As many of you know, this October I will embark on an 11 month mission trip to 11 countries called the World Race. On this trip I will serve alongside locals in communities in India, Nepal, Vietnam, Cambodia, Swaziland, South Africa, Botswana, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, and Peru.
You may also know that last month I graduated from The University of Tennessee. My life, however, currently looks a bit different than that of my fellow graduates. As those whom I graduated alongside begin their first post-grad jobs or graduate school, I am putting a hold on these activities in favor of living and working in developing countries. Upon first glance, it may seem that I have made an outlandish choice or a big sacrifice.
After all, while most recent college graduates are decorating their new upgraded off-campus apartments, I’m shopping for a tent and a 60-liter backpack that I’ll live out of for almost a year. While they’re earning what are likely their first above-minimum-wage paychecks, I’m fundraising to support travel and living expenses ($4 a day for food I recently learned) while foregoing a year’s paycheck to volunteer with those in need.
Definitely crazy, right?
But what if I told you that really it doesn’t feel like I’m making a sacrifice at all? That I fully believe that this is what I was born to do? That I truly can’t imagine another path?
I discovered the World Race late one night at the beginning of my junior year at The University of Tennessee. I had recently returned from a summer-long missions internship in rural Tanzania. Like many who return back to their normal lives in the US after an incredible experience abroad, I was longing to again do something that “mattered.” In my search for meaningful work, I googled “post-grad missions trips.” The World Race was the first search result. I knew that night that I would go.
And I am SO EXCITED.
I get to spend 11 months in 11 countries getting to know and to love people of 11 different cultures. I get to live where they live and eat what they eat. I get to learn what is dear to their hearts and what gives their lives purpose.
I cannot wait to learn from each individual I meet in each country. Because to tell the truth, this trip is an incredible investment in me.
Of course, I’ll be working to meet the needs of those in the countries that I’ll visit. I’ll help local ministries to feed the hungry and to house orphans. I’ll visit widows and teach children and much, much more. While I’ll only be in each country for a short month and fully realize the limitations of short-term mission work, I believe with all of my heart that God can work powerfully through my fellow World Racers, those we will meet, and even me one month at a time.
Even further though, I know that the experience I will gain on the World Race is an unprecedented investment in how clearly I see our world and love the people in it. I may not be sure exactly what my long-term career will be in the future, but I know that learning about and conforming to 11 cultures from all around the world will help me to forget myself and wholeheartedly serve others, even those who are the most unlike me, as I work for the rest of my life.
Although I cannot promise that during the 11 months that I am gone I will baptize 50 people into Christ or single-handedly rescue a woman from sex trafficking, I can promise that I will work hard and learn. And I can promise that as I do so, my life (and hopefully that of those around me) will change.
As I mentioned above, I am fundraising to support the costs of my work for 11 months. So far I have been absolutely blown away by the support of my friends and family and only need to raise about $7,000 more! As you consider partnering with me in this journey, I want to thank you for your investment in me. I will do everything in my power to assure that not a penny goes to waste.
To donate simply click on the orange “Donate!” button in the top right corner of this page or mail a check with my name in the memo line to Adventures in Missions, PO Box 742570, Atlanta, GA 30374.
With love,
Brooke
(931)205-3573
