Hey friends and family! You’re probably wondering what this whole World Race thing is all about, so I thought I’d jump straight into my first blog post by telling you the who/what/when/where/why/how of the journey I will be embarking on over the course of the next year!
What
The World Race (Gap Year) is a 9 month mission trip, consisting of ministry and service in 3 different countries over the course of those 9 months, all while living out of a backpack.
My Gap Year journey will start in the large and diverse nation of South Africa. This nation is incredibly multicultural and it is still healing from its dark and painful history of racism and segregation. This country has 11 official languages, coastlines on two oceans and world famous mountain views. Racers in South Africa focus a lot of their time on evangelism through the school systems. I will be discipling middle and high school students through sports ministry, teaching life skills and assisting with academic classes.
Next, I will go to Ecuador. One of the smallest countries in South America, this nation is full of beautiful beaches, vast highlands and very proud locals. Most Racers serve with well loved World Race partner, Inca Link, in Quito. I will have the opportunity to serve in a lot of ways including, ministering to children living on the streets, serving in hospitals for people with special needs, spending time in elderly homes, working with feeding programs, and teaching English. Overall my time in Ecuador will focus around building relationships and sharing my hope and joy in Christ with everyone I meet along the way.
I will finish my Gap Year in Cambodia. Here I will find delicious food, open air markets, and bustling streets. Cambodia is still struggling to heal from a dark and crippling genocide in the 1970s and is currently faced with a large amount of poverty and human trafficking. A lot of ministry this month will focus on investing in youth. I likely spend my month reaching children through teaching English and the Bible. English is critical for the younger generations to find sustainable jobs to move forward.
Who
My squad of around 30 people and I (ages 18-20) will be living and serving together over the course of these 9 months. We will be split up into several different teams while we are on the field, but I will remain with my squad the whole time.
Where
I will be in South Africa for 3 months, then Ecuador for 3 months, then Cambodia for 3 months!
When
I will be launching early September 2019 and I will return in May 2020!
Why
As I’m sure many of you may know, I have felt called to missions for a very long time. I have been to Ethiopia twice in the past year, with both of those trips forever changing my life and fueling my passions for missions even more. I’ve known for a while that I didn’t want to go to college right out of high school, so after learning about the World Race, I knew it was the perfect opportunity to combine my love for missions and my desire to take a gap year into one thing. I am beyond excited to set aside the life I know and trust fully in the Lord on this journey, taking a step into a new season of life. A season of radically serving and recklessly loving Jesus.
How
Now this is the hard part. My end goal when it comes to fundraising to get to go on this amazing journey is $16,600 (a lot, I know). I know that if God wants me to go on this journey to serve in His name, he will make it happen, therefore I know I can not do this alone. In preparation for this trip I will be asking for 2 things. The first thing is prayer. Prayer for peace as I step out of my comfort zone and prayer for my squad and I as we each individually raise money for the Race. The other thing I will be asking for is financial support. I know that this is a lot of money to fundraise in a small amount of time, but between working and generous donations/doing fundraisers, I know God will provide. If you feel led to give towards the next year of my life, and towards the Kingdom, there is a place to donate at the top of my blog (or my Venmo is @GraceACreed), and you can stay on the lookout for upcoming fundraisers I will be doing over the next few months, before launch in September! Any dollar amount helps, even if it’s just $1, it still means the world to me.
Thank you so much to everyone who read this! I will be updating this blog every once in a while over the next few months as I prepare for the race, and I will updating very frequently once I am overseas. There is an option to subscribe via email at the top of my blog if you want to get a notification every time a new post is made! I can’t wait to share this journey with everyone.
Much love,
Grace
