I figured I probably should write a blog post about why I’ve decided to leave my world behind for a year and travel to 11 different countries. (:
First I have to start with the very first mission trip that I ever went on in my Sophomore year of high school. My youth group, every summer for 10 days, drove in a school bus 3,000 miles down the west coast to Mexico. I did not know in the beginning what I was signing up for. This was no typical vacation I soon learned. However, what I realized through this trip was that I had a naturally strong passion and heart to travel and serve others in poverty. The feeling of being able to build a shelter for someone that has no home was probably the best feeling I had ever experienced. I remember getting back from that trip saying “I had never felt so close to God.” My faith and relationship grew so much from that trip. I loved the experience that I had so much that I went back after that 3 years in a row. After every trip, I returned home with same feeling as I had after my first trip to Mexico.
After high school and during my time in college, I was presented with another opportunity to go on another mission trip. This time it was with 4 girls that went to my college. We traveled down to Guatemala for a month. This was a different kind of mission trip, in that we were in a school every day teaching English. Additionally, I got to live with a host family that gave me a whole new perspective on what it meant to serve. From this experience, I got to see the Guatemalan culture in a more in-depth way. I got to see how God was working in different ways too. During that month I saw how God was shaping me and changing my outlook on life. Furthermore, that trip reconfirmed my passion and love for doing mission work. I felt like God was trying to speak to me.
When the idea of doing the World Race was presented to me last year, I couldn’t help but feel like God was saying that this was the next step for me to take. It seemed like a big jump from going on a month-long mission trip to doing a year-long mission trip. However, I knew that if God was telling me to do this He would protect me and provide for me. I knew He instilled this passion in me and I couldn’t ignore it.
Besides God’s calling in my life right now to go on this mission trip, there are a few other reasons why I’ve decided to take this trip of a lifetime. I am graduating this spring and have struggled with what I will do post-graduation. This trip presented its self to me as an answer to that struggle. One of the reasons why I decided to take this trip is to hopefully learn more about myself, grow, and discover what God’s calling is for my career and how he wants to use me to serve this world. Another reason why I thought this trip would be a good fit, is my desire to travel the world and experience different cultures and people’s way of life. Part of being a psychology major is my curiosity for human behavior and in my opinion, what better way to feed that curiosity than to travel and meet new people. I want to be tested and pushed outside my comfort zone. I have learned that the best way to grow is to be pushed outside that comfort zone and to allow God to show me the way. I am positive that this trip will present many opportunities to be challenged and pushed and I know God will be right there with me helping me grow through them.
I hope this blog was insightful into why I’ve decided to embark on the World Race.
Please continue to pray for me and support me through this journey.
Blessings,
Becca
