So, how did we get here, eight months from leaving on the adventure of a lifetime? I’d say it’s pretty simple but, in reality, it stems from intricate ways God has been weaving this into my life story ever since its beginning. I’ll spare you all my whole life story though and give you the short(er) version.
A few months ago, I began praying that God would allow me to have a life of adventure in which I would be fully engaged, unashamed, and unafraid. The very next morning, I woke up thinking about doing international missions for a year or so. Naturally, I began doing some research looking into different missions opportunities. A friend had told me about The World Race yeeeaars ago and out of all the programs and organizations, I couldn’t get that one out of my mind.
However, I wasn’t quite ready to commit so I kept reading. I read blogs. I read about Adventures in Missions (the organization that the World Race is through). I read their statement of faith. I read more blogs and watched previous racers’ videos. Everything was positive, everything seemed like it was made for me (or maybe I was made for it). I felt like I was on the cusp of something amazing, but I wasn’t ready to take the leap.
I applied anyway. Since of course, if I didn’t get accepted, then it wouldn’t be God’s will, right? It was fool proof. Then I got accepted… I was excited but still hadn’t told the people at Adventures that I was committing to go. Three days later, I had all but decided that I was all in… until I actually spoke out loud to a friend that I was going. Cue intense, internal freak out. It suddenly all became real.
I would be leaving home for 11 whole months. I would be traveling to 11 different countries, only semi-fluent in the language of three of them. I would be putting work, that I had just gotten certified for, on hold for a year. I would possibly miss my best friend’s wedding, my brother’s graduation, and who knows what else. And what if I wasn’t even “supposed” to be going?
But then I started reminding myself of all the good things that could come from this trip. It would push me closer to God, making me more cognizant of my reliance on Him. It would put me in the position to share the good news of Jesus with people who have never heard of or seen His love. It would also allow me to see and enjoy His beautiful creation as it reflects His glory, and be able to worship in awe of Him. I realized that all of this points to His greatness and glory, and there is nothing better than that.
So I’m going. And I am so, incredibly excited to go on this adventure with Jesus- to see His glory, to see how He loves the peoples of the earth, to see how He uses imperfect people to show His perfect love. I.can’t.wait.
