I suppose you could say that it all started in the dusty courtyard of a little orphanage on the outskirts of Acapulco, Mexico. It was the summer before high school and I was on my own, in a foreign country, and experiencing a frills-free life for the first time. I was out of my comfort zone, stripped from the luxury of lingual communication, unbathed, and hungry- I loved every minute of it. It was then that ignited my passion for travel and culture. In the years to follow, I returned to that place of missional discovery as often as possible. Each time, leaving a little more attached and with a greater unsettling in my heart.
Years have come and gone since my first journey across borders, but the stirring within has never ceased. I feel as if I’ve always known I would take a trip like the World Race. All the necessary components are in place- I love to travel, I am fascinated by cultures, I, while love my family and friends dearly, have never been one predisposed to homesickness, and I have a great desire to bring hope and love to those living without it. That being said, I, of course, still had my doubts.
After my college graduation, when real life began, and the time came for me to make some of those “big/life-defining decisions”, I was at a standstill. I had this faint voice in my head continuously resurfacing the idea of missions; yet, the booming echos of more traditional routes claimed their territory. Whether it be graduate school, a professional career, or a internship, I could not muster the confidence to reject the societal expectations and follow my heart. I struggled with this for some time, until, one day, in a light bulb-like fashion, I knew I was going to go. I knew I had to go. It was as if I had been instantly hit with all kinds of knowledge and it began to make sense. If I am a person who loves to travel and experience culture, if I have a desire to mimic the love of Jesus, if I am unsettled by injustice in this world and crave change, and if I am at a place in my life where I am free to pick up and leave, then how could I not? I finally realized that all of these characteristics were given specifically to me for a reason- I was built for this.
Now, with these revelations in hand, I must get out of the mundane, out of my comfortable life, and just GO!
