If you are wondering how I came to decide to spend 9 months traveling, living out of a back pack, and serving God, well.. so am I.
Every day brings the day I leave closer. In two days I go to training camp. After training camp, I have until September to prepare for the 9 month journey. To tell the truth, I’m really pretty nervous about this whole thing, but God is teaching me how to trust him one step at a time. Knowing that God is going with me is giving me the strength to do this.
In the past year, God has been challenging me through a Ministry & Missions class that I took in school. I learned a lot in that class about historical believers and missionaries, different cultures and countries, different ministries and missions organizations, and God and his Word. Throughout the year, I had several experiences of God prompting me towards his will. I always ignored it though. I had my plans; I was going to stick with those plans.
The Ministry & Missions class gave me the chance to go to Nicaragua to serve God over spring break. I was excited to go, but I didn’t intend to change anything because of it. In the months leading up to the trip, I actually prayed asking God not to change my heart towards missions. I didn’t want to do any missions work after that trip; I just wanted to stick with my plans. That obviously didn’t work out for me.
In Nicaragua, I experienced a whole new culture that I knew hardly anything about the day before we went. I met tons of people that I didn’t even know existed. Each of us was partnered with three college students as their English partner. We spent the week helping them learn English, teaching in their classrooms, going to Vida Joven (Young Life) events, and simply loving these people. I fell in love with the culture and the country. I didn’t meet a person I didn’t like or who didn’t like me. Leaving Nicaragua was immensely difficult and so emotional for me. I wanted to stay, but I had to go home.
I got home and nothing seemed quite the same. The plans I had for college didn’t sound exciting anymore, and my life all around seemed purposeless. I missed Nicaragua, and I missed the intentional work for God every single day. I spent a few weeks confused and lost about what to do. I knew God was stirring my heart and calling me towards something greater than myself, but I didn’t know how to go about pursuing that. So I talked to my parents, and I talked to the teacher of the Ministry & Missions class. They all helped me research and get ideas for what I could do.
I researched several different opportunities. The World Race was the first opportunity I looked into, and it soon became my favorite. I spent a long time in prayer with God and conversation with my parents about it. I was fairly certain that God was directing my towards the Race, but I still needed convincing, so at the end of May, I visited the Adventures in Missions base. I got questions answered, and I felt very comforted with the idea of The World Race. When I got home, I finally applied. Eventually I was accepted at the end of June.
Now I’m here, waiting for the day to arrive when I’ll begin the journey, but the journey has really already begun. I haven’t physically left yet, but spiritually the journey started in March when I began to pursue God’s will over my own. It has been a challenging trying to follow the Lord one step at a time without knowing the full picture, but I am comforted knowing that the Father knows and is directing my path.
So that is how I got here. I have a lot to do to before I leave, and I have a lot of money to raise so that I can go. I am trusting that God will provide, but I still need your help with the fundraising. Please prayerfully consider donating if you are able, and please pray for me as I prepare to go on this journey with my fellow racers.
