Hi friends! A few weeks ago, World Race sent out an email with some changes & finalized plans for our gap year. Due to COVID-19, we will be unable to launch in September as planned. So, we were given a few options: we could continue with a slightly modified 9-month gap year, choose a separate 6-month semester trip launching in January, defer our gap year until 2021, or withdraw completely. We were given a week to seek the Lord, discern where He was leading us, and make our final decisions.
At first, none of those options sounded “right” & I was feeling the pressure of having to make such a big decision in just a week. But turns out I didn’t even need a full week – the Lord showed up (as He always does!) and gave me direction & peace about where He wanted me this next year.
Sooo as you probably saw by the title of this blog, I’m excited to announce that I will be moving to Gainesville, GA to live at the Adventures in Missions headquarters from September through December! There my squad & I will receive extended training, leadership development, and discipleship. Mornings will consist of devotions and teachings, and in the afternoons, we’ll have the opportunity to do ministry & outreach in Gainesville and the surrounding areas. Our weekends and nights will be off & pretty flexible.
The plan is to launch internationally in January. Leadership is still figuring out which countries we’ll be able to travel to & serve in safely. Our plans for international travel will be finalized in the coming weeks/months. I’ll keep you posted as we find out more information 🙂
So that’s a quick overview of what my gap year will now look like! It took some time, but I can confidently say I’m at peace with the recent changes. At first, I was pretty disappointed and frustrated with the change of plans & being unable to travel/serve internationally for the full 9 months. There’s still a lot of unknowns for this next year, which made me pretty hesitant. But I was reminded by my advisor & mentor that God calls us into uncertainty a lot – and He’s faithful every time. These changes were never a surprise for Him. Even before I committed to WRGY, He knew all of this would happen. So as much as I’ve been discouraged with the changes, I can see the Lord’s guidance and direction over this path and my excitement for this new season is growing. It’s a privilege to grow & continue serving in my home mission field of the US before having the opportunity to do so overseas.
If you have any questions I’d love to talk! Also, my fundraising goal has stayed the same & I’m just a little over 35% funded! I’m so thankful for your support & prayers! If you feel led to, you can donate through the button at the top of my page or venmo (@jennopdahl). I’m still selling t-shirts, if you’d like to contribute that way 🙂
all the love,
jen
