I know many of you have already received my support letter in the mail, but here it is in case I missed anyone! Thank you again for all of the support!
Dear friends and family,
I hope all is well with you! I can’t believe I am already in my last year of high school, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for me. As of right now, I’m not sure by any means what purpose God has for me for the rest of my life, but I do know what my next step is towards hopefully figuring that out. And that next step is the World Race: Gap Year.
After graduation this May, I will be taking a gap year instead of going straight to college. During this gap year, I will be participating in the World Race, a nine-month mission trip around the world. During those nine months, I will spend three months in three different countries, doing what I can to spread God’s Word and His love.
This decision came rather suddenly to me. Last summer, I went on a mission trip to Uganda for 10 days. I was very nervous leading up to this trip. I didn’t know the other people going that well, I wasn’t sure what I was going to be doing, and I was just all around very outside of my comfort zone. But the second I got off the airplane in Entebbe, all of my worries disappeared. I felt a sense of peace consume me and I undeniably felt God’s presence.
On our second day in Uganda, while taking an ice cold shower and watching a spider crawl up the wall of my bathroom, the words ‘World Race’ came to mind. I had heard of the Race before and even know people who have gone, but I never thought it was for me. I like to wake up in my comfortable bed, take a hot shower every morning, blow dry my hair, and do my makeup. And I feel disgusting and barely survive the day if I don’t do so. At least that’s what I always told myself. But during my time in Uganda, I realized this wasn’t true in the slightest. When you devote all of your time to serving God, your other concerns just fall away.
So as my time in Uganda continued, I kept hearing those words in my head. I acknowledged them and told myself I’d look into the Race once I got back home, but didn’t do anything else about it. I never said a word to anyone, didn’t really pray about it, just kept it in the back of my mind as maybe something to think about. Then, on our last day in Uganda, we had a long bus ride to get to the airport to head home. We were sitting on the bus talking, when Dan Canova, one of the leaders of the trip, turned to me and said, “You should go on the World Race.”
I was absolutely shocked. Dan had no way of knowing that I had been thinking about the Race, and yet those words had just come out of his mouth. At this point, I knew this was more than just a coincidence. This was something I needed to do.
So, three months later, here I am. I’m throwing all of the plans I previously made out the window, and I am putting all of my trust in God. I don’t know what countries I will be going to yet, or even what types of ministry I’ll be doing. In the past, other Racers have worked in orphanages, taught English, ran VBS, did prison ministry, and many other things while being partnered with local churches and organizations.
Now having said all of that, I would like to ask for your support as I go on this amazing journey. There are many different ways you can support me, a major one being through prayer. I would ask for prayers of safety, strength, and reassurance that this is what I’m meant to do, as hard as it may be. Nine months away from home in foreign countries is a lot, but I know that I can do this with God by my side. Another way you could support me is financially. For this trip, I need to raise around $16,000. This money will cover food, housing, insurance, transportation in the field, and other costs. It’s a lot, but I have absolute faith that God will provide if this is His plan for me. So if you feel led to donate, there are two ways you can do so.
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Via my blog [https://brooklyndilley.theworldrace.org] — I will be posting regularly to keep you updated on my journey. I will also be doing a big reveal once I know which countries I will be traveling to.
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By check. Please make all checks payable to Adventures in Missions, the organization that runs the World Race. I have enclosed a fundraising card that must be filled out and sent with your check to the address listed on the card.
Additionally, I am currently planning other fundraisers in which I would love your support. I will be selling t-shirts, collecting bottles and cans to return, having a garage sale, and more. Please let me know if you’d like more information on when I will be doing these!
I am so excited to begin this journey and it is my hope that you would be excited too. Please pray about this and consider supporting me. If you have any questions about any part of my journey, please reach out and I would love to talk to you more about it! You can reach me at 515-419-3735 or [email protected].
With love,
Brooklyn Dilley
