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So you have questions? Excellent, because I have answers. If there’s a question that you still have that I haven’t addressed, feel free to get in touch with me or leave a comment below! Even if I don’t know the answer, I’m almost certain I could find someone who does. 

1. So…what are you doing again?

Great question. In September of 2014, I’ll be leaving for 11 months to go on what they call “The World Race.” The World Race is a ministry of Adventure in Missions (AIM), a group dedicated to bringing God’s good news to the nations. I’ll be traveling to 11 different countries and serving the poor and the powerless and the hopeless and the disabled and the hungry. Essentially, we are missionaries aiming to bring light to some of the darkest areas of the world. 

2. Are you going alone?

Definitely not! Traveling with me will be personnel from AIM who’ve been through the World Race before. I’ll also be serving alongside 40 other amazing men and women who have felt called to love and to spread the good news on this Race. We’ll travel from country to country together, encouraging one another and pressing forward in our work for God. You can actually see some of the other people I’ll be traveling with HERE

3. And where will you actually be going?Another great question. Like I said we’ll be traveling to 11 countries in 11 months (1 country per month), and here’s the current lineup*: Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica, Swaziland, South Africa, Zimbabwe/Botswana, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Japan. 

*Routes are subject to change as war and natural disaster may alter the countries we’re able to travel to

4. Now that I know where you’re going, when are you actually leaving?

The exact date hasn’t been decided yet, but it will be toward the beginning of September 2014. It seems far off now, but trust me, it’ll be here faster than you can repeat all the countries we’ll be traveling too. 

5. Aren’t there people in the US that you can help? Why do you have to travel so far?

Of course there are people in the US that need help. Of course there are, but at this time in my life, I feel called to go. The great commission doesn’t ask us to spread the gospel to our city, or state. We’ve been asked to tell the world, and I feel this is where I’m needed at this time. 

People are hurting everywhere, and we can’t help everyone. That’s just a fact. And in deciding to pursue this Race, helping everyone was never even a consideration. Being obedient, however, most certainly was, and this is what being obedient to God looks like to me in this season–it looks like the World Race.

6. What will you actually be doing in each country?

We’ll serve in every country in different ways. In each country, we’ll partner with existing and established ministries to give them the much-needed man power to continue to carry out their good work. We’ll be serving the missionaries already in place in that area, caring for orphans, praying with the dying and ill, conducting school programs for children, helping the community with manual labor projects, working with women in prostitution, assisting in the fight to stop human trafficking, and any other task the Lord and his people might require of us. 

7. Where will all of you be staying while you conduct these ministries in each country?

Well, this is where the backpack/sleeping bag/tent come in. As I said before, we’ll be partnering with local ministries in each country we visit, and the living situations will very tremendously depending on where we are. In most cases, we’ll sleep in a spare room in a church or mission organization on our sleeping pads, but in some cases we’ll sleep in tents outside (or inside if the roof happens to be leaky). Needless to say these will not be the most comfortable sleeping accommodations, but God has brought me this far and I’m sure He’ll see me through it. Plus, it never hurts to get comfortable being uncomfortable 🙂

9. So will you be off the grid? Will we be able to communicate with you at all in these upcoming months?

Yes you will! Thankfully, the internet is a very world wide phenomena (though undoubtedly better in some places than in others). You can always send me emails (bree.rossi.WR at gmail.com), and of course, I’ll be updating all of my adventures on this blog.

10. How much is all of this going to cost?

Another excellent question, and the answer is, it ain’t cheap. The total amount needed will be $16,254.35. Why is that number so exact? Well, because AIM knows what it takes to travel to 11 countries in 11 months, and this is how much is takes. This number covers all of the administrative costs associated with sending 40 people around the world for a year, training and coaching costs, travel and lodging accommodations, all of our food and our medical insurance. For 11 months. Essentially 1 year.

If you thing about how much you earn in a year, it’s probably 5 or 6 times that amount, and yet that’s the number I’ll need to carry out this ministry. 

11. How does that $16,254.35 break down?

• Training Camp–$320
• Field Support–$620
• WR Development Program–$1,860 
• Administration Fees–$2,635
• World Racer–$10,075
• Travel Insurance–$754.35

12. When do you need to actually have this money in your AIM account? Do you need to have the full amount before you leave?

Thankfully, AIM gives us some grace in this area (and even with that grace, 99.9% of WR participants have been fully funded. Praise Jesus!) Here’s the breakdown of money that is due and when:

• $3,500        2 weeks prior to Training Camp [July 1, 2014]
• $7,500        2 weeks prior to Launch [August 27, 2014]
• $11,000     End of 3 months on the field [December 1st, 2014]
• $16,254     End of 6 months on the field [March 1st, 2014]*

14. How can I help?

I thought you’d never ask 🙂

My financial need is the greatest, and so that’s where I’ll start. 

3. Aside from giving financially, here are the other ways that you can help!

          a. Prayer. This is invaluable and something I can never, ever have enough of. I’ll keep you updated here with my prayer requests, and I would appreciate so much if you would keep me and my teammates in mind. 

          b. Spread the word! Know a business that would like to get involved or donate? Please, let me know! Tell people at your church or community group and pass on my contact information as I’d be more than happy to get in touch with them and let them know what I’ll be up to in the next year

          c. Are you talented/creative/good at making things or doing things? Then I could also use your help. If you want to make something that I could sell to help cover some of the cost, then I would gladly partner with you in that.

          d. Do you have supplies that I might need for the race? Any and all camping equipment could be really useful and also help save me a lot of $$$.

15. Well now that I know everything else, why did you decide to go on this Race in the first place?

Honestly, it’s incredibly simple–I felt like God wanted me to do it. I heard about the Race through a friend that was on it, didn’t think much of it until I was praying on night and God nudged me. He gave me Romans 10:15,and from that point on, I couldn’t ignore it. I prayed about it, over and over again, and eventually I knew I couldn’t hide from it anymore, and that the World Race was something I knew that God wanted from me. And that’s why I’m going on the World Race! Primarily out of obedience, but also, to make good on Paul’s challenge in Romans 10.