“I’m going on an adventure!” I’m going on adventure—an adventure in which routes might change unexpectedly, obstacles might darken the path, and demons might haunt my dreams. Yet the adventure will be worth it, because my Guide intimately knows the routes, lights the path, and guards my dreams. My Guide is the Creator of the world, the King of Kings, the Prince of Peace, the Good Shepard, and my Savior.
“For the LORD [my] God goes with [me]; He will never leave [me] nor forsake [me].”
— Deuteronomy 31:6
The adventure I am preparing to go on is called the World Race. The World Race is an 11-month mission trip around the world where I get to serve in 11 different countries. I will be serving in Central America, Africa, and Asia.
I am so excited to be serving the Lord by preaching His Name too many tribes and nations, however I never thought that I would be serving in this capacity. Growing up I was always a quick learner when it came to math and science. I knew that eventually I would get a degree that involved these subjects and here I am, one semester till I graduate with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering with a 3.9 GPA. By now I should have had a couple internships and a full-time job lined up, yet I was unable to get any experience in my field of study. I was truly discouraged by this, however I am no longer discouraged by this as I KNOW it was part of God’s plan.
This last fall during an extended time alone with God, He impressed upon my heart not to close the door to missions. Over the next couple of weeks the Lord continued to speak to me about going on the World Race. Then two weeks later, during an InterVarsity Conference, I attended a track called “Praying for a Change.” The first lesson was about listening and knowing the voice of the Lord. This was the final confirmation that God had spoken to me about going on the World Race. Then everything about my struggles getting an internship made sense, God was preventing me from getting them. He wanted me to go and serve Him for a year, what a humbling thought. I wanted to get a good job, find a God pursuing woman, raise a family, and serve Him by volunteering in the church. While much of this dream might still become reality; my eyes and thoughts have been opened to new and different path the Lord is calling me on. It also is humbling that the new and different path is so much better than the path that I wanted. God has finally given me a direction in my life and I am excited to see how God is going to move on the World Race and I can’t wait to share my stories with everyone.
I know Tolkien says that “It’s simply not an adventure worth telling if there aren’t any dragons.” I disagree. But the truth is that it isn’t my adventure it is really God’s adventure. He is only allowing me to come along for the adventure. And yes, God’s adventure is worth telling, as serving on the World Race will become part of my testimony. It will allow me to serve others outside of American culture and will allow me to develop a deeper picture of who God is.
I know that God has called me to go on this adventure with Him, however it doesn’t mean that the adventure will be easy. No adventure is easy, while there might not be physical dragons, trolls, and giants, there will be spiritual ones. Therefore I ask you to continuously lift me and my team up in your prayers as we will all be participating in God’s adventure together.
Participating in God’s adventure will take me away from my home, my comfort zone, it will send me into the world unknown, yet I know the Voice of the Good Shepard and I will know He will never leave me.
“He goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. … My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. … and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”
— John 10:4, 27, 29
