Two years ago I was in a place of constant worry and stress thinking about the future. I didn’t know what I wanted to do as a career or what college I wanted to attend; I felt this pressure even as a sophomore to have it all figured out. School is not my forte, to say the least, and another four years of school right after graduating sounded like torture; a break sounded amazing. I knew for a while that I wanted to take a GAP year and thankfully my parents were open to the idea, but my expectations seemed impossible. I wanted to travel the world, lead worship and do missionary work, but I couldn’t do it on my own. Around this time of restlessness within myself, my mom was praying for one of her friend’s cousin who got Malaria. As she was keeping up with this woman she asked her friend what her cousin was doing in X country. Her friend told her she was on the World Race, so my mom did some research on it and discovered that it had a GAP year program where you can travel to three countries in three different continents over a nine-month period. My mom thought of me and as she shared about the program, I felt an immediate peace and joy. I told her right away, “I’m doing this” and two years later, here I am writing my first blog.
It’s crazy to look back and see all that God has done in my life to lead me to this moment. I remember as early as Kindergarten, I would tell my friends that I was going to live in Africa or in middle school I wanted to run an orphanage in Haiti. My love for traveling and missions grew from watching my parents be missionaries and living on the other side of the world from where I was born. From 18 months to 15 years old, China was home, although I was born in California. I am what you would call a missionary kid (MK). Three years ago, I moved to Thailand and I think that is when I actually accepted the name, MK. Living overseas has been a huge part of my story as my heart has grown towards varied people and cultures. Because I go to an International School, I get to lead worship and participate in mission days. I’ve had the opportunity to invest in girls who don’t know where to find their identities because their life situation is always changing. Fortunately, I can give them wisdom from my own life. I chose the World Race GAP Year because it allows me to learn in a hands-on way and grow in my relationship with Christ while pushing out of my comfort zone to share the greatest love story of all.
What I specifically will be doing starting in September 2019 is first traveling to South Africa, then after three months my team and I will go to Equador, and finally Cambodia. In South Africa, my team and I will be evangelizing through the school systems: discipling middle and high school students through sports ministry, teaching life skills or assisting with academic classes. In Equador we will be ministering to children living on the streets, serving in hospitals for people with special needs, spending time in elderly homes, working with feeding programs, and teaching English. In Cambodia, we will mainly focus on evangelizing to children by teaching them English and the Bible as education is extremely important for them to have successful lives.
All in all, I am so excited about what God is going to do and what He is already doing in my life and the lives of others! If you are interested in my journey and you would like to follow along I encourage you to subscribe and be part of what God is doing.
Thanks so much for taking your time to see what is happening and what will be happening in my life.
Much love,
Ashlyn<3
