How did I get myself into this? Seriously. Anyone who has ever met me, even briefly, could tell you I’m not the most outgoing person. I’m quiet and reserved, preferring to watch a crowd over mingling with them. And I’m going to go on an 11 month missions trip. With a whole squad of other people. That’s right folks. I, the most extreme of introverts, have committed to 11 months of community living.
Don’t get me wrong. I love being around people, it’s just that I can only take a small dose of human interaction at one time. So why, you might be asking yourself, would someone like me commit to something like the World Race? Excellent question. I’m not exactly sure how to answer it yet though.
I found out about the World Race in March of this year. At that time I was feeling very restless, but that’s not exactly unusual for me. Whether its a product of all the moving around I’ve done or just part of my personality, I don’t like sitting still for too long. My mind often bounced between all the things I could do with my life. Go back to school. Travel. Move out on my own. Keep waiting and working like I had been doing. Around, and around, and around. My head was always swirling with ‘maybes’ and ‘what ifs,’ but I could never settle on any of the options before me. None of it felt wrong, but it didn’t feel right either. That is, until the World Race stormed into my life.
One day I was watching a travel documentary series called the Kindness Diaries. It follows a man on a trip around the world on his motorcycle, relying entirely on the kindness of strangers. In one episode he visited Angkor Wat, and while there he encountered a World Race team. Their interaction took less than 2 minutes, but it was enough to catch my attention. I paused the show and immediately set to researching. I was waiting to find something that would show me the World Race wasn’t for me. I often get excited about things only to find, after a bit of research, that it’s really not a fit for me. I visited almost every page of the World Race website, read a bunch of blogs, watched some vlogs, read some reviews. Still, nothing. It was a bit bewildering if I’m being honest. Instead of finding a reason I shouldn’t go, all I found was a pile of reasons to go.
I suppose the best answer I have for people who are wondering ‘why’ is this: It feels right. Despite any fears and apprehension I have, and regardless of what people say, I don’t remember ever being this sure of anything. Everything I was looking for, everything I was praying for, it checks every box. I didn’t expect to find something like that. I was expecting to have to settle. Make a compromise. Sacrifice something I was longing for, for something else. God had different plans.
It amazes me how He does that. Sometimes we give up on looking for something. Sometimes we don’t even know what it is we were looking for. Still, God knows what’s in our hearts and on our minds. He knows what’s best for us, and He leads us down the path He created us to take if we’re bold enough to follow Him. Even if we don’t understand it, there’s a peace and joy in walking out your God-given purpose that can’t be found anywhere else. For me the World Race is one of the first steps on a lifelong journey. I can’t wait to see what the next year and a half hold! This is only the beginning.
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