HELLO!
Welcome to my first post!! I’m excited to finally start writing about my journey through all of this.
I think these months leading up to the race are going to be really hard and I want to let you guys follow along this vulnerable journey with me.
The world race!! An 11 month missions trip to 11 different countries. Phew that’s a lot! I have chose to go on the expedition route in August. This route is specifically targeted to go to unreached places of the world. They have never heard of the gospel and other teams from the world race have not gone there for long periods of time. We will be living as people in those countries do and sharing our heart with them. This route is a unique one for sure. It will require strength spiritually, physically, and mentally. We don’t have much of an idea what we will be doing in each country, but it will definitely be good..it could range from playing with kids, preaching to churches, talking with mothers, working on a farm, building a school..walking the streets of the town and handing out hot chocolate. Really whatever they need. We will be living out of a backpack for 11 months. I could be sleeping on the floor for every single month. But don’t worry.. I’ll keep you updated on that.
I have always known that I love to visit other nations. I’ve felt this huge tug in my heart to go to hard, hard places and trust God. I like pushing myself. I love absolutely surrendering everything to God while I’m on the mission field. I love when He gives me words to speak to people who are in the worst moments of their lives. I want to live in these countries with them. I love coming alongside people and letting them know that they aren’t alone. God is there and loving on them every bit of the way. There have been times where I’ve tried to go on my own missions trip, no prayer involved.. and well, it didn’t work. Knowing this huge passion of mine started to take a toll on me for a while. I was so confused as to why I was stuck here living this normal life when I could be out there.
God kept telling me to wait. And to trust.
I waited and waited. I took different paths for a while, which was okay. Never very satisfying. Trust me I was praying all the time through it. Going into school and starting to volunteer was great! But there was always that thought in the back of my mind that was saying ‘this isn’t where I belong.’
All the while this is going on, God was working through my heart.. Going on a trip like this will not be easy. There will be a lot of moments that I could easily feel torn down, which is why God called me to stay so I could be strengthened by him. Being able to trust God does not happen overnight. I’m just insanely thankful that God made it clear to me that all things are happening for my good.
I felt so unprepared when God was speaking to me about the world race. I was honestly caught off guard. It’s funny because I was in school and was praying for MONTHS asking God if all of this was right. I stepped into school trusting that God would give me answers eventually. He surely did. I picked up a random book one day that I found and started reading it. That book was calling ‘one.life’.. now that book is ALL about living out your calling. Then I would start reading my bible. I constantly read stories of people that went out and did what God called of them, as hard as it was. I still have pictures on my phone of pages I would turn to where God made it so clear that he wants me to step out. Friends and even strangers coming up to me and saying crazy things about missions and my life.
My life exploded.
I was in disbelief, but also on cloud 9. I was so humbled that God listened to my prayers and laid out this plan. I was more excited in those few weeks than anything else. I went to coffee shops and spent all my time in the word. I woke up praying and went to bed praying. When you get a huge awakening like this, it is fabulous but there are things that you have to do.
I’ve read quite a few books since then and I listen to podcasts on the daily. I love podcasts on other peoples lives. One girl said ‘following your passion will not be easy. Some won’t understand. Some will be jealous. You’ll lose people and maybe find better people. But who’s the one living your life for you? No one. Step into the unknown and see what happens. It’s hard, but the best things in life are hard.’ I knew I had to start telling people, which I definitely delayed. Other peoples reactions are scary let me tell ya. I never want my own passion to hurt anyone, but life isn’t all rainbows and butterflies. Everything in the Bible makes it very clear that following God is not easy. Leaving for a year and trying to explain my relationship with God is not easy.
But I did it and here I am.
I’m only 5 months away from leaving.
Am I scared?
Yes.
Do I trust God?
Yes.
Is 20,500 the biggest number I’ve ever seen?
Yes.
Gods got this. I’ve trusted him this far and I’m going to keep trusting him through this. I want to see Gods power work through my life! He can definitely perform miracles. Through this trip, I believe God will show me what culture draws me in. I one day want to live in one country for a while, but as of right now.. God wants to show me it all.
I know that everyone raising support says they obviously have a financial need, which is definitely true of myself. But the biggest one for me is prayer. I believe wholeheartedly in the power of prayer. I feel so comforted knowing there are prayer warriors out there fighting for me. I am anxious, but I’m ready. Please be praying as I keep stepping in.
What a glorious Father and a glorious life ahead of me.
