Everyone has been asking me, “Are you ready for your trip?” which is a question I love and hate because I love to talk about the World Race, but every time I am asked this it reminds me how fast time is going. The reality of this question did not sink in until recently. When anticipating a trip like the World Race there are so many details that need to come together such as raising funds, collecting gear, vaccinations, budgeting for when I get home, and preparing my heart to leave my family for 9 months. Am I really ready? No.
What comes to mind when you think of living out of a backpack in developing countries for 9 months? Strange bugs? Theft? Sickness? Those are all things I am mildly concerned about, but nothing scares me more than the thought of leaving my family. Recently, I have been trying to appreciate all the moments I have with my siblings, even the annoying ones, because I won’t be laughing at those inside jokes or having to tell specific people not to whistle so loudly while I do homework in 6 months. In 6 months I will be making new inside jokes with my teammates, and we will be finding out each other’s good and bad traits very quickly.
At night, when I am trying to fall asleep, I have been doubting my readiness to go on this trip. Last night I thought to myself, “Can I really do this? Do I still want to go?” In the dark of the night all my excitement fades away and my fears and doubts take over. When I woke up this morning I went to the World Race website and began reading current Racers’ blogs. Reading stories and seeing pictures from the countries I will be going to made me wonder why I ever doubted my desire to go on this mission trip. I am ready, and I am so excited.
Although leaving my family will be hard, and it will not be the only hardship, they will still be here in Snohomish when I get back. The experiences I will gain on the World Race are once in a lifetime opportunities, and if I wait until I have a steady job and family to go on an international mission trip, then I will never go.
But to the tribe of Levi, Moses had given no inheritance; the LORD, the God of Israel, is their inheritance, as he promised them. Joshua 13:33
