If you knew me a year ago, I was a completely different Allison. At the beginning of 2015, I was bitter to the bone about a recent breakup, stumbling in and out of every bar in Houston, looking forward to the next high, and waking up next to strangers. My friends even called me a freight train behind my back….I was unstoppable in all the wrong ways, heading full force down a path of self-destruction.
I found my identity in how many guys I could simultaneously date, how fast I could climb up the political ladder, how many social events I could make an appearance to, and how many friends I could keep under my thumb. I was self-centered, seeking any pleasures the world could give me but most importantly, I was broken.
But there was a man who created me and loved me and pursued me, no matter how far I had strayed from him.
He used my depression, my stories of anxiety and the past I was once ashamed about and through His grace, made it my testimony. It’s a story about a father coming to rescue His daughter. She was a daughter who was enslaved to sin and shame. She was desperately crying out for help on the floor of a bathroom in the Texas State Capitol. She was a daughter who thought there was no way out but He took hold of her hand and showed her what eternity looked like if she followed Him.
I spent my life (all 23 years of it) looking to the world to find happiness and of course, I couldn’t find it because I’m an alien. That’s right brothers and sisters: I’m an alien. God set eternity in all of our hearts and so nothing in this world can satisfy that desire. He didn’t plan for us to be in this broken world but I’m not to worry, He WILL return to take me home… The place where I belong.
So why the World Race? Because I am completely in love with Jesus Christ and I want the world to know about it.
I want to talk with the untouchables in India and tell them that they are indeed loved. I want to speak with victims affected by the Nepali earthquake like I did this past summer. I want to connect with women enslaved to human trafficking and forced prostitution in Cambodia and express they are worthy. I want to meet my distant Vietnamese relatives and tell them what Jesus did for me. I want to hold the hands of HIV/AIDS victims and pray for them in South Africa, Botswana and Swaziland. I want to journey through the mountains and jungles to reach those in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Peru.
But it’s not what I want. It’s what God wants and His will for me. For 11 months, I’m His devoted and faithful servant on a mission. It’s an adventure to tell those He puts me in contact with about how He healed and redeemed me… And how he can do the same for them.
The World Race. 11 countries in 11 months.
India, Nepal, Vietnam, Cambodia, Botswana, South Africa, Swaziland, Argentina, Peru, Bolivia and Chile.
Starting October 2016.
