Dear Future Racer,
So you are thinking of applying to this 11 month adventure around the world. Your parents are asking questions and you have zero answers. Well lemme tell your right of the bat, its gonna be the hardest decision you make in your life. Having trust in the Lord when it comes to your life is uber difficult. And it wont stop being difficult until you land back in the states. From fundraising, training camp, launch, all the travel, the people you meet, and the growing pains that happen while bouncing from country to country, it’s gonna be tough.
I’m in currently at the end of month 7 and there hasn’t been a day where I have missed home, my family, friends, and the convenience of getting American food whenever I want. The host families you stay with are the best families you will ever meet, they pour our the literal love of Christ onto their ministries and to you daily.You form a bond like no other in the span of just a few weeks and then you have to say goodbye. Thats what kills me. I’m about to do it my seventh time and I am no where near ready for it. I dread it month after month.
My heart breaks saying goodbye to people who realistically I will never see again. The pain is both physical and emotional, it takes a toll on you. But the race must go on, your next family is waiting for you. Time will not pause and wait for you to be ready to move on. Time waits for no one, learn that before the race if you can hahah But in that heart break, you get a little stronger.
In order for God to build up, things need to break down.
The World Race is all about that. It will break down everything you allow it to, please allow it into all areas of your heart and being because so much can happen in just one month. I’m talking dramatically changing your life, turning the trajectory from normalcy to supremacy because we are in Christ!
Right now, as I write this letter to you I am struggling! I am fighting with things like wanting to go back home, see my family, be apart of what I am missing back in the states, having a M&M blizzard, and petting my dog. Those will never go away, having those feelings are good. Honestly be real with yourself, you have spent so much time investing in the people back home to get up and leave them for 11 months will be painful. But you will be amazed by how much of a connection you can have with someone in just one month. You will meet life long friends that will remain in your heart although you will leave at the end of the month, the feelings remain.
The feelings of missing home can easily turn into distraction. Like real quick. Taking away the persons focus from the task at hand. The reason they signed up for the Race can quickly be put on the back burner because the heart longs for the familiar. As hard as it will be, God desires us to be comfortable. Not comfortable in our own house, with our pets, our job, money, food, or earthly relationships….He desires for us to be comfortable in Him!!
So as you make this decision to go on the Race or not, remember that you will not be comfortable. The things you splurge on now will not exist, your phone plan won’t have coverage in the countries you are going to. The growth and adventure you are looking for will be there but you will get distracted and lose focus at times. Your heart will be torn to pieces and expected to be ready for the next month. Privacy is a term that got skipped in the World Race dictionary, so just be ready. Make the decision to be comfortable in God and that will never fail you. He is someone who will always be with you and will always be for you.
If you are on the fence…looking down on both the yes and the no. Trying to shift your weight enough in one direction for you to fall, know that God is on both sides. Just jump off and see if He catches you.
Love, Racer who Jumped!
