Ashley Musick… That would be regular music with a special “K
.” That’s me.
I first got involved with Adventures in Missions in 2004, in between my junior and senior years at Emmanuel College. I was looking for a mission trip opportunity and found them through a random internet search. 5 years later I look back on that moment and really get a sense of just how divinely inspired that moment in my dorm room must have been.
That summer I took a 2-month Real Life trip to New Zealand and my relationship with the Lord went to a whole new level. I was studying to become a youth pastor at a Pentecostal Bible College, but that summer I learned about daily listening to the Lord and His desire to speak to me in every moment and situation. Obviously an encounter like that will change your life.
As soon as I got back to Emmanuel College for my senior year, I knew life was different. Re-entry was tough and I knew God was drawing me deeper still. So I researched different leadership opportunities at AIM and signed up to lead a 1-month Ambassador Team for high-school students the next summer. So at 22-years old in the summer of 2005, I took off to India, and 14 younger students followed! I grew in my trust and dependence on Him in that month and saw Him use me to love on all the girls on the team. I was passionate about discipleship and having people get to an intimate encounter with the Father.
But the story of The World Race and Ashley Musick starts just before my trip to India. That last semester of college I was working as an intern at a church in Louisville, KY. I was already preparing to lead the team so I went to Barnes and Noble to get a better understanding of Indian culture. With Starbucks in hand, I found a book entitled, “The Rough Guide to Your First Time Around The World.” I started reading and couldn’t stop. That night I ended up buying the book and a small atlas and went home to devour the idea of traveling around the world for a year. I wrote in my journal that night…something I hardly ever do… “Before I’m 30-years-old, I’m going to travel around the world for a year.”
In less than a year I’d be gone!
During that internship I gave 
up my desires, hopes, and dreams. I gave them all back to God to do with them whatever He pleased. This included my new found obsession with world travel. The very next day after the prayer session where I did that… The World Race was introduced on the AIM website. I thought it was a joke and it took a few days to set in, that God was already returning my dreams…newly improved and useful for His glory. I applied and started getting excited about the crazy journey ahead.
We were set to leave on January, 7th 2006. The very first World Race. On January 1st I had decided I couldn’t go. I didn’t have anywhere near enough support raised to leave, let alone the money for my vaccinations, insurance, and flight to meet the group. Over that week though, the Lord brought money into my support account, money into my hands for those extra expenses, and people who surrounded me with help and encouragement. With bags under my eyes I arrived in Matamoros Mexico to meet the team.
There will never be another World Race like the first one. No two races are alike, but nothing can compare to being the pioneers 
of such a vision for a generation. We got a lot of things right and a lot of things wrong. God showed up to direct our steps. He provided in miraculous ways for us to get around the world and bring hope to hurting and dying people. Through the process we were all changed. It was a “Life like no other.”
On Thanksgiving Day, November 22nd I returned home to West Virginia. The world was smaller, it’s problems bigger, and I was alone for the first time in 11-months. I entered the uncharted waters of “what do you do next?” I got a rinky-dink job at K-Mart for a while and suffered behind the Customer Service Desk until my friend and teammate Laura Jacobs called me one Saturday.
One week later, on August 31st 2007, I was headed to Gainesville, Georgia to work in the AIM office for The World Race. For 3 years I have had the opportunity to launch new World Race 
teams on the field, train them for the unexpected parts of the journey, and love on them as they realize God’s love and plan for their lives. It’s been a great job. My current role as the World Race Alumni Coordinator gives me opportunities to speak with participants about transitioning into life after their journey around the world, and helping them understand and take hold of the opportunities that await them.
It’s been 5 years since I left on The World Race. I almost can’t believe how God has used this program to awaken a generation and change lives all over the world. From the original 21 people on the January 2006 Squad until now, we’ve seen 515 World Racers take their journey of faith and come home radically changed. I’m proud to be a part of this ministry, under the authority of it’s leaders, and serving God to see His Kingdom come to this earth.
