Hey, friends, old and new alike! You may know me already and that is the whole reason you are reading this or you may never have met me before. Either way I’m so glad you’re here!
I’m Emma! I just turned 17 on the 17th of April. I also just finished my junior year of high school and am looking forward to senior year, and especially graduation in June of 2020 and doing the World Race Gap Year the following September.
I grew up and currently live in Maine in a small town called Strong. Yes, you read that right, there really is a town named Strong. I live there with my dad, mom, little brother and, most importantly, or equally important, my puppy, Cricket.
I heard about the World Race through a friend who did it a couple of years ago and thought it sounded super cool, but never really thought about doing it. I had, however, thought about taking a gap year, which I had also crossed off of my list of possibilities, not wanting to fluff off school for an entire year because I thought, “What if I never end up going to college?”
From a young age I have felt called to be a missionary, but I don’t really know what that looks like. For this reason I am always searching for ministry opportunities to explore that calling, which is why I was on the World Race website a couple months ago, dreaming, in the first place. Only dreaming though because I still believed that taking a gap year was not for me for the reason stated above. A few days later I was on the World Race website again when I noticed that, because of a relationship they have with Truett McConnell University in Georgia, I could take up to 3 college classes while doing the World Race Gap Year. Which means I wouldn’t have to completely fluff off school for an entire year! So the impossible really is possible!
I’ve been given many opportunities to travel in my 17 years, starting with a mission trip to Brazil when I was 5, followed by a trip to Canada, multiple trips to Ecuador and, most recently, Guatemala. I believe the World Race will be another opportunity for me to grow in an environment where I am doing what I am passionate about–serving others and traveling.
Recently I was looking through my pictures and in many of them I have my arms spread wide open (see picture below of me at the Grand Canyon). I think that is because I want to embrace life to its fullest; I want to be ready always for the next adventure; and be thankful for each of the opportunities God gives me. So while traveling the world and living out of a backpack may seem like a logistical nightmare for me, it also seems like a dream come true. I totally believe that this dream came true and is still coming true because, “With God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26
This may be an introduction of who I am, but it is also an invitation for you to be a part of a journey that God has called me to. If you would like to donate, you can simply click the box that says donate at the top of this page. I am looking forward to walking with you throughout this entire journey, beginning to end.
