HI PARTY PPL!!!!!!!! I was asked by our sweet squad mentor to write a blog on WHY. WHY do I want to go on The World Race? & as overwhelming and extensive that answer can seem, I am so stoked to be sharing that with you! I am going to jump into it, some being spiritual reasons, others not, but I am praying that you can truly see my heart in this and know my intentions a little more clearly.
First, I am really excited to spend NINE months loving and serving people. I know that is a cliche answer and I am called to do that in the United States or wherever I am, but it looks a little bit different in a third-world country and I am really looking forward to THAT being my job every single day. Going on short term missions is great, it is one of my favorite things to do, but when you are able to LIVE with people and become one of them, there is real life change that happens and I want to be able to be one of them and walk with them. Can you imagine living ONLY to tell people about Jesus and walk with them through life? Yes, we are called to do that everyday, but you also have a job to support your family, playing a competitive sport, a large pile of laundry at home, and you are probably chasing children/grandchildren around. Life here is so busy, and I want to go on the World Race to slllooooww down and get real and personal with people, letting them know they are loved, valued, and appreciated by my team and I and most importantly, Jesus.
Second, I want to be able to share the Gospel in places that have never heard the name of Jesus. There are still 3,100 people groups and places in the world that have had generation after generation to come through and NOBODY knows about or of Jesus. Not that we will necessarily be in those places, but the percentage of people that have heard the Gospel and seen what that looks like is a lot slimmer. For the most part, the United States is familiar with Christianity and I am expectant for Jesus to do some BIIIGGG things through my team and I in these places and with these people.
Third, I am just reeeallllyyyyy stoked to live in a community of believers and focus on my relationship with Jesus. I have been in communication for the last 5 months with the girls and guys going on my route, and let me tell you, they are DIFFERENCE MAKERS. They are on fire for Jesus and are seeking Him with their whole heart. To be surrounded by them with a “kingdom mindset” every single day, I am believing Jesus BIG for my relationship with Him to grow even deeper and for my relationship with my squad to be even deeper.
Lastly, as you can imagine, I am just really excited to travel and see the other side of the world. I have never been a huge traveler, which was ironic in me doing the race, but I really am excited to see the beauty and the brokenness of other places. I am excited to go into the markets, to cook our own food, to go into the coffee shops, to try new foods, to wash my clothes by hand, to participate in the different cultures, to go to churches around the world that worship the name of Jesus but look SO differently, to go into strangers homes, to climb a mountain, and to experience it all with my new best friends and Jesus.
I really hope if you made it until the end reading that you can see my heart a little more clearly and my intentions. I have so many emotions thinking about this next season of life, but I am so thankful for Jesus and His faithfulness because this is where He has called me to go and to be and I am confident in that.
