1 year
52 weeks
365 days
8760 hours
525,600 minutes
Today marks a year since I returned home from the World Race and it seems fitting that it lands on Thanksgiving. It is a great time to reflect on how thankful I am to have had the opportunity to go on the race, but more so how thankful I am for everything God has continued to show me this year.
I needed to slowly readjust to life after the race. It was surreal. I was back in the UK but I felt like I didn’t fit in anymore. Part of me slipped right back into normal life, I hadn’t even been home 24 hours when I had a new car and phone delivered. I felt out of place, so different from most of my friends. I’d seen things they couldn’t even comprehend and most didn’t understand why I’d given up a year of my life for the mission field.
Thankfully I had the opportunity to return to Thailand in January as part of the serve team (with two of my squad mates) for Fusion 2.0. This helped me as I continued to adjust to life after the race and going back to the same place I started my race allowed me to see just how far I had come. I was also able to catch up with Fusion 2.0 at their month six debrief in Budapest. I feel so blessed by the way they welcomed me so openly as part of their squad.
The race changed me so much, God used it as an opportunity to shape who I was, change my perspective and the way I dealt with situations. I knew I couldn’t just go back to working in the secular world. I couldn’t have a job that just paid the bills, I wanted my work to make a tangible difference to others.
It wasn’t an easy road, whilst God provided me with a full-time job almost as soon as I returned from Thailand, it was a particularly difficult season, especially having come off the race where community, intentionality, spiritual health and growth were so key. But through it I learned a lot and I’m now working for Compassion UK, a child sponsorship charity. We have team prayers every day and once a month I have to lead them. Last week I shared an extract from my ‘Guat ever’ blog. It made me realise that whilst on the race I spent a lot of time reflecting on what God was doing in my life, what he was teaching me, the ways in which he was growing me. But this past year I haven’t, it’s so easy to get caught up in day-to-day life and without the accountability of my teammates my biggest struggle has been ensuring I have that quiet time with God each day. Although I am in the privileged position where almost every day I pick up my Bible as part of my work.
This year I have longed to get back out to the mission field, to be able to spend my days serving others, being intentional with all my actions and leaning on God for his provision. I prayed into squad leading but God made it clear that my season back in the UK is not over yet. However, in December I am heading back to the country where this all began for me, where my heart was first broken for the nations. The country God used to call me to the mission field. Ghana. I am so excited to head back and see how everything is going out there.
