It’s official. I’ve been accepted to the World Race–11 countries in 11 months–departing August 2017.
But how did I get here?!
Missions has always been on my heart. From a young age, I knew I wanted to travel the world and help those in need. But I also felt like God was saying “not yet”. So I focused on becoming a paramedic.
My first trip overseas was after I finished paramedic class and before I started summer internship. It was exciting to experience a new culture and to work through the discomfort of change; I knew I wanted to do more traveling. I became a full-time paramedic;after working for a year and a half, doors opened for me to do medical missions with Hand of Hope Ministries. On these trips, we opened medical/dental clinics in various locations. While I enjoyed the medical side of the trip, my favorite part was children’s ministry–sharing the good news, teaching them how to brush their teeth, playing games with them at the end of the day, etc. Each trip broke me out of my comfort zone a little more than the trip before. My desire for a long-term trip started making its presence in my heart.
In November 2016, I planned to do a medical/dental trip to Ethiopia; due to safety reasons, the trip was cancelled. HOWEVER, the day I was supposed to leave for Ethiopia, God opened a new door: a month-long deployment to Trinidad and Tobago to train new paramedics. It was a “longer-term” trip and it was within my specialty! The trip was great–I made life-long friends, experienced a new culture, and worked in EMS in another country! It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and it further fueled my desire for long-term trip.
While waiting in the Trinidad airport to fly to Tobago for a relaxing day on the beach, I flipped through my passport and realized that I still had many empty pages. I had a brief thought: “I want to fill this passport before it expires”. But that would be a lot of trips in 5 years! As a stood there, God told me “I can make that happen”. So I decided to give it to Him and let Him work out the details. All I knew is that God was taking me somewhere in around Summer of 2017.
One morning in February, I awoke with a strong desire to do the World Race. I learned about it many years ago but it was not something I felt led to do at the time. I prayed about it for many weeks and decided to apply.
And here we are! With the support of family, friends and coworkers, I got accepted! Four months until we deploy! In the months ahead, I am expecting God’s guidance and provision for every step of the way, and I am expecting to see Him do amazing things.
