Hi everyone! I am super excited to announce that I am saying YES to the Lord and I have been accepted to participate in the World Race- Gap Year program through the Adventures in Missions Organization! The World Race- Gap Year program is a 9-month mission trip to three continents. The route that I have been accepted to is Costa Rica, Cambodia, and Swaziland, and I will be spending three months in each country. Our main goals are to serve others, spread the Gospel to the people we meet, and to grow as disciples of the Lord. I am so beyond excited for this life changing experience to come, and I can’t wait to travel the world with my brothers and sisters in Christ! YAY, so so EXCITING!
Senior year of high school is known to be an exciting time. Everyone is deciding what their futures may entail and making decisions that will change their lives. At the start of my senior year, every time I got questions about my future I would choose a different answer, but nothing truly seemed right. My whole life I had the plan to go straight from high school into a university, but God had a FAR different plan for me. One of my best friends introduced me to World Race- Gap Year. I thought it was a really cool program but I was still fixated on the idea of attending a four year university right out of high school. I needed to let go of what I wanted and fully surrender and commit to what God wanted. I had never thought that World Race would be a part of my future, but as soon as I heard about the program, God put it on my heart and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I was in my Sociology class two weeks later and the girl who sits across from me asked me what my plans after high school were, and I felt this calm and happy feeling in my heart. I knew God was telling me to tell her about World Race and the amazing adventure that I was being called to! That’s when I knew I needed to apply. I had felt so uneasy and stressed about the future until God put the World Race into my life, and as soon as I accepted God’s plan for me, I felt instant relief and so much joy for life and the Lord! I was so nervous to apply, but God had been growing my heart for missions and in November I finally applied! I got accepted and I said YES to the Lord and this amazing adventure!
Next September, I will be leaving California behind and heading to the first stop of our mission trip, Costa Rica. In Costa Rica, our ministry focus will be to work with established churches to share the Gospel within impoverished communities. I will spend three months in here, and then my fellow Racers and I will be off to our next stop, Cambodia!
Cambodia will be my home for Christmas next year! Even though I will miss seeing my family over the holidays, I will get to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ with a bunch of strangers who have become my World Race family! Our ministry focus in Cambodia is working with the youth. In the 1970s, Cambodia suffered a crippling genocide, and is still struggling from this. There are large amounts of poverty and human trafficking in this area. While in Cambodia, we will likely be teaching English and the Bible to children. We will spend three months in Cambodia, and then we will be off to our last stop, Swaziland!
Swaziland will be the last stop on the World Race- Gap Year! Swaziland has the highest rate of HIV/AIDS in the world and due to this epidemic, there is a large presence of children without parents. Our ministry focus in Swaziland will be to care for orphans and underserved children. After Swaziland, our World Race comes to an end, and I will be heading back to California in May!
Last year, I didn’t even know that the World Race- Gap Year existed, and I would have never thought that something like this would be my future. I have never done anything like this, but even though it’s different and scary, I am so excited and can’t wait for this journey! I invite you to become a part of this journey through prayer or any financial support! I would so appreciate every single prayer and dollar. Thank you so much to everyone who has supported me through this process! 🙂
1 Chronicles 16:23-24
Sing to the Lord, all the earth;
Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.
Declare His glory among the nations,
His wonders among all peoples.
