don’t know, I don’t have 2020 vision”. He thought it was pretty funny. When I sat down to write this post, I just couldn’t stop thinking about that joke. Obviously, a person with 2020 vision can see perfectly, and I feel like that kind of speaks over my upcoming year. Honestly, in this season of my life, I feel like God has given me a fairly clear picture of what he has for me in the upcoming months. Anyway, I just thought it was pretty cool how something like that could be revealed through one of my dad’s “funny” jokes.
Now I want to talk about what exactly I’m going to be doing after I graduate high school this coming May, but before that I want to talk about how I decided on my future plans.
So as of August, my plans for my future were the same as they had pretty much always been. I would attend school at OSU and major in biomedical science. However, what I didn’t know at the time was that God had something much bigger for me waiting just around the corner. After finishing all of my college applications, I realized that I was actually unsure of where the right path was for me. I had heard of The World Race previously but hadn’t really given much thought to it due to my “concrete” plans that I had already made. I think I really started praying about it in October, after realizing the path I was choosing was not the one God had planned for me. So, after feeling a tug at my heart, I applied. The next few weeks were crazy, but in the best way possible. Even after being accepted, everything felt like a dream. Since my older sister’s move to China in 2016, and then my trip that same year, I knew I had a passion for missions, and the World Race just felt right.
Fast forward to now, and I’m just as excited!!! It’s still amazing to me how God has had his hands over this journey so far and will continue to guide me throughout this year as I prepare for my trip. I guess some of you are probably still wondering what exactly I am talking about. I have said The World Race quite a few times, but haven’t really explained it much. Soooooooo… now I get to tell you all how I get to be a part of spreading the kingdom around the world!!!
The World Race Gap Year, which is what I am doing, is a 9-month mission trip in which I will be serving the Lord in three different countries. The route I have chosen starts in South Africa, then moves to Nicaragua, and finally finishes off in Ecuador. As I am on the Race, I will be participating in all kinds of activities including outreach, VBS, evangelism, or simply spending time with the Lord. No mater what we’re doing, we will all be be focused on spreading God’s love and advancing the kingdom!
As I prepare for my upcoming adventure, I will need to raise $15,800. You may be thinking, “Wow, that’s a lot of money”… well it is, but it is is going to cover all of my expenses including food, travel, housing, etc. I am very confident in the Lord’s ability to provide and am also excited that I have the ability to fund-raise. If you feel like this mission is something you would like to monetarily support, THANK YOU!! To donate you can click the DONATE button at the top of my blog or venmo me @Alicia-Crist-2. Also, keep your ears open because I am going to be doing many fundraisers that I would love for you to be a part of!! I would also love for you to be praying for me!!!
Thank you all in advance for reading and the growing support I am getting! I am SOOOO stoked that I’m able to write about my experiences and how I get to be a part of God’s work! Stay tuned for more updates:)
-Lish
