So, I have told some of you this already but it doesn’t matter how many people I share it with, it still seems surreal that I am about to embark on this journey. In January 2013, I will begin an 11-month trip to 11 countries around the world. I am not going on a vacation or taking a hot air balloon ride around the world. I am going on a missionary journey in which I will put a lot of me aside (the non-camping, sleeping on my memory foam mattress topper in a bug-free house side of me) and will go to countries that I know little about. As much as I truly do love to travel, I don’t know that I would have ever chosen to do this on my own because of that side of me mentioned above. God in His infinite wisdom has led me to apply, interview, and now accept a position on this trip called “The World Race.” I have experienced God in a way I never had before and look forward to experiencing Him much more!
So, what does that mean? Well, I don’t know all that I will be doing yet but after reading some other people’s blogs who have done this race, I am seeing helping orphans, providing education about HIV/AIDS, helping rescue girls from sex trafficking, and various other things that basically just helps people and shows the love of God to a very broken and hurting world.
You may wonder how in the world, I got to the place I am now. Well, let me tell you! Over the last year, I have struggled with what was next for me. I had become disgusted with the American education system and was burnt out on fighting it just so I could help kids. I was ready to take a break from working in a school; although I don’t know that I fully wanted to quit using my gift of teaching. For the last few months I have applied for 10+ jobs in the non-profit sector and had no luck although I consider myself to have many skills and experience working with teenagers and most people I talk to tell me I would be perfect for these jobs. So, this was God just putting up a roadblock because had I gotten a job that seemed perfect, I doubt I would have listened to Him as He was leading me to do this. I read about the World Race a few years ago and thought “Oh, that would be fun to travel around the world like that.” However, I never really considered applying and going through with it. I had a job, an apartment full of stuff, and a church family that I love and devote myself to. Less than three weeks ago, I went online to give to a missions trip that my friend Morgan is going on later this year. As I went to put money in her account, I saw “The World Race” again. This time, I didn’t skip over it. I started to read people’s blogs and learn more about it. I began reading about their experiences and became overwhelmed with an urgency to do this. I didn’t want to sleep in a tent on the ground! (That was probably my biggest hurdle that I had to overcome and wrestle with God about.) I decided to talk to my parents about it and see if they would try to talk me out of it. Before I even finished telling them, my mom said I should do it. I was dumbfounded and proceeded to tell her I wanted her to talk me out of it. She didn’t though because she loves God more than me. That’s pretty awesome to have a mom like that! So, not even two days later, I applied. Two more days and I did a phone interview and then last week I found out I was accepted.
I don’t have the words to adequately express my feelings about this. I am scared of the unknown. I am overwhelmed by God and His presence in my life. I feel like my faith is being put into action in a way it never has before. I don’t want to leave the people that mean the most to me and wonder what I will miss in their lives while I am gone. I don’t want to leave my church because I love serving there. I don’t want to leave my memory foam mattress topper on my comfy bed in my air conditioned apartment that I share with no one. Soon, I will have to hear about everyone’s lives through e-mail and skype when I am able to access the internet. I will hopefully be able to tune into oasischurch.tv sometimes live and hear them read the country I am in at that moment and see familiar faces, and I will sleep in a tent with a sleeping pad which I still have yet to figure out what that even is (I don’t think I have been camping since I was a kid and I didn’t enjoy it) and share everything with a team of people I will be with. Life will be different and interesting to say the least.
I am also excited to experience Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Costa Rica, NIcaragua, Honduras, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Nepal and India. I am ready to meet new friends all over this amazing planet of ours. I am excited to see God use me and watch God change others’ lives as I am sure mine will be changing as well. I am excited to write about my experiences and be able to share them with you. I really want to write a book while I am on this journey and hopefully it will be interesting enough that others will want to read it. I want this year to count. It will not just be another year of school. This will be a year that I will never forget and you may never stop hearing about if you continue to be my friend after I tell you a million stories about Africa!
I do need a lot of support to help make this happen and there are a few ways you can do that. One, please, please, please, pray for me. I will be in places where disease is rampant and contracted by the bite of one bug. I will be in some places that are extremely dangerous. I will also just have a lot of emotional things to deal with being away from everything I know and adopting a new culture every month. I will need your prayers and I covet them very much. Secondly, I need your support financially. The entire trip will cost $15,500 and I am responsible for raising this support fully by the sixth month of my trip. I am believing that God will provide all of the money and He may be wanting to use you to do that. Whether you believe in God, in me, or in helping humanity this is a great cause. Lastly, I really would appreciate you keeping in contact with me and following my blog as I am gone. I hope to update it often and check Facebook every now and then as well. I am not usually one to ask people to encourage me because I am usually the encourager, but I am asking for your emotional support as I am gone. I already know I will be homesick at some point or maybe all points. I appreciate you taking time to care for me as I care for the many people I will meet around this world of ours. I plan to fully embody the mission statement of my church as I embark on this journey I am going to “Love God, Love People, and Serve the World.”
If you would like to give now, you may click the link to the left that says "Support Me!" and then when you get to the page click the drop down arrow that says "Support a World Racer" and my name is already there. Many of you will be getting letters in the mail soon as well. If only 155 people donate $100, I will be fully supported. Please ask God what He would have you to give and you don't really have to ask Him about the prayers part, just go ahead and give those regardless :O)
